# new rat cage.. need opinions please!



## smopey (Feb 3, 2012)

Hello. I have two female rats and I currently have the Ware Natural Wood Cage for Rats. The shelves that come with it are wood and are starting to smell like urine. The wood isn't treated so they're becoming warped from cleaning them so much. I'm looking at two new cages with plastic shelves but I'm not sure which one seems better. The first one is the Super Pet Deluxe My First Home Cage for Exotics and the other is the All Living Things Luxury Rat Pet Home. I like the All Living Things cage better because it comes with a stand and it's not as big as the Super Pet Deluxe cage, but I read some reviews that said the shelves were flimsy and break easily. Does anyone have any experience with either of these two cages? Thanks in advance!


http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4470992 <--- the cage I currently have
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753352 <--- super pet deluxe my first home cage
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4470997 <--- all living things luxury rat pet home


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Plastic shelves may be chewed, and ridges like that pool up with urine and stink... they need to be wiped down at least once daily. Honestly the cage you have right now is a decent enough base. I would continue to use that, but create your own shelves/ledges with hammocks, parrot ladders, fabric ropes, hanging storage baskets, etc  be creative! The My First Home for exotics is a very popular cage, however, you can get it cheaper on other sites like Amazon.


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## CarolineRose (Nov 18, 2011)

The style of plastic shelves, as Jaguar said, causes problems. And the ramps can be flimsy.

If you are really looking for an upgrade and are willing to spend that kind of money then may I suggest a Martins cage or the Critter Nation Single Unit. 
I have to say I'm partial to the Critter Nation... probably because I have the double unit version for my girls. The single will be more than big enough for two girlies, leaving plenty of room for hammocks, a large wheel, and toys, and the best part is you can get the add on later on and get _*more ratties!!*_ The ramps are powder coated metal and the shelves have a metal base as well that no rat can break. The plastic trays are easy to clean and can be easily replaced if they break (I've had my cage for almost a year and the original trays are going strong.) The bar spacing is perfect for easy climbing and hanging toys, and the doors open completely for full cage clean outs. 

Sorry if it seems like I'm going on and on but I just can't say enough good things about this cage. I've also heard tons of positive reviews for the Martin cages and they come in many different sizes.
As far as pricing goes, check around at different sites, places like PetCo/PetSmart always over price everything.

Here's a link to Martin's cages:
http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/


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## minnehaha25 (Mar 14, 2012)

My boys hate those plastic ramps had to swap mine out and make ramps with things from my other cages. Or you could always sand down the wood alittle and add a little varnish yourself.


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## Rebecca (May 6, 2012)

I personally have had good experiences with plastic shelving, or the SuperPet My First Home for Exotics, anyway. It all depends on how much of a chewer your rat is! The painful truth is, rats will chew through anything.


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## Flashygrrl (Feb 8, 2012)

I've got the All Living Things cage for mine (it came with them, one of those Petco adoption things) and yeah, half the shelves were broken so we just made hammocks for them and took the ledges out. The rats like to bounce from one to the other more than they like to climb on the other stuff to switch levels.


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

I've had my All Living Things for about a year. It's housed groups of girls and groups of boys, currently holds seven rescue baby boys - many ratties have passed through that cage. None chewed a shelf, not one single spot. None chewed the very sturdy ramps, which you don't strictly need, but help to keep the shelves in place. I've heard of rats chewing out the bottom, but haven't had that happen either. With a single wipe down with paper towels per day, the shelves and ramps stay clean, takes about 15 seconds. Shelves are tricky to move until you get the hang of it, but there's no reason they should be broken unless someone was really jerking them around. The bottom is deep so the bedding stays in. 

All in all, it's one of the best cages I've ever had, and I'd recommend it. The only drawback I can think of is that it's hard to use with cloth liners - at least on the bottom. Shelves are easy to cover, if you want to.


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

I have the Super Pet Deluxe. It's a really nice, sturdy cage. I haven't had any plastic chewing issues.. But that may just be my rats. It's hard to clean though. You have to literally take it apart.. And pee/poo gets stuck in the ridges, as others said. That's pretty easy to clean. Overall I would recommend it though. Out of all the cages I've had It's the best. I would take the wheel and hammock out though. The hammock is VERY flimsy and rough feeling, and the wheel just takes up space.


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## kerry11 (Mar 22, 2012)

I just got the first home for exotics last week, and I love it. Sure, there are a few things I don't like about it, but overall, it's excellent. It's huge, and for the price I paid, it's excellent. The pee and poop that gets stuck in the ridges of the shelf is easy to clean. I just take a paper towel to soak up the pee and pick up poops, then just do a quick clean with a damp paper towel. It's much easier to wipe down compared to my petco rat manor that is all wire mesh. My rats don't chew on the plastic, and I think that if you keep enough chew toys in the cage, yours won't either for the most part. The doors are large enough to easily move things in and out. Like keelyrawr said, I recommend not putting the hammock and wheel in. It takes up room and the hammock is not high quality by any means. My rats wouldn't even touch it and they love hammocks. I would definitely recommend this cage. I have no experience with the all living things cage, but it looks fairly good, too. 

Also, just so you know, you can get the super pet cage off of amazon for about $70 with free shipping if you go with that one. It's cheaper than buying it off of petsmart.


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