# What is the best cage?



## Sarah0503 (Dec 30, 2015)

What is, in your opinion, the best cage for rats that is also fairly cheap for what it is? I don't have a very big budget. Thankss!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Critter Nation is the best rat cage in my opinion. How much are you willing to spend on a rat cage?


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

It depends where you live. In the USA and Canada it would agree that the critter nation is the best. I don't know the cages in the UK but you can use a rat cage calculator to find out how many can fit in a cage. I like the ratty corner cage calculator.


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## InuLing (Dec 26, 2015)

I tried other, cheaper cages and I have to agree that I couldn't find any better than the critter nation for space, ease of cleaning, and durability.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Here is one on sale that is a dupe for the Double Critter Nation. It's made by All Living Things. I don't have this cage, so I can't say how durable it actually is. 

http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/ca...-21573&_t=pfm=end_cap&pfmvalue=BEST%20SELLERS

However, look around at sites on the internet. I just got a Double Critter Nation last week from Petco for less than the one at this link. 

I'll give you some tips that work for me when I look for a bargain. I'm not an extreme couponer, but I do always seem to find incredible bargains.

1. Look around the internet at various merchants. Many of them will have online specials or much better prices than elsewhere. 
2. Many sites will offer you a special introductory discount when you sign up for an account with them. Many of them will offer an even bigger discount if you download their app.
*** If you do buy online, checkout the website before purchasing. When buying online, go through PayPal. They guarantee your purchase.***
3. Ebay
4. Amazon

If you buy on Amazon, these are some of the things I've learned about shopping there. 

Many merchants are selling the same product at different prices. Look all the merchants selling the product. Also look at how much they charge for shipping. Some vendors will have an incredible price on the item, but then have outrageous shipping costs. Also look at the vendors rating. Some vendors sell counterfeit items. If they are, you find out about this when you look at the merchants reputation. 

I generally only buy items that are either sold by Amazon itself, or items that are Amazon Fulfilled, _especially_ if I'm buying 'used'. 

At the very least, try to get the Single Critter Nation. You can always add on to it later. These cages are incredibly well built and SO much easier to clean! 


Good luck!

If you have anymore questions about finding a great price or weeding out merchants, PM me. I'll be glad to help you.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Forgot to mention that many places offer free shipping if your order is over a certain dollar amount. If you're buying a cage, this probably won't be a problem for you.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I just got this in my inbox from Coupon Sherpa

Petsmart: Save $10 off $60+ or $15 off $75+ purchase.
Copy this code and paste it at checkout:
WOOHOO15


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## Sarah0503 (Dec 30, 2015)

OK, thanks all! I'll check out that link and look at some critter nation cages! 😊


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

BTW,

Yesterday, I saw a post about the All Living Things cage I added a link to. They said that it is actually made by the same manufactorer for Petsmart. So it seems it's just the same cage with out the Critter Nation Tag on the cage. If I'd known about this, I would have bought the dupe. The regular price is less than the Critter Nation.


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## RattieFosters (Aug 8, 2015)

The Critter Nations are great, but a bit pricey (especially in Canada). As an alternative, I've been looking at this cage:

https://www.amazon.ca/Prevue-Pet-Pr...UTF8&qid=1457716663&sr=1-37&keywords=rat+cage

It fits 5-7 rats, according to the cage calculator.


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## Rugrats (Jul 29, 2015)

RattieFosters: You might regret buying that cage! I have had that cage for over a year, and I'm finally replacing it with a critter nation. It's very nice and good for a while, but mine always had this weird brown oily stuff on the floor under it and it gets sticky and dirty fast. If you want to remove the wire floor to use the pan, it leaves a gap between the top of the pan and the bottom of the cage. If you don't fill it in smaller rats can escape. There's nothing under the shelves so you can only really hang things from the ceiling which makes most of the big space in the cage unusable. I cleaned my cage in the shower once and the hot water melted the coating off the ramps, which then collected dirt and became disgusting and had to be thrown out. If you contact Prevue they'll sell you a new set, but it's ramps AND shelves because they've had different manufacturers. When I tried to replace the shelves because the new ramps won't fit on the old ones my pliers broke. It's nearly impossible to just remove them, and metal shavings got everywhere.  It's hard to put fleece anywhere too because there's really no where to clip it. I thought I liked the tiny bar spaces but there is literally only two, maybe four places where there is enough space between bars to put a sipper bottle through, and you have to use big bottles because the horizontal bars are too far apart for regular ones. 

It was a nice cage, and it's sold for $100 now (when I got mine it was $200), but I hate it after all these problems and I can't wait for my DCN.  Also I only have 3 girls and they still act like they want more space, so I can't imagine stuffing 7 in there. I'm hoping I can sell mine after my new cage comes since I replace the shelves, but they actually don't even fit still and look bad. xD

edit: also I forgot to add in order to put anything on the back wall you need a helper because you can't reach one hand around behind it and one hand in it. The door is too small for how wide the cage is so my husband always had to help me. :/ Maybe you have longer arms, but I highly suggest finding one in store (if there are any, mine was already put together at a feeder's supply) and making sure you like it. I thought I loved it but the longer I had it....just ugh.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Rugrats said:


> ... edit: also I forgot to add in order to put anything on the back wall you need a helper because you can't reach one hand around behind it and one hand in it. The door is too small for how wide the cage is so my husband always had to help me. :/ Maybe you have longer arms, but I highly suggest finding one in store (if there are any, mine was already put together at a feeder's supply) and making sure you like it. I thought I loved it but the longer I had it....just ugh ...


This is going to be no different with a CN, when it comes to things you need to hold in place while you attach it, you need a helper for the back.

I recommend Critter Nation, only thing better than that is either some badass homemade cage or multiple Critter Nations put together as one, big, epic cage!


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