# Can a rat cage be too big?



## kaylawise (Sep 3, 2015)

I have heard from a rescue that I got my rats from that when housed in a cage that is too big, the rats may become territorial. Does that mean there may be a minimum for a large cage? On the rat calculator it says the DCN can fit 16 rats if the space is used wisely. What if you only have maybe three or four rats?


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

The dcn is fine for four rats. Personally I think 16 rats in a dcn is too much


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

A DCN is not going to be too big for 3-4 rats, not even for 2 or 1. Many people keep that many rats in the cage even.
If your cage was like the size of a large bedroom it might get on the too big too handle/clean range lol But no there should not be any issues with them being territorial unless there are underlying issues already. 

16 is not ideal for a DCN though, you may have put in the wrong measurements. Sometimes people put in the whole cage which includes the bottom stand which shouldn't be counted as space.
A DCN fits 10-12 rats depending on how space is used.

Critter Nation 2 Levels: 36"L x 24"W x 63"H (48" H without the stand) fits 12 if you only give 2 cubic feet of space, 9 with 2.5.


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