# Don't ask me how this happened. EDITED! This isn't



## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

I was just cleaning out the boys half of my FN 142 (I keep the boys on top, girls on bottom) and I picked up the towel I use for their bedding and Charlotte was in there! She can't fit out of the bars, and the ramp is up so I have NO idea how she ended up in there. She was in the bottom half this morning! 

Here's to hoping I don't end up with an Oops litter....

EDITED : 

I just went to move something in the boys cage, and she was in there AGAIN! As I went for her, she dove through the wires in the back of the cage, climbed them down, and back into the girl's cage! What a little tramp! 

So right now she's back in her old cage, I know I should put someone in there with her but really don't want to seperate anyone.....so tomorrow it looks like I'm gonna have to get more chicken wire and do the girls' half too, as well as the backs of my FN (I had it flat against the wall, apparently that wasn't enough.)


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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And neither of my roommates have been home all day.

This is completely boggling my mind.


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## d00mg1rl (Jun 27, 2007)

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I've seen my rats slip through bars too small for them to fit through
its amazing what they can do when they want to.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

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Oh dear... Any chance you could perhaps afford an e-spay? If she's seeking out the boys she might be in heat...


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## thegrotto (May 11, 2007)

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d00mg1rl said:


> I've seen my rats slip through bars too small for them to fit through
> its amazing what they can do when they want to.


Had it happen too. I've had a girl slip through bars she shouldn't be able to get out of ... and into a boys cage. Had and oops litter.


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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Forensic said:


> Oh dear... Any chance you could perhaps afford an e-spay? If she's seeking out the boys she might be in heat...


I had money stashed away. But the day before yesterday my stupid drunk roommate put his arm through the window in our front door, and I had to pay to have the window replaced and clean up the blood (he almost lost his hand completely, and almost died of bloodloss) so right now, I'm tapped. 

I guess I'll keep watching her, I should have more chicken wire to put on the back of the cage tomorrow. If she does end up pregnant, then I guess I better start looking for homes.


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## IceLore (May 13, 2007)

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Good luck with her then. I've got my fingers crossed that she's not pregnant for you.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

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Best wishes that she's not... Can you weigh her often to monitor her weight?


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

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I would cut a piece of coroplast or a chunk of playwood and put it between the levels, then put the latter up. I've seen that, just the latter itself doesn't seem secure enough and I bet a girl wanting to get in trouble can find a way out we couldn't imagine. A SOLID layer of something would be helpful to put over that. Good luck.

I hope she's not pregnate but if she is good luck on finding homes.


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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Yeah, I have a scale that weighs in ounces and grams. I'll keep track.

I have a piece of acrylic over the hole in the top level, so I know it's not that. I took apart a mesh shelving unit that I use for makeshift emergency cages and ziptied it over the areas I ran out of chicken wire for.


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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She did it AGAIN! I covered the ENTIRE outside of the cage with 1/4 inch hardware cloth, and this morning she was in the boy's cage AGAIN. Now I really have no idea, as both levels were covered with SEPERATE PIECES so that I wouldn't have to worry about her just crawling up between the hardware cloth and the FN.....

I guess she'll have to stay in solitary in her old cage until I can get this figured out.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

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Perhaps she should be named Houdini. 8O


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## MagicalLobster (Jun 30, 2007)

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Wow. I used to have rats escape through bars all the time and I'd think to myself how it was even physically possible.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

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I bet you she's squeezing in between the boys cage bottom and burrowing into their cage from under their tray. I would put a piece of something solid there and zip tie the crap out of it. Maybe on both sides.


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## Rodere (Feb 26, 2007)

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Determined girl. lol I don't have a FN, so I can't give any tips as to how she's doing it or how to fix it. I have one that seems to be able to fit through anything. So I put the girls in a Martins lol No getting out of that!

That's partly why I didn't get a FN. I don't like the bar spacing.


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## KimmiesGuineas (Jun 14, 2007)

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Oh goodness. Please keep us updated on what ends up happening!


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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Still not sure if she ended up pregnant or not, but she's still in solitary, heh. 

But I just went to go feed everyone, and Wingman was in with the girls. :SLKJDG:LKSJDG:LDKFJG:LDFKHJ:LHKJ.


At least he was hiding in a box in terror, heh. The girls are all three times his size. I don't think he got to any of them.

I think you guys were right about them squeezing underneath the tray....heading to the hardware store in the morning to get more hardware cloth to ziptie under the tray on the top level.


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## chrisstrikeagain (Apr 10, 2007)

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oh no, what a terror. lets hope no babies come from this.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

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Watch out for that. Someone in another forum had a girly get stuck in that area and wasn't able to get her head out and she died ):

Also make sure each section is hardware wired seperate from the others. The boys and girls section each and zip tied like crazy. You can't put enough zip ties or hardware cloth on your ferret nation it seems. I'm sorry it isn't working out for you D: I hope everyone is alright.

Can you post pictures so we can all look and see what possible routes a rat can take to get into the other part?

I would get hardware cloth for the top and bottom. And be sure the back and top of the cage is done as well, and the bottom of the boys too. Get as much hardware clothed and zip tied as possible.


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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That's my plan. The whole outside is done, ziptied all over the place, I just need to do underneath the trays. Waiting for the roommate's girlfriend to get home so I can whine my way into a ride to Home Depot.


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## MagicalLobster (Jun 30, 2007)

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Seperate the cages. DX


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

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mozart loves eating zipties. all four of those up-down sliding feeder-bin doors on their bird cage are open, i'm just hoping they're too ignorant to figure out how to lift them up. they also have a sagging platform cuz mozart eats out all the zipties every night. i'm looking into some other form of keeping things attached to their cages. so far, wire is the only thing keeping their litter pan in one place.
good luck with your FN. def not getting one until they decide on a RN to make for sure.


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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They could all care less about the zipties. Both cages are now FULLY seperated by wire.....so unless they can smoosh though quarter inch holes, i don't see this being a problem anymore.


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

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maybe you should get your ratties spayed or neutered. Then you can have one big happy rattie family of boys and girls


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

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I totally would, that would be ideal, if it didn't cost $100 per rat.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

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What is the youngest age that you can safely spay/neuter rats?

I am an RVT (registered vet. tech) and you'd think that I would know that. I specialize in emergency medicine and my hospital only treats dogs and cats... so Iâ€™m rusty.

So we're all sitting around trying to look it up.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

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8 weeks for males. not sure for females. i would imagine a bit older as the operation in more invasive. the reason my vet wanted at least 8 weeks was so the bugger could grow to a decent ans safe size for the operation. where a spay would be more complicated i would think they would want the organs and all to be bigger. but the older the rat the less clear the health benefits are for the female. so i'm not sure.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

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Makes sense, thanks! 

Whenever questions like that come up, we all enjoy arguing about what the right answer is until the doctor steps in and has the final word.


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