# Various Cage Questions



## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Hi all, 
I've only just joined preemptively before getting a pair of rats, more than likely will be young ones (males). I read the Choosing A Good Cage instruction, unfortunately lots of the cages were for the American audience, and as such I couldn't get them here or if I could they have a hefty pricetag. I've been trying to meet the two important criteria

*Bar spacing of less than 25mm (with young rats, I'd rather them not escape)
*Cages that don't feature a majority metal rack like flooring

Annoyingly, it was like I could only fill one or the other, in the end I've found this one (I don't think uploading this item violates any rules, please tell if so)









The majority of the flooring is plastic (which I know won't last too long, but as and when it is destroyed I can replace with homecrafted wood stuff. The bar spacing is 11mm, which is good. The only problem I have is the basefloor again is metal grating. So here's my question.

Can I cover this with possibly a towel or some material (which would be changed out? Daily?) and then have the bedding on top of that? Cause I'm at my wits end trying to find a cage, if I find one with plastic bottoms they've got 25mm sized gaps and/or the bars are vertical. 

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any help given.


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## Rattielover965 (Apr 26, 2016)

Towels are very dangerous for rats but fleece should be okay if you clean it on the sanitize setting


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## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Oh I wasn't aware of that, thank you for the heads up! Much appreciated, fleece would obviously be preferred then (just an option so far) 
Just trying to think if there's something else I could overlay the bottom of the cage, like a thin piece of acrylic/plexiglass or even some form of wood (though I doubt wood would be good if they pee a lot) obviously cut to size so they wouldn't be able to get at the corners.


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

There are a few things you could do:
1. If possible put the grate under the bottom pan. This might entail arranging it so that the bottom pan can't be pushed forward to allow escape. Depending on the depth of the pan, this could allow you to use loose bedding on the bottom for odor control.
2. Cover the bottom grate with self stick flooring tiles. I did this with wire shelves in my first rat cage and they stick for quite a while before needing to be replaced. you can easily wipe them down as often as necessary. I bought the cheapest tiles on clearance since the appearance wasn't really important.
3. Cover the grate with fleece. This could work, but might not be as good as the other options.
4. You could look for a storage bin that would fit in the bottom of the cage if it would work. This is another way to use loose bedding if that would be your preference.

My preference is for fleece bedding, but many prefer loose bedding.


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## Lucozade126 (Jul 31, 2016)

Where are you based? I'm in England and found lots of cages, but nothing suitable for rats. Eventually I managed to find a few and there is one in particular that I'm thinking about getting next, at the moment ours has a plastic base (which I like to clean, but not the idea of being chewed) so we will be replacing. I'll send you a link to it if you're in the UK, also there is a good page on FB for rat owners I can send you a link to (hope this isn't against rules!).


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## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Raindear-

Self sticking floor tiles isn't a bad idea, turns out the grate from the cage is removable, but yes the concern of them being able to move the removable tray on the bottom is a worry. I'm getting them on the weekend so I'll have a look around and see if i can't find something usable. The storage bin idea isn't a bad one. Potentially I could lose the grate and just put the storage bin inside the currently existing tray and the high sides would prevent any movement. Food for thought

Lucozade126- 
I'm living in Liverpool, most of the cages I saw catered towards smaller rodents, so I ended up purchasing the one above online from Jollyes, it's all metal, the doors are irritatingly arranged but I can live with it for now. It feels pretty sturdy and It's only cost me £70 so not a bad thing, it's just about a metre tall, 70cm wide and 40cm deep so fairly decent for 2 rats. Yeah that's the worry with plastic. PM me the link if you'd like! Thank you.


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

Ah you already ordered, the Savic Royal Suite 95 double is an amazing cage (though for two rats might be too spacious) . I'd honestly not worry about the plastic flooring, none of my rats have bothered chewing the SRS's flooring or any of the plastic items I've given them. 

As for bedding I get hemp bedding like Aubiose. The one I get from amazon is 20 euros for a 100l bag.

I find the the Rat Guru has a good approach to decorating their cages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zxst0S3fzs You can get a lot of cheap baskets from discount stores. You can hang them with zip ties


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## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Yeah, it was a really good price and one of the last in stock so I couldn't say no, I think in the future something like the Savic RS95 would be something I'd go for. But yeah with 2 rats the cage I've got should be more than big enough for when they're not out scampering about. Well I'm hoping there will be enough other stuff to chew that they won't want to chew it, I guess i'll soon find out. 

See i didn't know hemp bedding was a thing, i'll see what I can find deal wise in my area. At the moment, I've got access to loads of shredded paper (though it's not the most absorbent/odour free) but atleast I can get them settled and test other beddings. 
Thanks for the link, I will investigate that.


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

I have that exact cage and my boys love it, the rack is removable and the tray slides out easy for cleaning, the plastic levels are super easy to wipe clean and I can't speak for all rats because they're all very different but my boys never chewed the hard plastic  I love this cage and it was on sale when I got it too  
My boys were quite young at 8 weeks when i got them and the spacing was perfect. No escapes at all! 
The only gripe I have about this cage is the doors which are really quite small and make cleaning a bit of a pain during a big clean. But in the middle all 3 open up to make a large gap and then close to the bottom two open together to make another reasonable sized opening. 
It's a great cage for the price. Highly recommended


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## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Yeah I managed to pick it up the other day, I'm hoping my soon to be rats will be as good as yours are haha. It does seem like a good cage for the money. The bar spacing is one of the main reasons I picked it up, at only 11mm, i'm hoping it's just too tight for even the youngest rats. Fairly sturdy and made of some strong metal with a good coating.

The doors are the only real downside of this I think, awkwardly placed but hopefully it won't be too difficult to clean out I'm sure. How many have you got in yours?


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

I've only got two boys at the moment and they seem really comfortable in there for now, the calculator for how many rats I could fit in there says up to five but given the size my boys are getting to I wouldn't have that many in there. I have taken my levels and ramps out of mine so I only have the litter tray level in because my rat potatoes were putting on weight, and they love climbing up the sides to get to the hammocks and stuff now, so I'd recommend experimenting with that when your new rat babies have gotten comfortable in their new home 

My angels were so small when I got them (could fit both in my hand) and they weren't even close to being able to fit through the bars.
Also, the white tube that it comes with, my boys adore! And it's super easy to wipe down because you can fit your whole arm in it 
Be careful on the door frames when taking your rats out (and your arms when cleaning) as I've had a few nasty scratches on myself from a sharp bar, I've filed it down and maybe mine was just a one off, but watch out all the same. 

It's great size for the price I agree and because it's not too big width wise, if doesn't jut out into the room so looks okay too.
Hope you have a great time raising your rats, these are my first ever rat buddies too and I'm so very smitten by them! They make me laugh every day.


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## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Sounds exactly like what I plan to do, two boys, yeah I think 3 would be the max I'd put in, but I want my two for now. I've taken the ramps out leaving the levels in but putting climbing accessories in for them to reach the different levels in different ways. See I was a little concerned that they might be able to move the litter tray bottom, but I might just find a way to keep it in place until I'm ready to move it. 

Yeah the white tube does seem pretty large and useful, did your cage come with a hammock? Mine was supposed to, but it didn't so I contacted Head Office and they're sending one out (hopefully to my address and not the store). Oh gosh, I will beware of that thank you, and will check my own cage. Mine is tucked away and it looks pretty snazzy so I'm happy with it, just buying shower rings/baby links and rope to make various climbing things haha. I'm glad you're enjoying them, I hope mine are just as good!


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

Yeah I'd probably max out at 3 in the cage, two is good to start though. Mine are getting pretty rambunctious and I'm unsure if I could handle more than that at one time haha.
Mine did come with a hammock yeah, but my boys had a super time destroying it (literally the only thing they've ruined), it's only very thin so it lasted a few minutes haha, I now use it to play tug of war with my playful boy Chunk.

Sounds like a good set up that your new boys will love! 

The bottom tray is quite shallow and my boys run around loads and wrestle hard and it never moves, if you're worried though, you could probably zip tie it


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## drnkbeer (Sep 2, 2016)

Hahaha I know what you mean, I only have two hands and I still think meeting and bonding with two rats will be my limit for now. Yeah I imagined it wouldn't be the best quality, but hey can't argue with free I suppose. They're shipping it out to me so it's all good. I did buy a really good quality hammock until I have the materials and time to make my own. So they'll have the choice of two along wih a load of hideaways and general cosy areas. 

Zip tying it sounds like an idea, thank you! Well then that solves my metal grate problem and saves their little feet.


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## Jordibird (Jul 23, 2016)

My 2 boys started off in the littlefriends x large cage with the 1cm bar spacing and being paranoid about escape to victory episodes I cable tied the sides at 1cm intervals as well lol. Now they're juvvies I have just got the blenheim x tall rat cage. I must admit I was a bit worried about the bigger bar spacing 2cm and 2.5 in other parts but (touches wood) a week on no AWOL scenes as yet and I am really pleased with the cage it's huge and really cheap for the size. I have covered the metal pull out tray with stick on tiles from the pound shop and its fine and easy to clean. Bought dog rope toys and bird wood toys also from the poundshop and made hammocks from old onesies the jobs a good one lol. The only issue now is substrate for the plastic shelves I was using aspen in the old cage however putting it in this one it ends up like a sandstorm. But that's a small price to pay for my Rascals


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