# Bar Spacing



## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

Ok I have 2 male dumbo rats, not sure of the age but was told they are both under 6 months. Shinobi is bigger than Kabuki so I assume he's older. They are bot decent size rats. The smallest is almost as big as the adult female I had. Anyways I have them currently in a 29 gallon aquarium which I don't like using since I know they aren't best for the rats. I have a large wire cage but am a bit concerned with the bar spacing. Seems like a cage more suited for guanine pigs or ferrets (which it was a temp cage for the ferrets we once had). The bar spacing is 1 inch in most spaces and 1.5 inches at the corners. Do you think this spacing would be ok? If not I'm going to look into finding a better wire cage. I really dislike ordering online though and it seems the Petsmart closest to me doesn't have much of a selection. So opinions on the bar spacing...


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## Killerdoll (Sep 27, 2011)

Hi, I had the same Problem. The Cage I'm using right now is perfect, except for the 1" bar spacing. What I did was I went to Lowe's and bought "Galvanized Cage wire" or something like that. I cut & shaped it how ever I needed it for the cage, and used zip ties to keep both wires together. My boys haven't chewed on the zip ties yet, but I bought a pack just in case lol. 
So yea that's what I did. It looks kinda...ummm stupid, but it works for now. I'm planning on saving up for a bigger and nicer cage, but for now it does it's job.


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## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

I thought about doing something like that but I may just go ahead and invest in a new cage. Seems like its hard to find a large size cage that has small bar spacing.


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## Killerdoll (Sep 27, 2011)

Yea it is. And all the Cages they sell at Pet Stores, that are supposed to be for Rats are tiny imo. I bought a huge Bird Cage in Germany, its almost as tall as me lol. The wire spacing is very small on it. But I had to make the Leveling myself. So that would be another alternative!? The only thing I don't like about that is the bottom. The Litter gets thrown out easy since its not very high. 
Someone needs to invent the perfect Rat Cage!


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## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

I agree that the cages sold for rats seem to be too small. I thought about getting a bird cage but like you said the litter pan isn't very tall. You would think someone would think about this and like you said invent the perfect rat cage lol.


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## Killerdoll (Sep 27, 2011)

Yea it's like they're encouraging people to only get one rat. Theres probably ways to fix it with like Plexi glass?! I dont know, I'm not very good with these things. My Hubby had to do all that. These are the ones that I was thinking about getting.

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Deluxe-Multi-Level/dp/B000CMHWZC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2UGFWAR9KS10H&colid=3RW10RZEJ198N

Although I dont know how big the bar spacing is on the big one. Im always scared that if the spaces are big enough to stick their head through a little, they might not be able to escape but they could break their neck?  
http://www.amazon.com/Petco-PETCO-Rat-Manor-Habitat/dp/B001VJ0APE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3Y2NTDMDSRZT&colid=3RW10RZEJ198N


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## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

I use to have that cage when we had ferrets, it was great for them but I'm iffy about the spacing for rats. I really want to use the cage I have but I just don't want them to get out, with the way my house is I bet they could get outside and we have cats. They can stick their noses through but idk if they could fit their bodies. The big one I don't think could fit but not sure about the smaller one.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Martins sells some great cages, the 680 is good for up to three rats, the 695 up to five. Get powdercoated though, as galvanized soaks the urine smell:

http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/

A critter nation single is also a great option, though very large.


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## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

Thanks for the link, only problem is I don't like ordering online and my petstores don't sell them :/


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

All my rats are in cages meant for rabbits and ferrets. My almost 3 yr old female can get her entire head thru the bars but she doesnt escape. The other girls feel secure behind the bars of the cage and wont squeeze thru. But if your rats are a bit small i would wait till their as big as their going to get before putting them in it, or you could try it and stay in the room with them to make sure they dont escape them, i had to keep trying with my 3 newbie boys. until they were too big to squeeze out.


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## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

RatSanctuary said:


> All my rats are in cages meant for rabbits and ferrets. My almost 3 yr old female can get her entire head thru the bars but she doesnt escape. The other girls feel secure behind the bars of the cage and wont squeeze thru. But if your rats are a bit small i would wait till their as big as their going to get before putting them in it, or you could try it and stay in the room with them to make sure they dont escape them, i had to keep trying with my 3 newbie boys. until they were too big to squeeze out.


 We've had them for 3 weeks now and I can already see they've grown  I've been waiting but here in the next day or so I'm going to try them in the cage supervised like you said. Here's hoping they can't fit through. I'm not going to leave them in it until I'm sure they can't escape since I have inside dogs :/ The cage I want to move them to is much larger than their current one and has a hammock. I want my new ratties to be as happy as possible but also safe. Shinobi is a good sized rat already and I don't think he could fit through it's the smaller one Kabuki I'm worried about. He's also the more adventurous one lol.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

i know how that is my 3 newbie boys are quite adventurous too, but their still a bit skittish and if they escape, ill never catch them, i also have inside dogs and cats. It may also takethema day or so to fell comfortable in the new cage enough to look for an escape route or they may do it automattically.


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## Rat Attack (Sep 16, 2011)

RatSanctuary said:


> i know how that is my 3 newbie boys are quite adventurous too, but their still a bit skittish and if they escape, ill never catch them, i also have inside dogs and cats. It may also takethema day or so to fell comfortable in the new cage enough to look for an escape route or they may do it automattically.


When we first got them we put them in the cage in question and they explored a bit and sniffed through the bars but didn't really try to get out. However I just wasn't comfortable enough to leave them in there for long lol. We also recently had them in a play pen used for my ferrets with the same size spacing, they were supervised. I don't think they can get out but I want to make sure lol


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## MystickWinds (Sep 15, 2011)

My rat cage is actually a converted parrot cage, because, same thing around here...all of the bigger cages in the pet supply stores have wider bar spacing. Now, I got lucky with mine and bought it several years ago, brand new, from a rescue organization that I was working with. It has 1/2" bar spacing and is powder-coated (so no galvanized urine soaking problem). This just gives you another idea, though...watch for bird cages that you may be able to convert. ;D


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