# New cage delivered at work! Argh its huge!



## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

I ordered a new cage for the boys and had to get it delivered to my work as no one is in to receive it at home. Oh boy the box is huge! 

The package is 24kg and enormous, and I've been giving everyone at work a good laugh who already think I'm a bit nuts with the rats. It's gonna be fun getting this thing home - my boys better appreciate it! Will post pics when I get everything built


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

Ahhhhh so excited to see it all up and your boys loving it 

I did this with my SRS and ended up getting 3 scaffolders (I work for a scaffolding company) driving it to our house for me and carrying it up the stairs haha!! It's so exciting


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

The delivery guy was laughing at me lol! 
Also, he was telling me just the other day he delivered a much bigger cage (I assume an SRS) to a woman who had.... wait for it.... 150 rats!!! What?! We asked if she was hoarding but he said they were cute and well cared for, but wall to wall cages in her home. Nuts!


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

WHATTTTT?!?! 150?! How in gods name does she cope?! I couldn't go over 10 without feeling incredibly over my head! I've got my 6 atm in 3 different cages which is driving me nuts so god help that many cages!

You're going to have so much fun decorating it and setting it all up  Ria was less than pleased about building it, I however was like a child with a new Lego set haha!


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

I know - I can't wait to get it home and start building! Its twice the size of my old one so will give so much more space for funzies!


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

LOL I was feeling like a bit of a hoarder after deciding to keep all of Gooses' babies. 150!!!!! OMG I would go out of my mind-you would need to hire a rat nanny or something. hahaha


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

You're keeping all the babies?! Waa amazing! Don't blame you - they're absolutely adorable!


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

Lara - They're gonna love you even more!!! 

Mimsy - You would really have to! I'd hire my own task force to do play, feeds and cleaning. Guys if I ever go over 10, just talk me down! I fear any over 10 could end up at 20... Ria would not be happy!


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

Ya, I don't feel that it would be right to adopt out part wilds to someone. I've lurked on every rat board, scoured the internet and came to the conclusion that with most of the halfsies they inherited a lot of wildness. It seems unfair to both the new family and the rats to be a situation they may not be ready for. On the good side-the babies show no wildness as of yet and are kissy sweetiepies. On the bad side-I've owned rats for about 3 decades and never had more than 3 at one time.  So it's a huge change. But I did run a ferret shelter for over a decade and that was a ton of work, with an average of 30-50 ferrets at any given time. But I did have volunteers, and it was like a full time job and then some. I am currently ferretless, I lost my last old lady a few months back.

Can't wait to see pictures of your new cage!! It's so much fun getting new stuff for them.


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

mimsy said:


> Ya, I don't feel that it would be right to adopt out part wilds to someone. I've lurked on every rat board, scoured the internet and came to the conclusion that with most of the halfsies they inherited a lot of wildness. It seems unfair to both the new family and the rats to be a situation they may not be ready for. On the good side-the babies show no wildness as of yet and are kissy sweetiepies. On the bad side-I've owned rats for about 3 decades and never had more than 3 at one time.  So it's a huge change. But I did run a ferret shelter for over a decade and that was a ton of work, with an average of 30-50 ferrets at any given time. But I did have volunteers, and it was like a full time job and then some. I am currently ferretless, I lost my last old lady a few months back.
> 
> Can't wait to see pictures of your new cage!! It's so much fun getting new stuff for them.


Completely! At least you know what to expect but by the looks of the pictures, they're just complete sweethearts! Such cooties  WOW. Thats a LOT of Ferrets. Me and the OH are currently looking into maybe homing 2 ferrets when we have at least 4/5 months worth of stock for them (I like to be prepared haha!). So you might be my "go to girl" for Ferret advice  So sorry to hear about your old lady though :-( Irregardless of what animal it is, it always breaks your heart.


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

If you have ferret questions, I can probably answer them.  I'm sure you know, but ferrets must never come in contact with the ratties. Their diet is can be a pain-they are carnivorous in the most purest sense. They also require a lot of out time and activities. On the good side, they sleep a lot, like close to 20 hrs in a day, but when they are awake-they are very awake. You can almost expect a medical surgery at some point, so I recommend a decent amount set aside. Ferret proofing and rat proofing are different too. Obviously anything a rat can't get into, neither can a ferret-however things to consider a rat may chew the buttons off your remote. A ferret may likely eat them and get a blockage. Our rats are naturally fearful of high places and generally don't jump down. A ferret also has terrible eyesight but if he can't see the floor he's likely to test out how far down is by jumping for it. They are fearless. So there are different safety concerns. 

You may already of researched those things-but I figure I'd throw out my obligatory warnings of ferret owning. On the great side-they are the little court jesters of the animal world and if you have any sense of humor they will surely make you giggle every day with their antics.


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

mimsy said:


> If you have ferret questions, I can probably answer them.  I'm sure you know, but ferrets must never come in contact with the ratties. Their diet is can be a pain-they are carnivorous in the most purest sense. They also require a lot of out time and activities. On the good side, they sleep a lot, like close to 20 hrs in a day, but when they are awake-they are very awake. You can almost expect a medical surgery at some point, so I recommend a decent amount set aside. Ferret proofing and rat proofing are different too. Obviously anything a rat can't get into, neither can a ferret-however things to consider a rat may chew the buttons off your remote. A ferret may likely eat them and get a blockage. Our rats are naturally fearful of high places and generally don't jump down. A ferret also has terrible eyesight but if he can't see the floor he's likely to test out how far down is by jumping for it. They are fearless. So there are different safety concerns.
> 
> You may already of researched those things-but I figure I'd throw out my obligatory warnings of ferret owning. On the great side-they are the little court jesters of the animal world and if you have any sense of humor they will surely make you giggle every day with their antics.


I kind of knew all of them things but you know when you read something on someones blog and you think "pfft, how true can that be?!". I did that. So it's nice to hear it off someone with loads of experience!!  It's going to be months before we decide to do it or not so the few months we have are just our investigating month to know whether they would or wouldn't fit into our household and life


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

*New cage!*

Well I was pretty lucky, I got a lovely taxi driver who carried my giant package all the way to my front door. Turns out he kept rats as a child - what are the chances? 

So it took all evening but I managed to single handedly build the new cage and get it set up. I'll need to have a proper think at the weekend about what I need to get to make best use of all this extra space, but for now it will do. Boys seem happy, and it's lovely to see them with so much more room to play! 
Might need to rethink where that mirror on the wall is hung though!

Added a pic to show how tiny my old cage looks now!


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

Great looking cage!


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## Jess <3 (Jan 23, 2014)

Love the cage! Do your rats behave with the fleece lining, mine would rip it to shreds! :O


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

They've been fine with fleece so far, but I did notice one digging at the edge tonight so the new cage may well encourage them to pull it up. Love the cage so far, only minus is the bar spacing. Too wide for babies or girls. Was teasing them with yogurt drops just to make sure they couldn't get their head through!


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## Jess <3 (Jan 23, 2014)

Haha, good idea! Well i hope for the sake of your beautiful cage set up that the new cage doesn't encourage them to pull it up. Mine use to tunnel beneath it so i fixed all the sides down to the tray of the cage and they just bit holes in it and carried on tunnelling!


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## PawsandClaws (Jul 22, 2014)

Digging the new set up. It dwarfs your previous cage haha.


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## Ratpax (Aug 24, 2014)

Well, you still have the old cage with tiny bar spacing, for babies, just sayin' 

That is a really nice cage--looks like your boys are enjoying the new set-up.


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

Oooooo nice cage!!! My lads tunnel under fleece, thats why I moved to Finacard  The babies are on fleece and don't bother but I think it's only time haha  

It look FAB! Bet your boys love it


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

I love it but now I feel like I need to go out an order more toys to decorate it with haha! When will the spending cease!?


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

Oh just had to share this pic with everyone. Meemer looked like he was having 'a moment' with his old cage this morning! Farewell old friend! http://instagram.com/p/uh0n4hRQu_/


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

The spending never ceases! I have 6 packages due in the post and I'm dragging Ria to the new pet store by us on Sunday!! Already called ahead to check there aren't any ratties otherwise I'll be coming home with another 2! But it never stops! You see a gap and think "oooo a cube/hammock/tube/snuggle pouch etc would look great there" and WHAM. You're expecting post


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## Jess <3 (Jan 23, 2014)

Aw that picture is adorable and i agree, the spending never ceases yesterday i practically bought the entire pets section at The Range, then moved onto to the pet shop and still managed to find a few things to order on amazon in the evening! I guess it doesn't help that i've got three new girls to buy for!


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

I think I will pick up a fleece blanket from Primark and have a go at some no sew creations to keep costs down. I have a big tax bill due in Jan and I've not been putting aside enough because the ratties have been eating into it! Argh!


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## CatsRatsVeggies (Aug 18, 2014)

Jess <3 said:


> Aw that picture is adorable and i agree, the spending never ceases yesterday i practically bought the entire pets section at The Range, then moved onto to the pet shop and still managed to find a few things to order on amazon in the evening! I guess it doesn't help that i've got three new girls to buy for!


Oooo the Range!! Never thought of there... You've opened up a whole can of worms here. Pet section AND home ware.. My bank isn't safe!

And Lara, yeah thats how I try cut down costs. I also use Charity Shops a lot too to find fleece and baby toys that are suitable  You'll have fun!


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

I'm hitting the dollar tree today to grab a bunch of the fleece baby blankets they have currently. I found a lot of the no sew ones are more time consuming ... for us rather patient deficient folk more difficult. Like those tie the ends ones....ugh takes soooo long. Though simple ones using a good grommet thingy are nice.


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

Yeah I've ordered a grommet thingy and some clips from Amazon. My mum actually has an old sewing machine at home. It's ancient but it works. Might go spend and afternoon making things one weekend


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## Rat-Princess (Oct 19, 2014)

I absolutely adore that cage! They probably do too. Good purchase.


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## Ratbag (Nov 30, 2013)

Love the new cage. Your old one is the same as our first cage which now houses our three adopted boys. Feel bad about that as they're pretty active and would do so much better in the big double suite our original boys are in. It's so tempting to buy a new bigger cage for them....(can't put them all in the double cage together as they don't get along). Seeing your new cage makes me want to fork out for a bigger one too ...


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

This was a bargain - £80 from zoolus, and the build quality is really nice. Feels like good value for the space. The boys are really enjoying having all the climbing opportunities, and I'm loving how much easier it is to clean and reorganise! Win win!


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## Ratbag (Nov 30, 2013)

Kitterpuss said:


> This was a bargain - £80 from zoolus, and the build quality is really nice. Feels like good value for the space. The boys are really enjoying having all the climbing opportunities, and I'm loving how much easier it is to clean and reorganise! Win win!


Hmmm....even more tempted now. Both of our present cages came from Zooplus so I just checked it out and they're selling that one half price on the Swedish site too making it about the same as what you paid for it. Oh it is so tempting..........I hate dealing with the cage they're in now, it's such a hassle to hang hammocks and clean the shelves daily with that one little opening. Actually badly pulled my back a few weeks ago because of it and ended up off work......I am a terrible impulse buyer when it comes to the rats.....uuughhh!!!! It is incredibly tempting!!!!


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

Haha sorry for tempting you! I'm a terrible impulse buyer too - I just bought a set of new hammocks last night when I really could have 'made do' with what I have. Must learn to control myself!


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## Jess <3 (Jan 23, 2014)

CatsRatsVeggies said:


> Oooo the Range!! Never thought of there... You've opened up a whole can of worms here. Pet section AND home ware.. My bank isn't safe!


Haha, yes the pet sections so affordable, it's worth looking through to dogs section for ropes to climb as well, so much cheaper yet just as big as the ropes at shops like Pets At Home, oh and the bird section has swings and lots of wooden chew toys. Then ofcourse you have the baskets and such from homeware to convert for your ratties. Ii can never go into the Range without leaving with something for my ratties...and my dogs...and my guinea pigs!


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## Selz (Oct 11, 2014)

Wow, you've made a lovely set up! Our cage looks so dull and boring by comparison :-( I need to find more stuff to fun things up!

I can't wait to take the wire off ours, I think the boys are too big to escape now, but I'm not 100%...


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

Thanks so much! 

http://instagram.com/p/uq3zOiRQtH/ Here's a peek at the new and improved set up. Tesco sell lovely plastic baskets for a few quid each which I zip tied to the cage wall and lined with fleece scraps. They've turned into a favourite sleeping spot. I unraveled some dog rope toys from poundland and strung them about the cage. 

I tested to see if the boys could get through the bars by offering a delicious treat from the other side. Try as they might they couldn't squeeze their fat heads through  Maybe you could remove a small section and try the same before you remove everything.


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## Selz (Oct 11, 2014)

I notice you haven't used most of the shelves. Is that to make placing hammocks easier, or for easier cleaning? (I am poking wipes between the shelves to clean currently!)

I also made a few extra hammocks and tubes this evening from an old fleece onsie, got some new fleece on order. I figure a large square of fabric will be much easier to utilise than an old garment, but it was to hand!

Good idea removing a small section of mesh, might try tomorrow. There are a fair few small sections. I just hope if one can fit, it doesn't encourage them to try!


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

I didn't use most of the shelves as I wanted to encourage climbing - keeps them nice and fit while they are still young as they have to jump and balance to get about in the cage. Lots of ropes and hammocks are strategically placed to break possible falls, and when I have some spare cash I might get some perches too. I find the hammock they sleep in gets stinky fast but the lower ones need cleaning a little less frequently as they are used more for climbing on. The shelves and ramps may still come in handy when my boys are elderly though. If you are adding hammocks poundland sells those plastic coloured baby teething chains - the links are very handy for extending the reach on hammocks and other hanging toys


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## Selz (Oct 11, 2014)

Yeah, I got some of those rings (I think you mentioned them elsewhere) but I can't easily get them on with the mesh :-/ I might mix up my shelving soon, my guys needed it to beats easy as possible in the beginning though, they were so lacking in confidence after being in such a tiny, single level tank in the pet store. Have picked up some mini storage boxes too for mini levels


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