# New cage for the boys!



## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Now that I have four rats at one time instead of only ever two at a time, my trusty Martin's ferret barn isn't quite cutting it. I was planning on setting money aside for the R-695 later this year, but I found a used F-430HR on craigslist!

Basically, the F-430HR is the ferret version of the R-695. Same footprint, a foot taller, and 1" x 1" PVC wire instead of .5" x 1" powder coated wire. I've never had too many issues with the PVC coating, but this will do quite nicely for a long time! Also, the 1x1" wire grid is a bit different than the bars of, say, a Ferret Nation in that the rats cannot squeeze themselves flat to escape. Unless they're babies under 6 weeks, they aren't getting out!

My husband had to drive quite a bit out of his way home from work to get it, but it was well worth the $40. The previous owners had a ferret (surprise!) in there, so it has a certain... aroma to it. Nothing a bit of bleach shouldn't be able to handle!

The picture is from the seller and isn't the best quality, but you get the idea. For reference, this cage is 4 feet tall! Both of my cats can lounge comfortably on the highest shelf. The thing is huge.











*To Do List:*

- Spray cage down (SCRUB!) with bleach, sun-dry, and rinse.
- Replace all c-rings (rusted and icky) with zip ties.
- Scrub pan down and bind with rope while sun-drying to fix warp. (Not sure if it'll work?)
- Sew liners. Ugh.
- Decorate.
- Add rats and _celebrate_!

Whew! I'm so excited! It will be comical (pitiful) to see all of my current cage decorations in this thing. I'm gonna need more!


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## Capistrono (Apr 12, 2010)

Wow, that cage looks great! My boys would certainly be jealous if they were looking at it. Can't wait to see it all decorated!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Doesn't it, though? This is actually the model that I was _almost_ going to order from Martin's and have them build it custom with the powder coated wire that they use for their rat cage models, but this will do just fine! I'm going to take a picture with nothing but the boys in the cage just to show how big it is!

I just came home from Walmart with some fabric for liners that I'll get a picture of here soon. It's so hard to find "boy-ish" fabrics that I actually like, but I think I did pretty well! I've never actually sewn liners before, so this will be an experience!

I've been spraying the cage down on the deck with bleach every few hours, letting it dry in the sun between treatments. I am definitely cutting through the stink! A few more bleach treatments and then a good pressure washing and we'll be good to go, I think!


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## coxbrea151 (Jun 1, 2012)

Pictures, pictures, PICTURES!  We need pictures. That was such a good deal you got for it!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I'm working on it!  I spent literally ALL of yesterday on the cage.

My parents brought their pressure washer to me to help scrub away the grime. I still need to put a little more elbow grease into it because I could see some areas that didn't quite clean up when I inspected it after it dried. Then, my husband and I removed all 200 dirty, rusty, smelly C-rings and replaced with with black zip ties. It looks SO much better already!

Today's labor includes one last scrub and pressure wash, and then cutting out the fabric for my liners and _hopefully_ getting them sewn. The fabric is washed, dried, shrunk, and ready to go!

Even with all of the labor, this was really an awesome deal. This cage will easily last me several more generations of rats. Who knows! May even last me forever! My current Martin's is certainly far from worn out... it's just that I upgraded. As soon as I get this new cage up and running, I'll be trying to sell my old Martin's for $50 since it's in such good shape. So, essentially, my upgrade is free!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Well, after an entire weekend of work and a little more money, I finally have a huge cage that will do very nicely for the next few years! I am so, so happy with it! 
_
(Click the thumbnails for full-size pictures.)
_


It needs more decorations and whatnot since everything here pretty much filled the last cage to the brim, but I'm sure I'll amass a collection soon!




I sewed cage liners for the first time in my life. That was exciting! They aren't perfect by any means, but I did better than I thought I would. The top layer is a cotton blend in a pattern that took me a long time to find, because I was being picky and wanted a "boy-ish" fabric that I didn't hate. The bottom layer is a light green fleece. Between the layers is 1/4" of cotton batting that I quilted into place. This is for absorbency and a bit of cush!

So, that's the new cage!


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## coxbrea151 (Jun 1, 2012)

I love it. You did an awesome job with it. Now you get to make more tots for it!


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## Capistrono (Apr 12, 2010)

I am officialy and throughly jealous. I'm so happy for your boys! They're going to love it in there!


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

When my friend and I made a bin cage for her male mice, she decked it out with pink zebra fleece... xD Anyway, it looks super awesome! That was a great deal on the cage. I can never find good deals since I live in the middle of nowhere. ;_;


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## Nenn (Nov 13, 2007)

It looks great!  I bet your ratties love it <3


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## Raturday (May 26, 2012)

That cage looks awesome!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I could have sworn that I replied to this!

Anyway, thanks so much, guys. Your compliments mean a lot to me, especially since this was my first big cage job with the liners and all! I'm already collecting things for an autumn cage.

I admit to being a craigslist addict. I went to the three closest cities every day and typed "cage" in the search until I found the perfect thing. And I did this multiple times a day! It's really the best way to nab deals!


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## Egween (Jul 9, 2012)

Awesome! Here's a big 'ol compliment for you: I've never wanted a Martin's cage before, and now I want yours! The boys will love it, and great job on the liners!


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## RatMama13 (Aug 20, 2011)

I am a Craigslist addict too! No worries!! I actually found free fleece there numerous times!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Nice job, just goes to show you how durable Martins cages really are. With a good scrub down, mine could pass off as brand new and it's almost 2 years old.

A few suggestions - you'll probably want to put the igloo on the bottom level, I can almost guarantee they will throw it off the shelf lol. And I would put a biiig square hammock right at the open space in the top. Kitty might have to move or get nipped at though.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Martin's really are so durable. Even the PVC is VERY difficult to chew off and scrubs up quite nicely. Any bangs or bends are easily straightened out, and pieces can be ordered replaced as needed. The Martin's I used before this is 6 years old, been through eight rats and two cross-country moves and you would never know the difference if I told you that I just bought it a few months ago.

Jaguar: Your igloo relocation tip came a bit too late. I don't know why I was so dumb, but, yep... that sucker needs moved. The first few days went fine, but I awoke to a CRASH during the night! There sat the little monkeys in the upset igloo, looking up at me like "What?" 

Top shelf there is going to become the feeding area and the igloo will move to the middle floor. The bottom pan essentially serves as a digging box so the boys can get their dig on without having to burrow under the liners and feel the need to destroy them. So far, so good. Now that I have liners, though, I'd love to make the switch away from aspen. That stuff sticks to fabric like glue.

I'm going to flip the middle floor and the bottom ramps to make the lower half identical to the newer R-695s, which will allow me to reach in the bottom easily without that ramp being in my way right at the bottom door. It'll also allow the boys to come right to the top door without having to do acrobatics. But they love acrobatics, so they'll probably do it anyway.

Love the idea for the giant hammock to take up that big space right there in the middle. I'll get on that. Milo (kitty) shouldn't mind. He loves laying there and having the monkeys get up there and tug on his fur. He's so weird.

I feel like I have a gosh darn CN/FN with all of this open space! We need to fill 'er up! I've been haunting the thrift stores with good luck, so hopefully I'll have new pictures soon with a much better decoration job.


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## aripatsim (Jul 26, 2012)

That's great! I bet they'll love it. It looks so much bigger with some decorations. A ratty mansion  Makes me wish I were a rat lol


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## DCPA (Aug 24, 2012)

I have a Martin's R-699 Powder Coated cage. My boys love it! Your cage looks awesome and what a great deal you got on it!!! I like the fabric!


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