# Looking for a cage for my first rats



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Hey everyone, I’m new to this forum and new to rats! (Well, I joined the forum nearly a year ago because I thought I was getting rats then... Needless to say, it didn't work out.)

I have been researching pet rats for a while now, though, and it looks like I might finally be able to get one! The reason I am posting in the Rat Homes forum instead of an introduction, though, is I need help picking out a cage for my new ratties.

22 wide and 30 long is my limit, due to extremely limited space. The cage will have to sit on my desk, so it can’t have wheels or a stand that won’t come off. I’m having trouble finding a good cage that meets those limits but it still tall enough. (I'm working on making more room for a cage, but I don't have high hopes.)

Right now, this one looks the best.

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Exotics-Large/dp/B000TZ5BRI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I would take out the wheel, though, and probably make my own shelves, possibly with litter boxes.

The rats I might be getting with be young, so the bar spacing either needs to not be too big or I will have to put wiring around it.

I considered making a dog cage into a rat cage, but those cages aren’t very tall.

Thanks for any help! I am super excited to be so close to getting rats of my own!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

That cage is a good starting cage. It is plastic, though. The ledges have a ridge around the edge that collect pee and gunk, so they need to be wiped regularly. Or you can replace them, as you said. If you have a bigger budget, the Martins R-680 has the same footprint as the First Home for Exotics, but is more sturdy/well designed. I have one and love it


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for the info! I was worried about it being plastic, but I thought maybe if I covered up the plastic bottom with something and replaced the shelves it would be okay. However, the cage you suggested looks much better! The wire spacing looks like it’s small enough in the picture. I’m really worried about that since the rats I may be getting will be itty babies.

Money isn’t really an issue at the moment. I have a lot budgeted for a good cage, actually. The problem was, all the good expensive cages were huge! Like the ferret nation ones that I would LOVE to have, but are stinkin’ big. Thanks for telling me about Martin’s Cages. I went to the site and saw several good sized cages that aren’t too badly priced!

Is martinscages.com a safe place to order from? I’m a little paranoid about that.

Thanks so much!


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## coxbrea151 (Jun 1, 2012)

I think it's the only place you can order them from. I do know that quit a few people have the cages, so it must be truthworthy. The only bad thing is that the shipping on those cages will most likely cost more than the cage, but if you live in the USA I don't think it's too bad.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I'm in the USA and it says that shipping will be about $30. I won't be getting the rats until October anyways, so I'll keep my eye out for better deals but this cage seems awesome so I'll probably end up going with it. It's the only one that's high quality (some people have said that they last years) and big enough while still able to fit in the space designated. I just want to make sure it's a good cage for young'ens. The rats I am getting are going to be recently weaned and teeny tiny.

Are there any other things that I should order from Martin's Cages at the same time? Toys, water bottles, etc? Will they be higher quality than what I could grab at a pet store? If I'm going to be ordering a cage from there, it'd be nice to get anything else I can from there as well, but I want to make sure the stuff is good and not cheapo.

Thanks for all the help! I'm so exciting for my new babies! ;D


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## Poodlepalooza (Aug 9, 2012)

Hi! Congrats on your soon to be ratties! You may want to check around - I don't have a Martins cage but I got my double critter nation from wayfair.com for less than I found it anywhere elseand free 2nd day delivery.


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

That's an awesome starter cage! It fits my 3 big boys happily (Although I'm upgrading soon). 
It's a LOT bigger in person, the pictures make it look small.  It's a little annoying to clean,
but since It's pretty lightweight It's not that big of an issue to just lift it up and move it around.
I suggest lining the shelves with Fleece though, because Poo and Pee get stuck in the shelves
pretty easy, and you have to wipe them down pretty often. The bar spacing is super small though.
I don't think any Rat could fit in between them. :] Congrats on your soon to be new Rats


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

Its sad you don't have a few more inches ... the critter nation is 36x24 ... The martins are good for most people the super pet exotics there are also ferret cages if you are getting big boys


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for all the help and suggestions! I'm really leaning towards Martin's 680 because I've heard a LOT of great things about their cages and it's less expensive than some of the other high quality ones I was looking at. I got to thinking and decided I'm going to need a spare cage, though. One that is easily moveable from room to room. I'll probably end up getting a cheap one at my local pet store. The rats wouldn't spend more than a few hours in it every week, usually while I'm cleaning the main cage, so it doesn't have to be anything fancy.

Keelyrawr, forgive me, but it sounds so weird to use fleece. Do you throw it in the washing machine when it gets dirty or throw it out?

Speaking of which, I have a quick question about bedding... There are people in this house (including me) with horrible allergic and I read that some people have a bad reaction to certain types of bedding. Any recommendations? It’s already very likely that we’re going to have allergy issues with the rats themselves, so I don’t want the bedding to make it worse.

Thanks again! I’ve been researching getting pet rats for several years now, but I’m so glad to finally be able to talk to rat owners and get first hand information!


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

Get recycled paper bedding cell worn yesterdays news ... any pelleted paper shouldn't mess with your allergies. I also use fleece and you just wash it  shake it out first of course but its super easy and not expensive


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Does Yesterday's News use actual newpaper? I think we're allergic to newspaper ink, so if it does... that _could _be an issue if there's any ink left in the pellets. We're allergic to practically everything.  That's why we have poodles, haha. They don't give us any allergy problems.


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

I know fleece sounds a little weird, but I usually have 2 or 3 different "Sets" that I use. You just shake the poo off, hand wash it, and then hang dry them. (I would use my washer/dryer but my parents think Rats are disease ridden). Then I put the clean set in  It's a hassle for some people, But I hate cleaning off dirty shelves. I don't line their whole cage though, I use Carefresh for the bottom pan. Whatever you decide, good luck!


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I'm afraid my parents will think the same thing. Maybe I shouldn't mention that I'll be washing rat stuff in their washing machine... hehe. It’s still a little iffy whether or not they’ll even let me get these rats, to be perfectly honest. =/

Hey, you're in Texas too! There apparently aren't many rat people here... The only rescue I found is closing down, last I heard.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Great news! I'm officially getting a pair of rats now! I'm going to order the 680 cage from Martin's Cages fairly soon, but I won't actually get the rats for another month at least. I want to be prepared for the babies before they get here. 

Also, I'm seriously extremely excited that I found out today my local petstore has Oxbow Regal Rat food! I was thinking I would have to order it. =D If I can pick out a bedding that I can get at my local stores then I'm all set! So exciting! It feels good to check things off my to-do list for these rats.

I have a quick question. I heard that it's best for rats to get natural light during the day. The room my rats are going to be in gets dark during the day if the light is off (though I _may _be able to fix the windows better). I could leave the light on all day if that would be better for them. What's y'alls opinion?

Thanks for all the help! I'm so stinkin' excited to be getting my first rats!


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

Yay, congrats! :3 I've never heard about the natural sunlight thing. I have 1 window in my room, so my Rats have partial sunlight when I'm not in there with them. I don't think leaving the light on for them is necessary at all though.. I don't think Rats can decipher light/dark from each other anyways :x
Be sure to post pics when you get your babies! And also, hello fellow Texan ;D


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## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)

Critter Nation is by far the best I've bought. The guy selling it had me sold when he said because of the material, all you have to do is take it out and hose it down to clean. If you've had former cages you'll understand! It was $147, but think about it. Buying the cage saves you time in cleaning, it's very nice looking, has storage or play space on the bottom, the doors on the front open all the way up for easy access to your rats, and you can later on buy a second story for it. I would consider it the best thing I've bought for my rats!!


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for the info, Keelyrawr! Oh, Don't worry; I'll be posting pictures once my babies come home. Get ready for a picture spam, in fact! Plus videos when I find the camera. 


Sadly, I have no room for a cage like Critter Nation. It has to be able to fit on my desk and Critter Nation and Ferret Nation and all those awesomely huge cages are far too big. Once I get more space, I'll definitely upgrade, though.

Until then, I ordered my Martin's Cage 680 today! I'm so excited to get it set up for the babies! Sadly, it will probably sit empty until October or later while I wait for the rats...


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

The problem with the critter nation if you upgrade is the parts never align right so you have to hammer the pegs in place which destroys the powder coating  I love my cage but I wish the comapny would fix that.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I'll keep that in mind, elliriyanna. Thanks for letting me know. 

If I get a bigger cage, it will probably be that Ferret Nation everyone is always raving about. Or, if my r-680 works well, I may just get a bigger cage from Martin's Cages.

Speaking of which, my cage should be here within a week! I shouldn't be this excited about getting an empty cage, but it means this is actually happening. After researching rats for a long time, I'm finally going to have some of my own!

I'm already working on making toys and hammocks for them. I started to Crochet one after seeing someone mention Crocheted hammocks, but it really kills my hand to do that. I'm doing it for my babies, though, so it's worth it! Since I need something to keep my mind off the fact that the earliest I'll get my rats is October, does anyone have any ideas for some projects I could do to get ready for them? Toys, different types of hammocks, hidey holes, etc? I want to have the cage all prettied up for when the babies get here.  Hopefully the cage will be here around the 10th! Yay!

Sorry, I'm probably posting too much. XD I'm just so stinkin' excited to finally be getting rats! Well, excited and nervous, haha.


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

Ferret nations are made by the same company so they have the same problem. The critter nation is actually the better choice of the who because it's small horizontal bar spacing  If you can get a sewing machine my munchkins love fleece and flannel hammocks


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I should have realized that. XD Thanks for pointing that out. Though I haven't seen one in real life yet, I really like the bar spacing for Martin's Cages, especially since I'll be getting young ones (about six weeks, I think). Well, I'll play that by ear.

Hmm... There is a sewing machine in the house, but I haven't tried to use it since I was ten and my family was making a quilt. I'll try to dig up the machine and learn how to use it. It can't be too hard, right? hehe. If nothing else, it won't kill my hand like Crocheting does.

EDIT: Is Critter Care an okay bedding? Walmart sells it, so if I can use that it would save so much driving. The closest Walmart is ten minutes away and I go there every week, but the closest Pet Store is about thirty minutes away...


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

It may be dusty so I wouldn't ... can you buy bedding in bulk? Its very helpful. The critter nation has 1/2 inch spacing too so nothing can escape


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