# Any good cage reccomendations?



## otterfox (Jun 9, 2008)

Hi there! As you all know I have two girl ratties, (Coraline and Widget) but there is a problem. They as of right now are in an old birdcage with bent up wires, and old un-latching door, and a broken pan for the bottom.

I am coming into a lot of money soon so I was wondering what kind of cages others have found useful, seeing as mine has taken enough and needs to be scrapped.

What I am looking for is something that is easy to clean, but doesn't have the sliding out pan, (since little Cori figured out she can pee right though the sides and get under the pan, making things very stinky.) And obviously good sized enough to fit a wheel in it. They love their wheels.

Thanks everyone!


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

There's Critter Nation that seems to be the most popular over there - http://www.midwesthomes4pets.com/category/default.aspx?maincatid=27&subcat=4&submenu=0&catid=140

I've spotted this one mentioned a lot too, Super Pet for Exotics - http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753352

The Rat Manor that seems to get very mixed reviews. It's not that large either, so 2 girls would probably be the maximum it could hold - http://www.petco.com/product/106171/PETCO-Rat-Manor-Habitat.aspx

Cages advertised as being for ferrets are suitable size-wise, but you may encounter the problem of bar spacing being too large. Those types of cages could always be meshed though, to prevent escapees.


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## Lea (May 15, 2009)

One thing I have wondered about the Critter Nation is, if you are trying to put 3 rats back in the cage before they are willing, how hard is it to get them in there with those huge doors? Seems like one would run back out while you are trying to put another one in...


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## Dexy (Aug 11, 2008)

I have the UK version of the critter nation and I love the big doors because they make cleaning soooo easy.

I train my guys to all go home at the same time - and surely if you had a cage with smaller doors a rat could still just walk out if you turned your back to get another one?

They do tend to try and climb up the open doors so you have to keep an eye on that, making sure that it doesn't swing shut on them. Other than that - the bigger the doors the better in my opinion ;D


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## notscaredtodance (May 5, 2009)

Could you maybe talk about pricerange, how much work you're willing to do to modify a cage, and if you're thinking about getting more rats to add to your pair?

I have a few cage ideas. 

The *superpet my first home multi level * would be good for 2 girls, if you're willing to spend an extra 30 dollars for hardware cloth, which you'll probably need. You can also add up to 4 more rats in that cage for a total of six. It is very spacious, but the construcion is a bit cheap. My girls are dainty and couldn't break any of the plastic accessories in the cage, but some ferret owners have complained about it. If your girls are rambunctious, you might want to take tha into consideration. Overall its 100 dollars, plus the 30 for the hardware cloth, which would take som time and labor on your part to apply.

The *critter nation* is very popular but also very very expensive. As much as I love my rats, I couldn't spend 300 dollars on a pair of rats that cost 30 dollars all together. The bar spacing assures that not even the littlest ones can escape, al the flooring and bars and stands are powder coated metal, so it's easy to wipe down and hang toys and work with to make whatever kind of cage you want. You could add probably 8 or 10 more rats to a critter nation, but 10 is a little on the cramped side.

The *super pet deluxe for exotics* is a good cage with 1/2 inch bar spacing, so no need to modify, but it would probably only hold your two rats, so if you ever wanted to get more, you couldn't house them all togther. The price is 30 dollars less than the my first home multi level, and that cage has way more space. But if you weren't interested in modifying with hardware cloth and you wanted something cheap, this is probably your best pick.


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## Corpseflower (Jun 12, 2009)

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753322











This is what I have [notscaredtodance mentioned it above]. I really like it, it leaves a lot of space for customizing and is really great if you have a climber [like my Casper]. I've thrown in some extra shelves, baskets, houses, cubes, etc. And it still has PLENTY of walking room. Though notscaredtodance was right about the sort of cheap build, If I put something heavy [like their wooden house] on one of the shelves it will start to sag after awhile. The wheels are GREAT when I'm cleaning [as you know, ratties love to drop things down on the floor out of the cage for us to sweep up luckily for my I have hard floor instead of carpet].
I'd probably give it a 8/10 as a rat home. And you may be able to find it cheap, like I did [85$].


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## abazoo (Mar 21, 2009)

notscaredtodance said:


> Could you maybe talk about pricerange, how much work you're willing to do to modify a cage, and if you're thinking about getting more rats to add to your pair?
> 
> I have a few cage ideas.
> 
> ...


Same cages I would recommend as well  We had the SP multi level for a year or two, and it was great  I've also seen the SP exotic home in person, the barspacing is small  but the bars of the doors are sorta flimsy and of course the "pee river" shelves lol.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

The only problem with that Super Pet My First Home Multi-Floor Ferret Home cage is the bar spacing is 1 inch, which would cause problems with escaping baby/small rats. It could need to be meshed.


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## otterfox (Jun 9, 2008)

Thanks everyone! I am going to be able to spend 50-120$ on a cage. My old one sucks, and I am thinking that the Super Pet for Exotics will do nicely for my two girls. I am not planning on getting any more ratties anytime soon, so that would be perfect. What works is the bar spacing most. Widget is still really small despite being 4 months old. She can still get through 1 inch spacing.

Thank you all for your opinions! They really helped!


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

i have the "savic fredy cage" its 20 inches wide 
30 inches long 
2 and a half foot high
plenty big enough to get a cupple of shelvs in and there beloved wheel in there too


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## shinzo-chan (Apr 2, 2008)

I have a savic royal suite that I baught from PaH for *cough*£260*cough*.

http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-savic+royal+suite/product-is-22955

Personally I feel this is the BEST cage out there. 

*Pros:*

A dream to clean. Everything is so simple its insane, its really great!

_Bucket loads_ of room, both on the floor and hanging space. It can house ..*thinks*.. I cant remember now. More than 10 rats anyway - its MASSIVE! (and I only have two girls in it lol).

You can seperate rats if they get too rough/scrappy with each other (the reason why I baught this cage, my girls were fighting and they needed sooo many times out it was unreal. But even if they were to be seperated for LIFE there is plenty of room on each level for each rat to live happily ever after there.

BIG ASS DOORS!!! w000t! The entire front opens up, so you have access to EVERYTHING!! n___n
*

Cons:*

EXPENSIVE! Very very pricey, cost me a whole months wages x__x'' Worth every penny though!

Takes time to put up - took me and my dad 8 hours to assemble the **** thing lol

Anywho, I hope this helps n__n


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## lovesasa (Apr 4, 2009)

The Royal Suite looks awesome. I currently have a Ferret Nation and just bought a Critter Nation. Literally the ONLY thing I would change is the depth of the pans, and it looks like the Royal Suite has deeper pans. Awesome.

For a smaller cage, though, you might look into Martin's Cages. I have one of theirs and I really really like it, it's just too small for all my boys.


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## Snufflez (Sep 9, 2007)

I would go for a Critter Nation.. They are awsome. I have three girls in mine single level and will be adding two more this weekend. 
Oh and Lea.. It is easy to get them in.. put them on the shelf and quickly but safley shut the door.


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## Lea (May 15, 2009)

Snufflez said:


> Oh and Lea.. It is easy to get them in.. put them on the shelf and quickly but safley shut the door.


Thanks, the cage I am making is going to have big doors like that so that's good to know. I was debating on how good an idea it was. It will make it much easier to clean. I'm still thinking of putting some smaller doors on it too.


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