# My Homemade Rat Cage



## JessyGene (Feb 27, 2012)

View attachment 4517
This is still a work in progress. The painting isn't finished and there are a few other things that need some work. But my rats have loved it. I now only have one rat living in this gigantic cage, since her sister just passed away According to the rat calculator it could house something like 10 rats though haha.


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## Arashi (Feb 4, 2012)

That's a great cage!


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## EleashaC (Jan 30, 2012)

Oh, my gosh! It looks like twenty rats could fit in there! Beautiful job.


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## PipRat (Jan 24, 2012)

Really nice cage!


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## Megamonkey (Feb 28, 2012)

How did you built it because my rat cage isnt suitable


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## JessyGene (Feb 27, 2012)

My boyfriend and I nailed together a wooden frame, and then used screws and washers to attach the wire mesh. The whole thing sits over top of a plastic bin. The levels are made out of plywood with stick-on laminate (although we are going to remove this later and paint the levels with nontoxic paint instead, because after a couple years the laminate starts to peel up in places). The levels are attached using cable ties, and the door is attached with regular (small) hinges. The roof is just a piece of plywood with a lip of wood nailed and glued to it to hold it in place (it is removable, not nailed down). Because of the wooden frame it did require some power tools and basic carpentry skills (that's where my boyfriend came in...although I think I could make a cage by myself now). Making a grotto style cage out of a cabinet or bookshelf would be easier, but since my boyfriend is highly skilled and owns a lot of tools we went with something fancier.

However, I have seen pictures of cages that were made out wire mesh and a plastic bin without the wooden frame. This could work if you don't have any tools to cut wood, although I suspect it would be more wobbly. In those pictures it look like the walls of the mesh were attached with cable ties and the whole structure was just sitting in the bin. Probably the only tool you would need would be a pair of wire snips, to cut the mesh. 

Also, if your cage isn't suitable you could try looking for another small used cage and then just attach the two to make a larger cage. I did that when I had rats as a kid.


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## Sidtherat (Feb 16, 2012)

Does it roll to it looks like it has wheels. Really nice job.


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## JessyGene (Feb 27, 2012)

yeah it does


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## RatMama13 (Aug 20, 2011)

When I am out of college and we are in a house (instead of a trailer) I plan to make my own cage. Your cage is really cool!


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## Megamonkey (Feb 28, 2012)

Thanks for the help. I was going to get another jenny cage and attach them but my rats have been chewing through the cage


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