what do you keep rats in? - Page 2

BoAddict · 02-05-04, 08:29 AM

well i used to use rubbermaids but eventually you will find that they chew out of them and you are then constantly repairing
i just got some cages built for me 4 cages to start and see how i like em
well i finally got the cages and they are awesome
the 1st pic is an empty cage and the 2nd pic is of filled cages
the good thing is i can stack them 3 high and if your taller even 4 or 5 high

hope you like

mike

sapphire_moon · 02-05-04, 08:56 AM

thats great, for pet rats. But if these are breeder/feeder rats then you want them to be nice and fat. Especially the females. You don't want them to run around alot. So they can have the extra fat on them for their babies. Plus when you go to pull one out, they like to attach themselves to the wires...If you were going to spend that money I would have just gotten bigappleherp.com breeder cages.

Edit:

And believe me, with a "cage" like that, they will go up on the second level, and pee out the side! lol

Auskan · 02-05-04, 09:32 AM

Yeah, I must admit, I think I'll stick to my rubbermaids. One thing I do like about the rubbermaid is that they can't "drop" their bedding/food scraps out the sides like they could when I used a cage similar to that. And, they are easier to get out when I want them out. Also, I switched from a cage similar to that, to a rubbermaid because I found accessibility to the nest was a problem when the female had a litter. With the rubbermaid, I just take off the lid and remove the igloo and have instant access to the nest. I haven't had any problems with them chewing, but as cheap as rubbermaids are, if they did chew a hole, I could replace it 10 times for the cost of one of those cages.

sapphire_moon · 02-05-04, 12:24 PM

exactly, when I went to pull out the mother from a cage like that (that I had her in) she charged my hand, I couldn't go in from the top like I can a rubbermaid and just do a quick transfer of picking her up by the tail, it took me 15-20 minutes to get her unlocked from the wire of the cage, the babies were like 1wk old and she wouldn't let me in the nest, It resulted in me having a 1in cut/bite because she bit me, startled me, and I jerked back, plus a bite mark under that, right on my knuckle.

with the rubbermaid I can take the top off, find her tail, and do a quick transfer to a bucket I put them in when cleaning and checking on the babies. When I'm done, put the nest back the way it was, and put her and the father back....and all without getting my fingers chewed off! lol

Lisa · 02-06-04, 07:46 PM

I use leather work gloves when handling the mommy rats. also I tend to either push them in the corner of the cage and rub their belly or flip them on their back in my hand and rub their belly. it's a dominance thing
this is our set up right now...

BoAddict · 02-06-04, 09:18 PM

you guys make it sound like a hell thing its not that bad i thought it would be hell too but i guess i just have good rats

my next set of cages wont have levels tho i didnt know they would have levels but hey live and learn but he the guy that made my cages knows i dont need levels now

as for those of you that choose to keep in rubbermaids i hope you have your rats in a room that has a door, i dont know how many times ive woken up to the room with roaming rats as they have chewed out, yea they are cheap but a pain in the a$$ , those cages cost me $54 cdn each not too bad if you ask me and i keep 1.4 in there

Mike

Lisa · 02-06-04, 09:27 PM

The main three reasons we're switching to racks are a) mess b) temperature control and c) space.

sapphire_moon · 02-06-04, 11:28 PM

not had one rat even attempt to chew. Maybe yours are just especially bad. lol. We usually give ours a bit of cardboard or something for them to chew on, and they ignore the plastic.

You might want to put linoleum (sp???) on the wire levels, the wire CAN and will cause something called bumble foot.

What I wouldn't give to be able to get cages like that! (for my pet rats)

I don't want to have to wear gloves every time I go into the cage. I go in the cage almost daily to check on things, and to handle and socialise her (so hopefully she won't be a "w"itch like her mother).

Lisa · 02-12-04, 11:29 PM

sapphire: you can - www.martinscages.com make sure you get the powder coated, they last way longer then the galvanised.

sapphire_moon · 02-13-04, 06:55 AM

ahhh I thought those looked familar! lol Maybe one day. I would love to have that HUGE cage. for all those ones that just turn out way to cute to give to my snakes. lol

Lisa · 02-13-04, 02:59 PM

we use the huge cage to hold all the rats to get bigger. we have 2 of those cages, one for the males, one for the females.

sapphire_moon · 02-13-04, 09:10 PM

I want one for the pet rats......when I checked on the Rittens (thanks for the correctino!) 2 of them looks like they are going to be BLACK. lol, the parents are beige (mother) and a PEW (father) I can't wait to see how they turn out, may need another cage.....2 has folded down ears....dumbos maybe......probably not, if it is, and it's female I can always breed it!

I just got a 50 gal sterilite to put them, theres room for atleast 2 more rats....

Auskan · 02-14-04, 08:40 PM

If it turns out to be a dumbo and you decide to breed it and get more dumbos, I just might make a trip up there to buy one from you!

sapphire_moon · 02-15-04, 08:01 AM

I wish I could get a dumbo, even if it were a male I would put it in with the pet rats as a future breeder. if I ever got more than 2 though I more than likely give it away. But I'm leaving in the end of june so I doubt that I will have one by then, and I doubt you will want to drive up to maine to get one from me! lol

Auskan · 02-15-04, 05:15 PM

I've just come back from the pet store where they had dumbos and also blue rats. I was really tempted to get one (but couldn't decide which!) What stopped me is that these were only a few weeks old and I have an established colony of adult rats. I don't want to start a new colony as I just don't have that much need of rats and I wasn't sure about adding a new, very young rat to an established colony of adults.