# Rat cages from martins?



## NicsMama (Jan 28, 2011)

so im getting a brother soon for nic and was wondering what size cage to get from martins. i was gonna orginally buy one from a pet store but from reviews on their sites and from people on here im leaning towards a martin cuz frankly they are about the same price just better made. so what size should i get for two probably gonna be big male rats?


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

A martins 680 is big enough for three rats, and is plenty deep and wide for a male rat. So it will be more than enough room for a pair. I keep two of my fosters in a 680 right now, it's a great size IMO. If you'd rather go on the bigger side, the 695 is the next size up that is appropriate for males, it fits 5 rats.


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## NicsMama (Jan 28, 2011)

awesome! thanx but which metal should i get?


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

i second the 680 suggestion. i have two boys in one and i love it 

definitely ALWAYS get powder coated. galvanized will absorb urine over time and start to stink, and have to be replaced. i also would not recommend the flip top lid... the cage is plenty accessible from the door. the flip lid is nice for cages with full second levels though, like the 685.










that's my 680  i recommend assembling them with zip ties instead of the provided metal c-rings, so you can cut them off and disassemble the cage again if you ever need to move or store it.


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## NicsMama (Jan 28, 2011)

thanx so much guys!!


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## NicsMama (Jan 28, 2011)

do you recommend fabric bedding over litter from store? right now its easier to do bedding for me but what do u suggest?


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

i personally like fabric, because it is a one time cost thing. the sets last me a really long time, as my boys chew very little and are litter box trained. i rotate between 3 different sets that all have different shaped hammocks and stuff so the cage layout is different every week and the boys act like they're exploring a brand new cage every time  i wash them on hot in the washer with unscented detergent and let them air dry.

doing bedding in martins cages is also a good method, as the pans are nice and deep and the shelves allow poop and pee to fall through into the bedding below. you don't actually have to cover the shelves, but it is good to wipe them down once a day or so to stop nasty build up  beddings can be expensive doing full changes though... might still be worth it to litter box train them though it might be difficult.


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## NicsMama (Jan 28, 2011)

ya i wanna litter train him cuz right now everytime i get out of his cage he poops and pees all over my bed


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

try giving him some time before you take him out to go to the bathroom if he is just waking up... all of my rats tend to go potty right after waking up and if i'd take them out right away they would relieve themselves in my lap or my bed lol


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## NicsMama (Jan 28, 2011)

well i took him out just now im nt sure if he was sleepin or nt... but thanx!


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I also agree with the R-680, Here is a pic of mine all decked out.
I have nothing in it right at the moment, I am just prepaering for some fosters. But I have housed up to 4 girls in it, and up to 3 boys.
My best friend houses 2 boys in hers and loves it.










Sorry for the low quality picture, I lost my SD card and had to use my phone 

And Jaguar I think you are using the same fabric in your hammocks as I used in my flat, just in purple heh.


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## ssj123 (Feb 1, 2011)

hey i also have a question on martins cages. im relatively new to owning rats and my numbers have grown alot since i purchased my first 2 rats a couple months ago. my fiance and i are now up to to 13 rats cause our one female we bought ended up being pregnant. we are going to adopt a few of them out but i was curious if the you guys think the ruud cage would be enough for about 9-10 rats cause that should be what we end up keeping total? i was going to go with the critter nation but lately ive been leaning towards martin's ruud cage.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I housed 7 in mine. Up to 9 would be fine, but make SURE I mean REALLY sure, you have the means to clean with a shower or hose. Because I had to stop using mine because I had no means to clean it and it got disgusting.
The best to keep it as clean as possible is to wipe the bars down daily, cover the levels in fleece, and deep clean it monthly.
If all that is easy for you to do, then yes the RUUD is a fantastic cage with tons of usable space 

I personally found the FN easier to clean, but so bulky I stopped using it as a well. And with the fact that ie has to use fleece in the bottom pan unless you spend 50 to get the base pans.
It is a great cage also.

I recommend finding homes for as many of the babies as you can, I used to have 3 rats then 12 babies popped out. And it was fun at first playing with baby rats but it got overwhelming so fast.


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## ssj123 (Feb 1, 2011)

yea they are fun right now. we planned on trying to adopt out all of them but she is now really attached to them. as far and cleaning the cages and all that we have no issues our only thing is they go through food like crazy haha. i dont plan on having more then 10 but luckily if it does get overwhelming my fiances friend has offered to take all the babies so we have a way out if we need it. i must say i like the critter nation cage the most out of all that ive looked at especially with how the doors on the front fully open for cleaning and such but i did noticed the pans are extremely shallow so using bedding is out of the question. although i did consider going to the hardware and getting some plexi-glass and adding a couple of inches to the lip of the pans that it comes with it so we can use bedding.


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## mccauleywent (Nov 21, 2010)

i have 2 rudds atm, both hold 6. like kiko said, i dont think housing 9 would be a problem, i would even say 10 would be fine since they really have alot of vertical space. but like was said, cleaning that thing can be a pain!! right now its winter and we have to lug them downstairs to hose them off, it really really sucks! in the summer is so easy to just take them out and hose them off  a great cage tho and the rats really have alot of fun in it. if you have out door space to clean them, id say go for it, you wont regret it


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