# pimp my cage?



## miosgoldenchance (Oct 30, 2009)

I recently rescued my first rat (she kinda fell into my lap... look at one of my like two other posts if you want the whole story) and so I have a really boring cage. I don't have a lot of money and I feel bad because you guys all have MONSTER cages, and I have:










Except I recently put a little tissue box house in for her. It's 2 cubic feet.


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## glamriot (Oct 25, 2009)

you could make some hammocks out of old clothes for her. i used the strings on a peru hat to tie it to the top of a cage for a hammock and monty looooves it. you can use old tshirts and stuff too.

you could also make some toys, like toilet rolls stuffed with paper at both ends and sealed with scrunched up paper. ratties love tearing these apart

also boxes make great things to jump on and hide in, i use a small box that my canon EOS came in.


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## miosgoldenchance (Oct 30, 2009)

I will definitely try making a hammock. I bought her one but it was wayyy too big so I had to take it out.

She loves her tissue box house, she jumps on it and hides in it and rips it up and rolls it over and plays with it a lot. She's mad at me at the moment because I threw it away because it was so torn up and brought her a new one, but this one's smaller and taller and so she can't jump on it. 

I would eventually like to make something of a frankencage, with pipes leading to other "rooms" with other purposes. Xena definitely has an area for each activity, she only eats in one corner, goes to the bathroom in the other and sleeps in the other.


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

you can look for cheap cat toys like the little balls that have a bell, bird toys that hang from the cage etc.... You dont have to stick in the small animal section of the stores, be creative. PVC Pipe is inexpensive and they like to run through things like that. Also if you put treats in old baby food jars then poke a tiny hole in the top cover so they can smell it they will try to get it out, pet grass they like but you have to find out if they will constantly eat it or not cuz if they do I wouldnt put it in the cage, I have a small rawhide for dogs in mine they will chew every now and again its not the greatest for their digestion but they only chew on it here and there, you definatly need some chew toys though like wood blocks and such. Mine also like sometimes a lot of newspaper in the cage bunched up they can easily move and chew and play in. I hope these ideas help.


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## glamriot (Oct 25, 2009)

i made a mistake! i meant toilet rolls stuffed with FOOD and sealed at the ends with paper. silly me!


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

I do the toilet paper roll thing too, mine love it too! At night sometimes I also put a bunch on newspaper or toilet paper over the cage, through the bars, etc... and they love to pull it in adn rip it up.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I like to braid peices of fabric then hang it up and even tie little toys at the end.
And just a lil bit of advice i see your using the same litter in the cage as the litter box, you should use a different litter in the litter box or else potty training wont be nearly as easy.
If ur low on budget I like to use aspen shavings in the litter box (pine badd)


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## Lynxie (Jun 25, 2008)

A hammock would definitely be a good start.

I'd also find out if your town/city has a freecycle chapter. You might be able to find a bigger cage or other small cages to attach to that one. I got an amazing cage for my ferret from freecycle.


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## Paterson.S (Oct 1, 2009)

Does she get to free range once or twice a day?
That would give her more exercise and stimulation, I find it essential, esspecially if your rat is stuck in a small cage for the time being. I have a rat room, and I know that isn't an option for many. I am very lucky to have a set up that makes it so easy to free range. Some people get playpens for their rats, but unless it has a lid it can be quite a problem. Not to mention they are pricey. It works well if you have a rat-proofed room (Here are some things to consider about accident prevention. I am sure you know what to watch out for) such as a bathroom or bedroom. I used to take them the bathroom, it seemed easiest.
Or you can find an area of your house to put the cage in, kinda like this:









Something like this would work, too.










This one would need more toys and such.


















Maybe you could try that, it would give her more exercise.

Also, you can check out the dapper rat website for games and toys that are easy to make/play.


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## miosgoldenchance (Oct 30, 2009)

She gets out and does free range about three times a day. She gets to run around in the bathroom when I get ready, on my bed when I'm doing homework, and then my mom usually takes her out and lets her run around once a day. 

I hung up a couple of lava rocks for her to gnaw on with a bell at the end, and she seems to like those. My dad is also building a shelf for her, and I'm going to use a tube to make a little tunnel between the top of her tissue box and her shelf, so she can run around in there.


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## Paterson.S (Oct 1, 2009)

It sounds like she has a good life. 
She doesn't have any friends, though, does she?
You should get her one or two.


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## miosgoldenchance (Oct 30, 2009)

I would absolutely love to but my parents don't want to have any rats by the time I leave for college. Xena is three, and so if I bought her any friends I would have to buy two, and then get a WAY bigger cage and my parents would have to deal with them and she doesn't get along with other rats well.


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## Paterson.S (Oct 1, 2009)

If she is three and doesnt like others, dont worry about it.
Just give her as much attention as you can.


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## this_wallflower (Apr 19, 2009)

I have an 18 month old rat and he really likes Chubes which come with awesome fluffy bedding. 

If she's litter trained, great. If she's not and she's three, take the litter box out. It's a big space to take up. Old shoeboxes or tissue boxes (no plastic!) make GREAT cheap lovely and very disposable sleeping areas. I gave my guy a roll of toilet paper and he shredded it and stuffed his house with it. 

He doesn't really like hammocks or anything like that. He likes tunnels, and his house. I bought him wooden ledges (they have a chincilla on the front, cost about 10 bucks each at PetSmart) and put two in his cage for him to just to hop up on since rats like to get some height and it utilizes the space.


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## anaverageasian (Nov 9, 2009)

toilet paper is a great idea. i remember a few years ago, we acquired a new pair of rats and apparently, the bars were wide enough for the smallest to squeeze out. we came home one day to discover someone had a left a roll of toilet paper next to the cage. she had grabbed one end and ran in, out, and over her cage over and over. after that, if i felt like dealing with the mess, i'd let her place with a length of it.


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