# cheap awesome cages?



## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

I was wondering if any one knows where I can get an awesome two or three story wire cage for my lovely Picasso? I was hoping to not spend a ton of money on one if there are any that sell online for rather cheap or whatnot. Otherwise it's a PetCo trip for me.


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

You can try on ebay, Craigslist, or if you have an old book shelf or know anyone who doesn't want theirs. You can take off the back and use a staple gun to place mesh along the back and front, creat little doors. Cut holes in corners of the shelfs and add ladders. The ones i've made have been (max) $50.00 each. However we have book shelves all over the place and power tools like no other. If you have some you can barrow it shouldn't cost a whole lot. I believe someone else created a Topper for her ratties cage to make it bigger. It was Jenny i believe.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Petco really doesn't have that great of a selection for cages.  You should look into Martin's Cages.

eBay has a lot of fantastic cages on it, so definitely check those out.

Also - why doesn't Picasso have a friend?


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

picasso doesn't have a friend because i've only had her for one month and i am picky about who she gets as a friend. i have two jobs and a maxed out credit-load at a university. in the month that i have had picasso, i have not had the time to go far in search of a perfect companion.

thank you nazareth for answering my question, i might see if i can do something with the bookcase i currently am not using.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

what do you guys think about a medium sized dog kennel with ratty enhancements? pretty sure i could knock it out for about $40 and that sounds just dandy to me. 24" x 17" x 20" for just a big cube including a plastic pan bottom. could easily add hammocks and another floor/ramps with plastic coated wood paneling, etc.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

You can always make one as well. I made mine for about $20-30.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

What sort of dog kennel are you talking about? Any pictures for an example?

With the measurements you gave, it'd be large enough to house two rats. While that's an okay size, bigger is always better.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

dog kennels can work great but be careful of the bar spacing. often times they're big enough for even big fat rats to walkin and out of with ease.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

they're usually collapsible dog crates like these, on eBay for like $30. i can ziptie them so that they don't collapse, but i used to have them for my dog and they are actually rather impossible to collapse. 










with this one i could put in a couple floors and ramps, and craploads of goodies.


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

that looks nice, then if the holes are still a little big. You can just get someMesh you can ziptie around and over the whole thing. The dog kennel is a very cleaver idea!


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

i'm worried that it's awfully wide instead of tall. the alternative was me making a cage from scrap, which would be fun and cheaper still, but i don't want to do a shoddy job of it (i'm a bit of a perfectionist). and i like the slide out tray of the kennel. the DIY cage would be sitting in a pan of sorts.


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

I'm also making a cage for my rattie (soon to be ratties). i also thought of the dog kennel idea, but i decided that if would be faster and cheaper to make one myself. i too am a bit of a perfectionist and here's how i plan to make my cage:

I decided that the demensions should be 36Hx30Wx18D which when i used a rat calculator ( http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/habitat/cagecalculator/) can fit 5 rats--which is plenty of room! i'm using pvc pipes, hardware cloth (for a pic of what that looks like see this: http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&gbv=2&q=hardware+cloth), and zip ties(still not sure what to use for the bottom. i'm litter training my rat so hopefully i wont need something very deep). i'm actually goin over to the hardware store tomorrow so i'll tell you how much money it costs and i might post a pic once i finish. that is if i can figure out how to get it on the computer. hope this help


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

My rats prefer width as oppose to height. They aren't big adventure seekers or climbers so I know mine would be happy with those dimensions. You should consider what your Picasso loves, does she love to climb or does she love to weave in and out of flat surfaces and tunnels and such? If she loves to climb, you should consider a cage with more height. If not so much just had another level for when she does and she will be happy with the width XD


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

actually, there's been a change in plans. instead of using hardware cloth--which i just found out is REALLY expensive--i'm gonna use this stuff:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=37258-362-1341&lpage=none


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

that stuff is awesome but will make for a very heavy cage if it gets too big. and i'm not sure about how deep you can get the shelving units. i was worried about getting a cage that was too tall and skinny. but hey, picasso is def a climber so that might not be too bad. at like 6 inches long she can jump like a foot and a half high.

and i found that most dog kennels have 1.5" spaces between bars, so you would def need to add some hardware cloth or something. the pvc coated stuff comes in a .5" square grid, 2' x5' for about $7 or $8 a roll at home depot.


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

I know what you mean about it possible being too tall or wide. Something you can do is just add shelves,hammocks, rops and things to keep them busy and happy. More or less they wont notice too much , then every other time you clean thier cage you move everything around to give them something new to explore and check out.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

I am constantly rearranging my boys cage they love that i do it for them becuase it's like an all new and improved home for them to check out (i have to be carefull about jackson any more though he has gotten clumsy in his old age)


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

I JUST FINISHED MY CAGE!!!!!!!! i used the shelving stuff and it looks great! as soon as i figure it out, i'll post a pic of it. it really looks great! very--perfect :wink:


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Ooh please do! I am thinking of making a cage like that again since my ferret cage inheritance idea went down the tube due to vet visits.

I wanted to get my ferrets a two story ferret nation and my rats inherit their cage that is about the size of a one story ferretnation, a bit bigger and with tubes D: But oh well, will have to do with what I can afford.

How much do you think it cost you?


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

here's a couple pix of it:
http://www.ratforum.com/uploads/forums/dscn9312.jpg
http://www.ratforum.com/uploads/forums/dscn9314.jpg

pleez excuse my room--LOL, i was just so excited to get the pix, i didn't clean my room! :lol:

so it cost me about $45 for the cage, and since there was a goin out of business sale at a local fabric store, i got a good price on the fleece.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

does it have a bottom or do you just lay it on the floor with the fleece? If not I would suggest makign the bottom some way, even if it is just hardware cloth with stick lino on it.

But other than that looks good. I was thinking two pieces for the front in back personally in my design so it would be double wide. I think the measurements I'm going to go with is 32" width, 16" depth, and 3 feet high making it large enough for 5 rats I think but I only have three. Still not 100% sure what I want to do XD

Are you planning on adding more shelves?  Also, how does it latch?


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

yes, i do have hardware cloth on the bottom and yes i do intend to add more shelves, just haven't had the time yet. it's kinda hard to cut through that hardware cloth, which is what i'm gonna use. as for how it latches, im not sure what you mean? do u mean the door or the shelves. i have currently just been pushing the door in so that it sticks, which has work well up til now. i'll probably go searching for something more stable today or tomorrow.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Ah cool. I'm not sure how you could make a latch for the front... Sorry can't help you there XD I wasn't even thinking of making the whole front open, that's pretty cool.


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

yea, well i got the idea to do that from that ferret nation thing. it works out much better though cuz then i have full access to the cage. oOOooooOoO and i got another rat, so now i'll be able to put them both in there (after the isolation period, of course :wink: ) i'll try and get pix of them, but it's so hard cuz my camera has like a 5 sec delay between the click and the snap. LOL i'll figure it out.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

VayeraGirl93 said:


> i'll try and get pix of them, but it's so hard cuz my camera has like a 5 sec delay between the click and the snap. LOL i'll figure it out.



This delay is usually due to there not being enough light. Try putting a spotlight on the area or turning on the flash of the camera.


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

this is Roy
http://www.ratforum.com/uploads/forums/dscn9323.jpg

and this is Rex
http://www.ratforum.com/uploads/forums/dscn9336.jpg


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

VERY cute ratties!! I have to say the paper clips on the hammocks is very clever!! Hope you don't mind if i "steal" that idea .


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

i think if you had a few big zip ties you could get one side to swing like a door. try lowes or home depot's cabinet section for some hinges that you could use to get it closed.  i'm excited for you.

i was thinking a cage like that too, hmm...


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## VayeraGirl93 (Mar 24, 2007)

OnlyOno, that's excatly what i did! wow, everyone on here seems to think alike when it comes to building cages. nearly every idea i've used on my cage, i thought of by myself, but others have mentioned it as well.

Nazarath, no problem! i just kinda came to me when i saw them lying there on the desk. it's so fun hooking them together (i'm very easily ammused  ). just be careful--if they get bent so that they're sticking out kinda, use some sort of tape or something to protect them.


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