# cost cages



## grneagle (Aug 6, 2007)

I plan on adopting 2 baby rats and want to know what anyone thinks of the rat masion by coast cages?


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## Whiskers (Jun 29, 2007)

[align=center]Do you mean this 5 story one?








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## grneagle (Aug 6, 2007)

yes thats the one. How do you like it?


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## grneagle (Aug 6, 2007)

yes thats the one. How do you like it?


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## Whiskers (Jun 29, 2007)

[align=center]I like it a lot. The bottom pan is nice and deep, the cage is big, it's pretty easy to clean, you don't have to assemble the wire part, and I like the food bowls. And I bought it from the Coast Cages website, so the shipping was free!  [/align]


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Personally, I despise Coast Cages. They're small, even at their largest, and are hard to clean. They provide little to no running room, and aren't really good for anything besides maybe growing babies, IMHO.


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

> Personally, I despise Coast Cages. They're small, even at their largest, and are hard to clean.


I second this......

I have that exact cage, and it is heavy and awkward. It is terrible to clean if you are trying to clean every inch of the bars. The cage part is one piece, which makes it a pain to reach all the spots to clean and hard to remove and replace to the base! 

When you take the cage off the base the bottom ladder hangs down and can bend backwards, so you have to lift it high so it won't drag. Mine has nearly snapped off a few times! 

The base is deep but they still push stuff out esp if you have lino on the shelves, and it get's EVERYWHERE! 

The food dishes are plastic, so if you have chewers, be prepared to replace them. 

The powder coating flakes off right over the food bowls, and it get's rust on it! 

the shelves are wire, so you'll have to put something on it! 

The wheel is attached but it takes up a LOT of room esp if your ratties don't use it! My adults NEVER even stepped in it! Once the babies were in it they used it all the time. It started squeaking after two weeks! 

One of the bars broke right by the hinge of the bottom door....probably because when you put it down the weight of the cage can bend the bars........well if they are sticking out in an awkward way. 

Normal plastic bottles with hangers don't work well, so I had to get two screw on lixit......my one lixit broke btw. 

The doors can stick and be hard to open and close, so watch the ratties fingers and toes! 

My cage had bigger spacing in the bars toward the top, so the babies could escape. I had to hardware cloth it! 

No room for toys! It's rather cramped for the ratties. Only one hammock can hang at the top and one at the bottom, which leaves little room for anything else. 

The PRICE!!!!! I bought this cage for 90$ after tax i believe.........that 90$ could have gone toward my FN cage!!! I'm not sure but I believe you can get the one level FN for around the same price!!!! 


...............Have you heard enough yet??? I HATE this cage...unfortunately two of my boys are stuck in it until they are snipped! I was thinking about giving my boys half the FN cage right now to rid myself of that horrible excuse for a cage but i'm TERRIFIED about another accidental litter (or maybe 5 since I have 5 females) and I've heard too many stories of ratties getting to the other level of the FN's .......... I just won't risk it, so I'm stuck with this cage for right now

I had even thought of selling it on here but I am going to donate it instead since it got rather beat up in only a few short months. I don't think you should buy it........I know some people have this cage and LOVE it, and that's great  but it's been nothing but a pain for me, and I really think you can find a better deal out there!


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## grneagle (Aug 6, 2007)

Wow doesn't sound to good. What company can I get a good cage from?Can you order on line and which one would you recommend for 2 rats?


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## Whiskers (Jun 29, 2007)

MopyDream44 said:


> I second this......
> 
> I have that exact cage, and it is heavy and awkward. It is terrible to clean if you are trying to clean every inch of the bars. The cage part is one piece, which makes it a pain to reach all the spots to clean and hard to remove and replace to the base!


[align=center]I agree it's hard to put the base back on, but I get another person to help me and it's pretty easy.[/align]




> When you take the cage off the base the bottom ladder hangs down and can bend backwards, so you have to lift it high so it won't drag. Mine has nearly snapped off a few times!


[align=center]Yeah, I hate that part. :[[/align]




> The base is deep but they still push stuff out esp if you have lino on the shelves, and it get's EVERYWHERE!


[align=center]Weird.
My bedding doesn't get out.[/align]




> The food dishes are plastic, so if you have chewers, be prepared to replace them.


[align=center]The cage comes with 4 of them, so you can switch them out if they get chewed on a lot.
But my rats prefer chewing on the bars of the cage....[/align]




> The powder coating flakes off right over the food bowls, and it get's rust on it!


[align=center]Mine doesn't flake off or get rust on it.[/align]




> The wheel is attached but it takes up a LOT of room esp if your ratties don't use it! My adults NEVER even stepped in it! Once the babies were in it they used it all the time. It started squeaking after two weeks!


[align=center]Mine started squeaking too, but then I put silicone spray on it and it stopped squeaking.[/align]




> One of the bars broke right by the hinge of the bottom door....probably because when you put it down the weight of the cage can bend the bars........well if they are sticking out in an awkward way.


[align=center]Yeah, I don't like how that door can't reach the ground.
But if you don't put a lot of pressure on it it won't break.[/align]




> Normal plastic bottles with hangers don't work well, so I had to get two screw on lixit......my one lixit broke btw.


[align=center]I bought a water bottle from a petstore and it came with this wire to hang it on the bars.
It works really well.[/align]



> The doors can stick and be hard to open and close, so watch the ratties fingers and toes!


[align=center]Mine don't stick.[/align]




> My cage had bigger spacing in the bars toward the top, so the babies could escape. I had to hardware cloth it!


[align=center]Yeah, the bars do get farther apart near the top....
But it lets you put your fingers in the cage and pet your ratties.[/align]




> No room for toys! It's rather cramped for the ratties. Only one hammock can hang at the top and one at the bottom, which leaves little room for anything else.


[align=center]How many rats do you have in there? I only have 2, and they have a hammock, toys, and room to run. They like running up and down the ramps, going in the wheel, playing with the bedding, going on the rope, playing with cardboard boxes I put in there, sleeping in the shoe, and stashing things in their igloo.[/align]



> The PRICE!!!!! I bought this cage for 90$ after tax i believe.........that 90$ could have gone toward my FN cage!!! I'm not sure but I believe you can get the one level FN for around the same price!!!!


[align=center]The FN cages are way more expensive, I thought.
Like $200 or more?
And aren't the bars really far apart, so you can't keep babies in there?[/align]


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

> The cage comes with 4 of them, so you can switch them out if they get chewed on a lot.
> But my rats prefer chewing on the bars of the cage....


mine did NOT come with extra dishes 8O (slightly annoyed to know that actually........ i'm starting to think I bought a return unknowingly



> Weird.
> My bedding doesn't get out.


 that's good. I think my ratties make it their business to make things messy! They love to rearrange their cage, and if that means pushing things out then so be it! 



> How many rats do you have in there?


right now I have two males but it was the temp home of the momma and her litter when they were a bit older! I purchased it for my two rats before i discovered one was actually a boy but I wasn't even to thrilled with the space then. A big hammock seems to take up a lot of space, and make it feel cramped but I dunno! 



> The FN cages are way more expensive, I thought.
> Like $200 or more?
> And aren't the bars really far apart, so you can't keep babies in there?


I just froogled the FN 141 model. This cage can hold 6 rats but the Coast Mansion can only hold 3-4, and I really think that 4 is pushing it. Anyhoo I found it at the following: 

KV Vet Supply : $104.95
Ship The Web : $ 106.95
Ferret.com : $ 112.99

I don't know what the shipping cost of the first two would be but Ferret.com only charges $6.oo total on ANY purchase. I only paid 6$ shipping for my FN 142 (double model that holds 12 rats) and I think I only paid $160.00 total! 

here is the link for the Ferret.com cage http://www.ferret.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=630303&srccode=FFROOGLE

I can't find the Bel Air 5 story mansion on FROOGLE but I went to the coast cage website, and it's selling for $90.00 new. Unless you can find a SUPER great deal on a used one I would say just put in the extra 30$ for the FN 141...................

Also about the bars! It's true the bar spacing is wide but you'll have that with most of the bigger cages that aren't really meant for rats. My babies can get through the FN bars but the cage is set up high, so they don't try to jump down. While the mansion was on the floor so they would pop out and climb down the bars. They could escape from BOTH cages but they don't try to escape from the FN. I basically put them in, and watched them for a few hours with no attempted escapes. They are in a rat proof room even if they did escape. 

I should also mention that my adult female rat CAN'T fit through the bars, and she is an average size female rat for her age. You really only have to watch with young ratties  

I know some members put hardware cloth on their FN's and some don't but if you really needed to it wouldn't be that hard!!!  

OK.......and.......grneagle........



> Wow doesn't sound to good. What company can I get a good cage from?Can you order on line and which one would you recommend for 2 rats?


Like I said I know some members have had better experiences than me but I just can't stand this cage. I really enjoy my FN cage. I have the 142 model that houses 12 but there is a single model that houses 6, and it's the FN 141. You can get it online just froogle Ferret Nation 141 and look at the prices. I had a good experience with Ferret.com. They were a bit slow on shipping but hey I only paid $6 for it. I think it took me three weeks? Even though you only have/want two rats I would still recommend getting the 141. The more space rats have the better, and if you wanted to upgrade you could buy the add-on later. I might get the add-on later and have a super tall cage! Also you can put two 142's side by side and create a super cage. If you haven't already seen Night's set up you should look for some pictures........it's AMAZING!!!! She inspires us all! 

.......PHEW......... ok wiskers I hope I answered your questions
and grneagle I hope you find this helpful

I'm sorry for the length, and for the repeated information!


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## Mana (Apr 22, 2007)

I don't have the rat mansion, but I do have the smaller model, the rat ritz. I agree that the Coast Cages are too small. Mine of course is smaller than the mansion, but the width/depth are the same, and it's just not that much room. Even the small one is a pain to clean. It's hard to line up to get it back in the pan, and the wheel and dishes take up so much room. It's really just not worth it in my opinion.

Definitely go with the FN 141! It's not *that* much more expensive, and soooo much better! Ferret.com is cheap, but for me with shipping it would have been cheaper to get it on ebay, so you might want to check there.

You might also want to check out www.martinscages.com - a lot of rat owners love those too, and you don't have to worry about escapes with the bar spacing.


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## OhBugger. (Apr 6, 2007)

I've heard of a rat getting killed by the wheel on a coast cage.
They don't sound too spectacular.


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## Mana (Apr 22, 2007)

Oh, I heard about that too. I can't believe I forgot to mention it!

When my two girls lived in it, the little one would always climb around between the wheel and the side of the cage... sometimes while the other one was running on it. This is how I heard of a rat getting killed - its head got stuck between there while another one ran on the wheel, and broke its neck  I'm lucky I got them out of there and into a better cage before Coconut got big enough to get hurt from doing that... I was even worried before I heard that story ;_;


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## Whiskers (Jun 29, 2007)

> mine did NOT come with extra dishes 8O (slightly annoyed to know that actually........ i'm starting to think I bought a return unknowingly


[align=center]It came with an extra plastic bottom thing, too.
Where did you buy yours from?[/align]




> Also about the bars! It's true the bar spacing is wide but you'll have that with most of the bigger cages that aren't really meant for rats. My babies can get through the FN bars but the cage is set up high, so they don't try to jump down. While the mansion was on the floor so they would pop out and climb down the bars. They could escape from BOTH cages but they don't try to escape from the FN. I basically put them in, and watched them for a few hours with no attempted escapes. They are in a rat proof room even if they did escape.


[align=center]But isn't there a shelf below the cage part?
Can't they just jump on there, then jump to the ground?[/align]


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## gems2022 (Apr 13, 2007)

I have two of the rat mansions. They can be a pain to clean. I throw mine in the tub and put the shower on hot for about 10 minutes, then wipe down the wire with a towel. It seems to do the trick. It can also be a pain to put back together.

As for the wheel. I can't believe the way that they attached that thing. You can't take it off. Before I even put my rats in it, I had my husband cut them off with a dremel. Which gave them another shelf to sleep on or put a cuddle cup on. You could also go down and buy one of those silent wheels and put in there instead. At least that you can take off and clean or if they don't use it, you can take it out completely.

On one of the cages the hook to hold in the dishes wasn't tight enough and Puddin figured out that if he pushed on the dish it would fall out and he could roam free. I've tried tightening it but to no avail. I ended up putting some ties on it.

I can't say that I hated the rat mansion but when you have other animal cages to clean, it was just taking up too much of my time.

I've had these cages for about 9 months and decided an FN 142 would be better and easier for me to clean.

I just put it together over the weekend and all five of my rats are in it now. There are two in the bottom and three on the top. Is it worth the extra money, I have to say definitely!!!! I have to say I love it already and so don't my rats.

The bar spacing is big but I have boys and 3 are adults and can no longer fit through the bars. The other two are still small and they do stick out their noses but only if I'm talking to them or they are looking for treats. Otherwise they just like to hang out in the hammies. 

I would check out martins cages. Alot of people rave about those also.

Well that's my two cents.


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## cjshrader (Feb 15, 2007)

I also had the rat mansion (And the smaller one before it). I highly recommend getting the smallest Ferret Nation instead and covering it with hardware cloth if you must. It'll cost a little more, but you'll never need another cage again (At worst, you can expand the FN).

If I'd gotten the FN cage to start, it'd saved me a lot of money.


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

> It came with an extra plastic bottom thing, too.
> Where did you buy yours from?


Ok NOW i'm mad!!! I did NOT get an extra pan either. I bought mine from Petco  I'm really starting to hate that store!!!!



> But isn't there a shelf below the cage part?
> Can't they just jump on there, then jump to the ground?


The space between the bottom of the shelf and the bottom of the cage part is enough that they won't attempt to jump from it. Also the bars don't give the best grip, so I think my ratties know better than to try! 

I was looking into martins cages also. They seem like a good cage but you pay more for powder coated, and that's a must!!!

Like CJ said you won't need another cage, and you can always expand 

tiny edit


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## cjshrader (Feb 15, 2007)

Don't feel too bad Mopy, I never got any of these extra things either. And my cage also came from Petco.


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## Whiskers (Jun 29, 2007)

MopyDream44 said:


> Ok NOW i'm mad!!! I did NOT get an extra pan either. I bought mine from Petco  I'm really starting to hate that store!!!!


[align=center]I was thinking about getting mine from Petco, too.
But instead I bought mine from the Coast Cages website.[/align]




> The space between the bottom of the shelf and the bottom of the cage part is enough that they won't attempt to jump from it. Also the bars don't give the best grip, so I think my ratties know better than to try!


[align=center]Oh, okay.
Nevermind then![/align]


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