# Bar spacing!



## Lightning (May 24, 2013)

When is it safe to put baby rats into an actual cage, and what does the bar spacing have to be? The cage I have is 1/2 inch spacing and the one I'm ordering is as well. When is it safe for them to move? Because I need to move them by 5 weeks to separate genders. Thanks guys!


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

1/2 inch bar spacing is fine. My friend when she had her oops litter moved her babies to a cage (rat manor) at 2 weeks (with 1/2 inch bar spacing) and by 3.5 to 4 weeks were in a Critter nation (also 1/2 inch bar spacing). Most people move them when they start to open their eyes since by that time they are starting to explore more.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

1/2" is usually fine for all rats at 5 weeks. It's the 1" spacing that won't hold babies!


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## Famous Amos (May 23, 2013)

Rats should always be in 1/2". And they can be put in actual cages at 2 weeks old. So that's basically long before you get them.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I would disagree on the always 1/2". I have a 1"x1" bar spacing cage and find great success.


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## Famous Amos (May 23, 2013)

I don't. My large 899 gram males can walk through 7/8". 


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## Lightning (May 24, 2013)

Famous Amos said:


> Rats should always be in 1/2". And they can be put in actual cages at 2 weeks old. So that's basically long before you get them.
> 
> 
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Two weeks? So they are almost two weeks old now, a week from now when the cage gets here it should be fine to put them in? That would be awesome because I hate keeping them in such a small space.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Famous Amos said:


> I don't. My large 899 gram males can walk through 7/8".
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Cagebirdsinging has a 1" square mesh, thats a lot harder than 7/8" bars, as a rat can make itself flat, but not into a tiny tube, especially not a fully grown male.

You would need to watch new babies in a square mesh cage that size, and i use a 6mm bar spacing cage for very young babies (around 1/4") but thats to be safe. 1/2" is a good size and males are often fine at 3/4" to 1" depending ont here size


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## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

Either my 400g girls don't care to escape or 1 in bar spacing is fine. Mine are in 1in vertical and their hospital cage is 1in horizontal and ive not had a problek. I was told if they can't fit their head through then they can't escape. Which makes sense because you can't flatten a skull with a brain in it. So I measured my rats head before buying my cage. 

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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Bars do often give a bit in the middle, meaning a determined rat can squeeze through a smaller gap than there skull depth. For instance i had young boys in a cage with 2cm (just under 1") and they never escaped out of it, i thought they were fine until one day something made one of the scared when he was out, he leapt onto the top of the cage, and in a panic squoze his way through the top bars on the cage into its safety. I kept them in this cage and it was fine as i only had boys and the room they were in was rat proofed, but if you have boys and girls, or there somewhere unsafe, unless you have very big rats i wouldn't rely on it.


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## Famous Amos (May 23, 2013)

Rats can squeeze down to 7/8". So even if someone's rats don't do it. Doesn't mean they can't. They are perfectly capable.


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## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

Isamurat said:


> Bars do often give a bit in the middle, meaning a determined rat can squeeze through a smaller gap than there skull depth. For instance i had young boys in a cage with 2cm (just under 1") and they never escaped out of it, i thought they were fine until one day something made one of the scared when he was out, he leapt onto the top of the cage, and in a panic squoze his way through the top bars on the cage into its safety. I kept them in this cage and it was fine as i only had boys and the room they were in was rat proofed, but if you have boys and girls, or there somewhere unsafe, unless you have very big rats i wouldn't rely on it.










My tiny girl 380g trying to get to the chocolate chip I was teasing her with when I first got the cage.

I guess that makes sense but my cage bars have hardly any give. I have them sectioned off because my two new girls can't get along with the other ones and they go bonkers if they see the other rat. If anyone else saw how they act they'd probably say my rats have rabies lol. Ramming their heads into the bars sniffing and grunting pawing at the cage bars. They want at eachother baaaad. Yet they've never gotten out to attack eachother. So I guess it just depends on the cage 

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## Lightning (May 24, 2013)

So would 1/2 bar spacing be okay for my baby rats or should I wait until they are bigger? I do not want a bunch of escaped baby rats as I have 14 of them. But I also hate keeping them in bin because it isn't very breathable and their eyes have opened the past few days and they are probably going to want to explore soon, plus I think the mom hates the bin.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

1/2" spacing is just fine.


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