# Help! My new baby can fit thru the bars of the cage!



## new_rattie_mommy (Aug 24, 2014)

Hi everyone. I briefly mentioned this problem in another area of the forum but haven't gotten any responses and this question really belongs more here. I have 2 boys who are about 6 months old. A few weeks ago I got them the prevue 465 cage and it's working out great. The other day I picked up my new 5 week old baby girl that I got from an accidental litter (my boys are neutered so they can live together). I am aware that you are supposed to quarantine new babies but in my living situation that was not at all possible. Anyways, I have a small 3x2 cage that my boys used to be housed in and that's where i am keeping the baby right now. I went ahead with intros 2 days ago and it went absolutely perfect. One of my boys basically took her on as her baby and she follows him around and does everything with him and he is very sweet and gentle with her. And my other boy isn't as loving but he still grooms her and lets her groom him and tolerates her jumping all over him. I couldn't be happier with the intros and last night they were all out playing in my room and she went to explore their big cage. She absolutely loves it. She checks out all the beds and hammocks and everything and had a great time and also enjoys hanging out with the boys and sleeping with them cuz I think she was used to being raised with somewhere around 12 other babies and now all of a sudden she's in a cage by herself.

Ok so point of the story is that I noticed that she can squeeze through the bars...in fact that is how she gets in and out of their cage. She goes to the bottom level and climbs on the wall and just squeezes through. I didn't realize that was going to be a problem and I really want to be able to house them together because i feel really bad making her go by herself when it's not necessary except for the sole reason that she could escape from the big cage. I believe the bars are 1/2 inch wide. She is 5 and a half weeks old. Does anybody know how long it might take her to be big enough to not fit through anymore? It's a pretty tight squeeze for her already. I just have no idea how fast they grow cuz my boys were much older when i first got them. Otherwise do you think it would work if I covered the bottom level bars with something like cardboard and then left the top bars open? If i did that you don't think she would try to get out the top bars from that high up right? Any advice or ideas would be appreciated! thanks! I just want them to be able to be together as soon as possible so she can stay warm.


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## MyHeroHasATail (Sep 29, 2014)

Can you cover it with wire? Like you would see it a hardware store? That would be my only suggestion and than take it off when she's large enough not to fit anymore.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

She can escape unless you fully narrow the bar spacing of the entire cage. Rts can climb cage bars and will simply climb to the floor and drop down. That means hardware cloth (PVC coated) cut to size and zip tied to the exterior of the cage. 

However, at 8weeks she probably will no longer fit through an definitely won't at 12 weeks not with 1/2in spacing.


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## new_rattie_mommy (Aug 24, 2014)

Ok well hearing that she may fit through for even 3 more weeks though is just something I can't deal with having her in the small cage that long. It seems like such an ordeal to have to put wire around the outside for only a few weeks but that's the only thing I can come up with. I felt horrible tonight forcing her alone into the small cage for bed. All day I allowed her to be in the big cage cuz I had part of my room blocked off in case she came out and for the most part she would actually rather hang out in the big cage with my boys anyways than run around since she's weary of me yet. But then tonight when I was in the living room she came out and somehow got past my rat proofing to the other part of my bedroom and it was a huge ordeal to catch her again. Eventually I chased her into the big cage cuz she feels safe in there rather than running to her small cage for safety. She likes being with my boys. So i felt terrible having to take her out of there and lock her by herself but I just can't have her running around my room while i'm sleeping. It's really important too that she's with my other boys so she can keep warm too cuz it's very cold in my house right now and she was used to being raised with 22 other babies before this so she's not happy by herself. I will go to the hardware store tomorrow and take care of this problem. if only I knew my intros would go perfectly and this would be my problem!

nanashi7= what is harware cloth? is that like wire? Just so i know what I'm kinda looking for or what options i have at the hardware store. Thanks for both of your inputs guys.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Hardware cloth (looks kinda like metal mesh with bigger holes and zip ties- make sure to measure the walls and top of the cage first before going so you know how much you need  

If they can cut it for you, great, if not you'll need some kind of clippers that can cut trough wire 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

It's a type of fencing. The PVC coated stuff is available at local hardware stores and will reduce the space such that your pinky will fit only.


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## new_rattie_mommy (Aug 24, 2014)

Just thought i'd put up the results of my search! I went to menards and after multiple workers joining in the search one of them knew of the stuff I was looking for. Luckily the hardware cloth was very cheap as well, although the wire cutters I had to buy cost the same price as all the wire I bought. After spending 3 and a half hours working with that annoying material my cage is now rosie proofed  Man are those wires sharp though! I can't wait until my girl gets big enough so i can take it off and see them better and not worry about anybody getting poked by the wires. she is very happy to be in the big boys cage though so I am happy too. thanks for the ideas guys!


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