# Playpens



## jabaz1963 (Jun 1, 2008)

I have just see the post from Phaidraft on Wed, 11 June headed "I need help translating" and went to the links mentioned and saw the playpens. Does anyone know if I can get one of these in the UK? 

The only ones I have found so far are kind of square metal cages but the ones Phaidraft found would be ideal for my daughter - age 7 - to sit in with her rats and play with them.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

http://ratforum.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=93229.html#93229


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## jabaz1963 (Jun 1, 2008)

Thanks for that Julia, I may have to have a re-think. I did wonder if the bars were a little wide. Perhaps we'll go box hunting at the weekend. Or perhaps a kiddies travel cot. We just really need something to put them (and my daughtern!) in when she wants to play with them or to pop them in when we are cleaning them out. Perhaps I'll go on ebay and see what I can find. 

Thanks again, 

Jane


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## amandahoney (May 14, 2007)

see if you can find a deep plastic kiddie pool. i usually let my girls run around on the bed and the chair, but i wanted to try something different, so i brought in the plastic kiddie pool from the garage (the kind that rolls up, and the pressure of the water holds the sides up- it doesn't have to be perfectly round for rats to play in it, though). the sides are a little too short, because my bravest little girl can jump up and grab on the side and pull it down (and did so repeatedly), but it was big enough for me, my sister, and my sister's friend to sit in and play with my 4 girls. it's worth a try. they're pretty cheap.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

avoid the bars & such because the will scale right over the top

do you have them in a regulat wire top cage now? If so, I'm sure you have seen them do the Spider-rat thing. Those pens are nothing but a small thing keeping them from the other side & they make fast work on getting to the other sside


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## jabaz1963 (Jun 1, 2008)

Have just been looking on ebay at puppy playpens which are great as they are fabric and waterproof and breathable and have zip off tops etc etc but they are Â£40 plus P&P so your idea of a paddling pool is brilliant. I will go in to the local shop when I do the school run and have a look. Am sure they are only about Â£10! Fab idea, thanks. Jane


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## jabaz1963 (Jun 1, 2008)

PS. Have indeed seen "Spider-Rat". We have only had the rats about three weeks and I could not believe it the first evening when I saw one climbing upside down across the top of the cage! I didn't realise they are so nimble.

I will give the paddling pool idea a go as it is fairly cheap and if it doesn't work out Freya can always use it as a paddling pool :wink: I will then probably have to shell out the Â£40 plus P&P  

One of our rats, Honey, does jump - Freya was playing with them in the bath the other day (so far this is the best place we can find to keep them slightly confined whilst out and about and also away from Scooby our dog) and she was kneeling watching them play and suddenly Honey jumped straight from the bottom of the bath onto Freya's shoulder! I think she may have some Kangeroo in her!!


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## amandahoney (May 14, 2007)

jabaz1963 said:


> One of our rats, Honey, does jump - Freya was playing with them in the bath the other day (so far this is the best place we can find to keep them slightly confined whilst out and about and also away from Scooby our dog) and she was kneeling watching them play and suddenly Honey jumped straight from the bottom of the bath onto Freya's shoulder! I think she may have some Kangeroo in her!!


two things- one, my sweetest and mellowest rat i ever had was named honey. she was my illegal dorm rat freshman year.

and two, i just took my girls to the vet, and when my almost-one-year-old rat, veda, was being weighed, one second she was sitting on the scale, and the next second she tipped the basket and went flying onto the vet tech's shoulder and into her hair! it's impressive how these little gymnasts work. infuriating at times, but still impressive.


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## Marysmuse (Apr 28, 2008)

Kangaroo-spider rats. New species... :lol:

Rejoicing in the day,
-Mary


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## Caity (Apr 1, 2008)

You know what else I've seen with kiddie pools? Really awesome cages, with the big plastic pool being the base. It might have been someone here, I don't remember.


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## phaidraft (Apr 9, 2008)

This is something else I have thought about, take a look:












The Rat Playpen

The ratsnest rats used to have free range of the entire living room during playtime, but various episodes of destruction coupled with plans to redecorate the room demanded some kind of confinement. Enter the rat playpen, made from rolls of semi-rigid pvc held together with velcro straps. It is around 8ft across and 2ft high. Great for supervised play and rolls up easily.

An Alternative

I recently had some e-mail correspondence with Jane Houghton, who made a similar playpen using sheets of corregated plastic from Wickes, held together with velcro straps. Much less expensive than the pvc, and apparently very sturdy and effective. Well worth a try!


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## amandahoney (May 14, 2007)

hmm, what would keep them from nudging right under the plastic ring? also, what would keep the carpet from getting dirty or fibers pulled out by chewers? maybe i'm thinking worst-case scenario.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

You could use a vinyl table cloth to cover your floor.


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## jabaz1963 (Jun 1, 2008)

Phaidraft - I think the playpen in your photo is brilliant. It gives the ratties loads of space to roam.

I have to say that after my earlier posts I went on the school run and my daughter and I popped into the local seasonal shop and bought one of those quite large paddling pools with the rigid sides. It is quite big (just about fits in her bedroom!) and so Freya sat in there with them while they had a good look around. Honey did try to jump out a few times but we found that if we gently rocked the sides and said "no Honey" it put her off a bit (although I'm sure not for long) - but it is good just for Freya to sit and play with them in and we won't be leaving them alone in it so hopefully job done!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Jane x


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## phaidraft (Apr 9, 2008)

amandahoney said:


> hmm, what would keep them from nudging right under the plastic ring? also, what would keep the carpet from getting dirty or fibers pulled out by chewers? maybe i'm thinking worst-case scenario.


You could put something down on the floor, or you could put the playpen on an area that is not carpeted.

This is heavy duty plastic, they aren't going to be able to nudge under it.

I have seen similar setups available on eBay before but couldn't find one in search today. I'll keep an eye out..


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