# I'm planning on making a cabinet cage, need help!



## Nightfallspy (Nov 5, 2007)

I kinda said the question in my topic, so yea, I'm planning on building a cabinet style cage, I need help of what kinda of wire I should use and how expensive is it, and if it matters what wood the cabinet is made from... Thanks

~Night


----------



## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

wood is porous which means that their waste will seep into the wood

NOT HEALTHY

Painting the wood really doesn't help & covering it with contact paper is not going to make much difference since the digging, scratching that all rats do will scratch through the surface & expose the wood once again.

You also cannot properly clean or disinfect wood because of this same fact. The wood will absorb liquids. When wood soaks up liquids, the wood swells & eventually it will crumble or crack.

On top of all of that, mold can & will grow in the wood. You don't want to use treated wood that prevents mold because the chemicals are toxic to the rats if they chew on it.

Which brings you to one final reason why wood is not a good material for cage building. Rats will chew the wood. They will either escape or become ill from ingesting the wood.

Stick to the all metal cages or the cages with metal tops & plastic bottoms.


----------



## Nightfallspy (Nov 5, 2007)

Well http://www.ratforum.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=4200/start=0.html, is something that I like, Im talking about that style.


----------



## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

good luck with that

I still suggest you don't use wood. I've seen what cages look like after several months of use when made of wood. Not pretty. Considering the rat lives for 3 years... I can only imagine what kind of nasties are growing on the cage.

If you consider cost of materials plus factor in pain & suffering (ask anyone who has ever worked with the hardwire cloth) not to mention physical labor of putting it all together...

$100 for a cage that will comfortably hold several rats bought brand new & that takes like 10 minutes to set up is a steal.

I have built all metal cages with the hardware cloth. I don't use wood because of the numerous reason listed earlier. I've done so when I needed to create temporary cages in a pinch. Even the galvanized wire has problems in the long run. It doesn't hold up well to urine.


----------



## BlueSkyy (Sep 27, 2007)

A1APassion said:


> If you consider cost of materials plus factor in pain & suffering (ask anyone who has ever worked with the hardwire cloth) not to mention physical labor of putting it all together...


amen to that. i made a travel cage with hardwire cloth, and my arms looked horrible when i was done. that stuff scratches you to heck no matter how careful you are.


----------



## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

there's a cabinet material called "melamine" or "melamite" that is like a plastic-coated particle board alternative to wood boards, but honestly, after labor and material costs, like mentioned above, it's just cheaper and quicker to buy yourself a new cage from some pet store.  best of luck if you do create yourself a fancy rat cabinet though!


----------



## Nightfallspy (Nov 5, 2007)

Thanks yea, My neighbors a carpenter, and very kind to animals, he said he'll make me one for christmas if I supply some materials! And Yea I was planning on melamine after I read about the grotto  Thanks.


----------



## rat_ratscal (Sep 23, 2007)

my cage has wood floorrs, and i cant wait till we get new ones, it smells so bad


----------



## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

how many rats are going in the cage & what size are they?


----------



## Nightfallspy (Nov 5, 2007)

2 adult rats, they dont need it that big but bigger is better, and a new baby might be coming in somewhere around january so possible 2 adults and a baby.

The floor is going to be linoleum tiles with self sticking backs.


----------



## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i would opt for the solid linoleum peice. i have found using tile that even when butted up right against each other the pee will still get between the cracks and then you can't get the odor out.


----------



## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

Do your shopping list on materials & then do the math & once you do that factor in another $25 dollars minimum on unforeseen expenses. There is always another trip to home depot when doing a DIY project (do-it-yourself) so factor in travel expense for the gas & time when running back & forth.

I guarantee you can find a factory made cage of equivalent size that is far more suited to your rats than anything you can make.

As for the baby, you may want to consider 2 babies because intros to the adults can be a tricky thing & they don't always go well. 

What sex are the adult rats? I've had different experiences with different sexes as to the whole intro thing.


----------



## Nightfallspy (Nov 5, 2007)

Both of the adult rats are females. And thanks for the info guys


----------



## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

I think using melamine for a cabinet cage will be allright.. I use wood and hardware cloth for my diy cages and they do last for awhile. Using melamine for the cabinet with a waterproof floor for the litter pan will be a very good diy cage. the door could be made with wood frame and hardware cloth. Good luck! peace


----------



## selfdestructingturnip (Nov 17, 2007)

I was thinking of doing the same cabinet cage idea for my two girls, but this may have swayed me. How much would it end up being for the cabinet cage? I am a broke high school student so i was trying to go with something within my budget and the pet store wire cages are ridiculously expensive.


----------

