# Rat cage woes .... what do you think?



## phil11 (Oct 5, 2007)

Hello all

Recently I have noticed that my cage for my two girls may be a bit small for them. I have an aquarium bottom and a cage top .... and i have a dilema - I dont know whether I should build a second rat cage extention on top of this cage or buy them a new cage all together with no aquarium section... what do you think?? My current dimensions are - aquarium (70cm x 30cm x 40cm) and cage (70cm x 30cm x 30cm) - do you think this is too small or am i just worrying for nothing? 

Any help would be great


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## sonoma (May 26, 2007)

That is a bit small. Plus aquariums, even with toppers, arenâ€™t all that great for housing rats. If you can, definitely try to get a cage. :wink:


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## phil11 (Oct 5, 2007)

Why get a new cage insted of just adding another topper on top of the existing topper??? I have read about aquarium cons but I have had no trouble thus far with smell (ammonia build up). Plus alot of wire cages just look ugly (with the acception of THE BEAST!).


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## bloodraven (Jan 27, 2008)

ugly or not, urine does build up...and if you can or can not smell the urine, its there, and can harm them.


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## CaptainFlow (May 16, 2007)

I would say definitely get a new cage. You may think that wire cages look bad, but aquariums are really bad for rats. Ammonia builds up whether you can smell it or not, and a lot of harm can happen to their lungs in a very short time. 
Also, your depth is too small. 30 cm is about 12 inches, which is barely enough room to turn around for a lot of rats, even girls, and doesn't give them anywhere to run and wrestle. 
So I don't think it's in your rats best interest (which is of course much more important than how the cage looks superficially) to just build another topper, you should really invest in a nice wire cage. There are tons out there, and some that look quite good, even excluding the beast. The FN has that same look, and the Coast Cage Rat Mansion is a good size and black powder coated, quite spiffy. Try to find something that's at least 16 inches wide (so that's about about... 45 cm, minimum for all sides).


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## Urithrand (Feb 12, 2008)

Sorry, but I agree with the general concensus. More than anything else, rats love to climb up the sides of the cage, and with only 30cm of height to your bars they'll never really get to stretch their legs


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

I'd definately get a new wire cage - the possibilities to these cages are endless and no doubt your rats will thank you.

Many of mine love climbing up the sides of the cage (the girls never did until I bought The Beast - and now they are regular rat-monkeys) and it makes for very happy ratties. It's my opinion though; for smaller animals (mice, hamsters etc) aquariums are all well and good, but for our ratkids - eh, not so sure. Especially with their sensitive resp. systems.

Whatever you decide though; good luck


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## phil11 (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks all, I've been out to a few of the local pet shops and they don't have anything suitable! I've seen some good cages online but they all seem to be in U.S, shipping costs more than the cage itself, so not an option. Will endevour to buy a cage thanks for your advise.

Anyone in UK know of a good place to get cages?


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

Yup. What kind of cage/price range are you looking for?


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

I searched anyways for you;

For two girls; I'd definately reccommend the Freddy 2 by Savic. It's generally around the Â£70 mark but it's an excellent cage!

http://www.bitsforpets.com/index.php?cPath=47_48_302

If you want something a little 'chunkier' there is always The Explorer (the UK version of a FN). For two girls it may be a little much, but it will give them PLENTY of room to run around and cause trouble in. For price, as well, it's very good. Most of the cages on the site are reasonable and include shipping

http://www.petworlddirect.co.uk/acatalog/Rodent-and-Rabbit-Cages.html

There is also the Jenny by Furplast - a good sized cage (usually around the Â£90 mark) but it's a little flimsy in my opinion.

Some good sites to try (although they may be on the pricey side)

http://www.companionschoice.co.uk/

http://www.equinecaninefeline.com

and of course Ebay.co.uk; but there is limited choice (or so I've found). I came across The Beast purely by chance

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....go=DR&its=S%2BI%2BSS&itu=ISS%2BUCI%2BSI&otn=1

It's huge - bigger than the Explorer. But an all round good cage, once meshed etc

Failing that; if you have a Pets at Home in your area, they are always very reasonable for cages (The Freddy 2 is Â£72.99 if bought in store)


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## Iloveratz500 (Jan 21, 2008)

Its a little small to me. how old are your girls? I would buy a whole new all together if you have had this one for a while. If you had only had it for a little while, then I would build a second rat cage extention on top of the other cage.


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## phil11 (Oct 5, 2007)

Great thanks for that! Have seen the jenny and concidered that. The freddy 2 is a big no no, not a fan of the bright colours.
Might well get the "tower" or the "abode" although the abode looks a bit small still. The explorer is def too big.

Thanks alot for your help.


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

Have you considered painting it? If you're not a fan of the bright colours it can be easily painted using a child safe enamel based paint


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## phil11 (Oct 5, 2007)

Iloveratz500 said:


> Its a little small to me. how old are your girls? I would buy a whole new all together if you have had this one for a while. If you had only had it for a little while, then I would build a second rat cage extention on top of the other cage.


I've had the two girls for 4 months adn I guess they were 6-8 weeks old when I got them, so... maybe 6 months ish. Had the tank and topper for 4 months and is in mint condition. Seems a shame to get rid of it because the girls seem to like it.

It seems to be the general consensus on this forum that tanks are bad cages are good.


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## phil11 (Oct 5, 2007)

Ration1802 said:


> Have you considered painting it? If you're not a fan of the bright colours it can be easily painted using a child safe enamel based paint


Na think I'll pass on painting thnigs unless I really need too. cheers though.


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## totoro (Feb 25, 2008)

I'm new to this whole rat thing,
why are tanks no good for rats? =/

(nevermind, I found the Aquarium vs cage thread)


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