meghan

Hi, I will be getting my first rats in the next month or so. I am trying to
make the decision on a cage, and I have read here that bigger is better.
Ok, here's my question:

Thinking of either the "SuperPet Deluxe 4 story home" at 32Lx20Wx30H at $93
http://www.petmountain.com/collection/collection_105655.asp?strShopperId=FD2A0062C065C5F7C4818FA9BDC349433A05D6FC7E87949E

or "SuperPet Deluxe Multi Floor Ferret Home" at 32Lx20Wx58H at $160.
http://www.petmountain.com/collection/collection_105662.asp?strShopperId=FD2A0062C065C5F7C4818FA9BDC349433A05D6FC7E87949E

1. With 2 or maybe 4 rats, is the Multi Floor Ferret home overkill?

2. How much cleaning is involved here - is one easier to clean than the
other?

3. I have 5 cats who will be dying to harrass the ratties at least in the
beginning. Which cage is best for their safety or feelings of security?

4. Will young rats (5 or 6 weeks) be able to get through the bars? If so,
what do I keep them in until they are big enough?

5. Is anyone selling one of these types of cages privately?

Thanks, Meghan

mariette

The problem with the ferret cages you show is that the space between
the wires is much too large for babies, and actually may never be
appropriate for older girls even, as far as I know. I know Joanne
does well keeping her big guys in similar ferret cages, but I don't
know if there are others who successfully keep adult girls in them.

You might consider a Martin's cage (the favorite pick of many here):
http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat

If you do happen to go with a Martin's cage, I'd recommend using
those plastic cable ties, or whatever they're called, to put the cage
together rather than the C-rings they provide, so as to be able to
take it apart easily for storage later, etc. (melting the cut ends of
the ties with a lighter/match to get rid of the sharpness). Oh, and
definitely go for the powder-coating, NOT the galvanized, which is
bad for ratties to chew on and eventually gets quite stinky, IMO.

Definitely go as big as you can afford price-wise and size-wise at
first. I underestimated when buying our original Martin's and ended
up needing to get something larger later. Sounds like you are doing
some good research before making the investment, which I certainly
wish I'd done more of first.

Here are a couple of cage size calculators that you might find
helpful:
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/habitat/cagecalculator/index.php
http://www.kristinewickstrom.homestead.com/files/PanelApplet.html

And depending on how handy you are, you might even consider building
your own: http://www.dapper.com.au/grotto.htm

--
Mariette
<:3 )3~~ <:3 )3~~ <:3 )3~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/wabewawa
(wabewawa61-at-earthlink-dot-net)

mark thompson

Adding a 'me too!' to this. The galvanised stuff soon starts to lose its
shine and look quite tatty/rusty. I know this 'cos I stupidly bought a
galvanised cage - d'oh!

meghan

I think the reason I was most interested in these ferret cages was the ramps
and floors were solid, as opposed to wire, which I would think might hurt
their feet. How do you all with Martin's cages deal with this? Do you
cover the wire ramps with something?

Thanks!
Meghan

mariette

My new cage is not a Martin's but has similar wire ramps, which seem
just fine (never any trouble with my guys' feet). I occasionally used
to put some fine sandpaper on them (duct taped on the sides) to help
keep their nails down but don't bother with that anymore because of
how chewed-up and dirty, etc., the sandpaper would get.

I have covered the floor levels with linoleum, but I really don't
think there is any need to worry about wire ramps hurting their feet
(they're not actually on them that much), and I actually think it
helps them be able to grip and travel on them more easily.

--
Mariette
<:3 )3~~ <:3 )3~~ <:3 )3~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/wabewawa
(wabewawa61-at-earthlink-dot-net)

elegy

i have four martins cages and i have not covered the balconies or
ramps with anything. they don't seem to mind at all, and there have
been no signs of bumblefoot. they have hide boxes and hammocks to go
in when they want something soft/solid to lay in or on.

i much prefer the wire levels because it allows the urine to drain.

i think there is a three-week backorder on martin's powdercoated cages
at the moment, unfortunately. check with them. they're very very nice
people to deal with. when fed ex left a new cage on my front porch and
it was stolen, the martins replaced it free of charge. you can't ask
for better than that!

---
when life gives you socks
make sock monkeys
http://shattering.org

meghan

Hi everyone,

I think I have decided on the Martin's R-695 with possibly a built in
flip-top lid if that isn't too expensive to add. It's more than I wanted to
spend but upon hearing the recommendations of everyone, and knowing with my
mice how I keep wanting a bigger and bigger cage for them, I've decided to
spend the extra $$ and go big now. Now I only have to wait for their
backlog to clear!

Meghan

j&s bouchard

Hi Meghan,

I have owned those Superpet cages you mention. They are great cages for
older rats. Males can go in at 3 months and females at around 5 to 6 months.
Any younger and they will escape through the bars.
I have just sold all my Superpet cages and have switched over to Martin's
cages. The reason being, I prefer the ladders to be wire instead of the
ramps from Superpet. The wire ones, the rats have a way better grip and it's
not as steep.
I cut up rubber mats to fit all the levels. Like you, I can just image that
the wires must hurt. But really, what do I know, I'm not a rat. Have you
taken a look at rattie feet lately? They have like tiny bumps, and they sure
look like they were meant for walking on wires with no problems.
Wire flooring is no longer the real cause of bumblefoot. As discussed with
my vet, bumblefoot is usually the occurrence of being overweight and being
elderly. Also, bumblefoot will occur due to the feet constantly being
pressured down on levels. And think about it, on wires, their feet don't
always sit flat on a hard surface. Bumblefoot is almost exactly like bed
sores in humans. It's a pressure point. But then bacteria sets in and not
treated can go right to the bone and this is very dangerous for the rat.
Unfortunately bumblefoot is very hard to treat. The ideal situation would be
to no longer have flat hard surfaces for rattie to walk on so no pressure on
feet: sponge the whole cage? Impossible... but you can make things not so
hard with lots of bedding, TONS of shredded newspaper would be ideal as the
urine dries real fast on paper as opposed to towels.
Ok, back to cages... sorry, rambled off there...lol
The bigger the better... trust me, if you love rats now, you will get the
addiction: GGMR: gotta get more rats. And so you can add more. BUT:
ideally, your rats will benefit from a huge cage. This gives them a good
habitat, with plenty of territories for them to call their own. This reduces
fighting, scuffles, hormonal surges and stress. Above all else, you want to
avoid stress in your rats. This can cause so much more: myco, weakened
immune system, secondary infections, porphyrin... etc...
Add lots of stimulation in the cage: ropes, balls, paper towels, hammocks,
ladders, bells, boxes... let your imagination go crazy.
I hope this helps...
--
Joanne
Mom to 12 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70

kelly

I think the biggest thing here is that yes, babies will be able to fit
through the bars and you will have to keep young rats in a hamster cage (or
something with bars that are closer together). Keep in mind as well, if you
are going for female rats... they may never get big enough NOT to fit
through the bars. I have two small girls (about 280 grams each) and there
is no way I could keep them in a ferret cage.

To answer you questions, see below:


Nothing is ever "overkill". The more room the better. Especially if they
will spend most of their time in their cage.

I have one similar to the first one you illustrated (for 93 dollars I think
it was). I do a good clean sweep once a week. I put the whole cage in the
bathtub, use some bleach and spray it down with the shower head. It takes
me 30 minutes from beginning to end.


If your cats have never had exposure to rats, I highly suggest keeping the
rats seperate. Your cats instintively will want to stalk/hunt them. They
may also try to grab them through the cage bars of the ferret cage (A cat
arm can easily get through). Also, many rats (including mine) are
instintively terrified of cats. And having the cats stalking around the
cage all the time will cause undue stress on your rats. Keep them separate.

Yes they can get through. And as I mentioned above, even small adult
females will be able to get through. You need a cage with smaller spaces in
between the bars. Either that or buy your rats as adults and make sure they
aren't smallish.


Not me sorry.

Kelly

kelly

I disagree. I really think the spaced wire is much too hard on their feet
and has actually been implicated in cases of bumblefoot. I would stay away
from it.

Kelly