# Will my rat chew a plastic bottom cage??



## Fiona (Sep 22, 2010)

This weekend I will be picking up my little fella from the pet store (see my thread in the general section about me adopting a 9 month old boy). I think I have finally decided to get the Jenny Ferplast cage as it's in my budget, it seems to be spacious enough, and has levels etc. My only concern is the plastic bottom...
How likely are rats to chew at plastic bottomed cages? As I won't be able to afford to just get another if he bites into it...

Also, how big will a male rat likely grow? My boy is big already and I want a cage I can imagine him staying in permenantly, or at least for a few months until I have more money together for a bigger one... !


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

depends on the rat, i've had a lot of plastic bottomed cages and never had any escapes. Girls do chew a bit more than boys but not always. You'll probably be fine.

The Jenny is a fine perminant home for 4-5 rats if you set it up well and they get out a decent amount. You may end up wanting to give them more space though. I know i've got a cage that i could house 12 in easily enough, and range from 4-6 rats in it. 

Size wise it depends on your boys family, what he was fed as a little one and how much you feed him now. His origin may help though, if he's a pet shop or rescue lad he will probably be at the smaller end of the scale. If he's a breeder boy he could well grow quite big. Typically bucks are between 300 and 700g fully grown, but i've known rats over 1kg (though most have been significantly overweight at this size).

Here's an adult breeder boy playing tug of war with 2 babies, the babies are about 8 or 9 weeks in the photo and are breeder babies (so quite good sizes). The adult buck is about 600g, they are just under half that









And here's 3 generations, the black lad is the same boy as above, he's a 18 month olf breeder boy, on the stumpy side, 600g ish, the little one is 8 weeks old, a breeder baby and about average size at 270 ish g, the big agouti is an 11 month old quite long breeder boy at about 650g


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## Fiona (Sep 22, 2010)

Thank you for your response and cute photos  

I think I'll stick with the cage I have in mind then, because it is spacious and I can afford it. I just had this minor worry in the back of my head that if he chewed a hole, I know I probably wouldn't be in the financial position to just pop out and buy another cage straight away. Although I may very well buy a bigger one in the future, I would like to imagine the cage I am buying now as a home for a long time. 

The boy I am adopting is about 9 months old now, and he is quite big. At what age, roughly, do boys reach their maximum in growth? What age is considered adult?

Thanks for your help


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## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

I also have a plastic bottomed cage. Ive had it for 6 months or so and my girls have chewed on it a good bit. Im not worried about them escaping though. I make sure to put plenty of their favorite chew toys around the corners so maybe they will chew those instead. Even if they do escape i feel they wont go too far. One of them wont even leave the cage if i leave the bottom door opened. It makes a little ramp to the floor but she just stands in it looking at me. Her sister climbs under the cage (its on wheels) and doesnt really go anywhere. If youre worried put it on top of a dresser. They wont be able to get down to the floor.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

It does depend on there genetics somewhat but he is probably his full length now, but will continue filling out and growing muscle until hes 12 months, sometimes later. Think of him as a lanky late teenager. Some boys are fully grown at this stage though so ne may not grow massively.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

I've definitely heard enough stories about plastic bottoms....I'd say go withy metal if you can... My girls are let out two hours every day, but they always start chewing on the metal of the cage when they're bored at night! They'd have eaten through a plastic one by now... 


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