# Bass pans



## erose (Dec 31, 2015)

Hi everyone

I have a single unit Critter Nation cage. My rats had a really difficult time grasping how to use the litter box so I line the shelf with fleece and I use a corrugated plastic pan on the lower level with unscented Yesterday's news. 
The plastic is now disgusting and I want to replace the lower pan with something that looks like and will last longer. I am looking into Bass pans but I have no idea what the different options mean. I can get a customized pan with FP1 SS and I'm a little lost. 

Any help would be appreciated


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

SS means stainless steel. FP1 vs FP2 is whether or not it has the notch to go between levels.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I use the cement mixing tub from Home Depot. Much cheaper than Bass Pans and much deeper too so it keeps the litter, poops...in and not on my floors


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## Rhonwen (Dec 29, 2014)

I recently decide to make the switch to using bedding vs fleece in at least one of my cages. My girls are pigs - they chew holes in the fleece, then burrow between the pans and the fleece - pooping and peeing the whole while. Then they lay in it.. Yuck. They're destructive enough that I can not reuse the fleece to cover pans again, and buying fleece enough for 4 cages gets pricey quickly. 

The obvious problem with bedding is that it gets everywhere with the pans in the DCNs. I put a small 3" high bin in their cage with bedding as a test, and they've done remarkably well with it. Not a whole lot of bedding is getting out of the cage, no more bedding than poop anyway. I am about 95% decided on the Bass Pans, they're high enough, and have the option of a urine guard, which raises the overall height to 6" or 6.5" depending on which pan height you go with. 

I do have a couple questions:

1. Has anyone purchased the urine guards, how have they worked for you, pros cons? overall satisfaction rating?
2. I've read you have to spray the pans with anti-rust and let it set. Feedback on this? What did you use to spray the pans with? how long did you let them sit to cure? 
3. Personal pros cons of the bass pans themselves?


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

If you get the stainless steel ones, you do not have to treat it.


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## OMR (Oct 20, 2013)

Gribouilli said:


> I use the cement mixing tub from Home Depot. Much cheaper than Bass Pans and much deeper too so it keeps the litter, poops...in and not on my floors


Way cheaper too! what size do you use?


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

^ I would also like to know what size as I'm gonna try switching soon hopefully but if they're as good as the bass pan then I definitely could use the cheaper option!!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Home Depot cement mixing tub:http://m.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-Black-Large-Concrete-Mixing-Tub-887102C/205451585 

You just need to trim a little bit of their width. Here's a pic of one intact tub, and one that I trimmed:


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

How do you trim it? Cheers (seems like you're the one always helping me out lol!)


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

I use the stainless steel bass pans and got them to make them an extra 1/2" tall. I love them. They are easy to clean and hold up well to everything the rats throw at them. You do still get some litter scattered, but using less litter helps. I only use about 1" of litter and don't get too much scattered out.


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

artgecko said:


> I use the stainless steel bass pans and got them to make them an extra 1/2" tall. I love them. They are easy to clean and hold up well to everything the rats throw at them. You do still get some litter scattered, but using less litter helps. I only use about 1" of litter and don't get too much scattered out.


What litter do you use?


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

Gribouilli said:


> Home Depot cement mixing tub:http://m.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-Black-Large-Concrete-Mixing-Tub-887102C/205451585
> 
> You just need to trim a little bit of their width. Here's a pic of one intact tub, and one that I trimmed:


any update on how to trim them?


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I don't have one of those tubs, but I have cut heavy plastic stuff before. A sturdy utility knife would work, or maybe hardware scissors


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

Thanks  forgive me, I'm gonna sound stupid but part of what I was confused about was what he was trimming because they look the same (like there's no sides missing on the trimmed one). Does he just mean trimming down the thickness?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Felix said:


> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think I see where the bottom one is trimmed on the right side!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes the second bass tub is trimmed, if you look at the holes you can see that it was trimmed on both sides Not much trimming is needed. I'll post a pic of what I used to trim them tomorrow as I'm not sure what it is called...it is basically a big sturdy scissor I got from Lowes. I first tried with a hand saw ($8 or so at Lowes) but wasn't as easy or well done than with that other tool I used.


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Felix- sorry, I didn't see your question until today. I use shredded aspen with a thin layer of wood horse stall pellets underneath to help absorb extra urine / moisture. Seems to work pretty well. I also give them newsprint and paper towels to shred if they want to build a nest.


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

It's all good mate, thank you for answering me 

So I got the cement mixing bin today and cut it but I accidentally misread and cut the back lip too! It looks okay but will that still work okay? will they get cut on it somehow? also, it seems like there is space between the front of the bin and the doors (I have a single unit CN) except when I close that space is very tiny. Is that space OK or has anyone rats had a problem where they keep climbing out of the bin and going into that space? (again, it's very tiny, maybe even nonexistent when the doors are shut and I'm just worrying) And for anyone using the CN with these bins, what "notch" is your second floor on? 

Final question (in this post  , has anyone tried creating a wire thing for them to walk on so they're not actually walking around in the tub? Or is it good for them to walk around in the tub (If I had a wire floor on top of the bin I would lay some towels down so they had non-wire places to rest)


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Felix said:


> It's all good mate, thank you for answering me So I got the cement mixing bin today and cut it but I accidentally misread and cut the back lip too! It looks okay but will that still work okay? will they get cut on it somehow? also, it seems like there is space between the front of the bin and the doors (I have a single unit CN) except when I close that space is very tiny. Is that space OK or has anyone rats had a problem where they keep climbing out of the bin and going into that space? (again, it's very tiny, maybe even nonexistent when the doors are shut and I'm just worrying) And for anyone using the CN with these bins, what "notch" is your second floor on? Final question (in this post  , has anyone tried creating a wire thing for them to walk on so they're not actually walking around in the tub? Or is it good for them to walk around in the tub (If I had a wire floor on top of the bin I would lay some towels down so they had non-wire places to rest)


if it has rough edges, use sand paper to smooth them out. I had a dremel so I used that. If you cut too much they might chew at it or not, only time will tell. Better be cautious and sand out any sharp edges/cuts. 

My rats never climbed out of the bin when the doors are closed. They can't do it because I cut just a tiny bit out of the smaller sides. When the doors are open they play in that space. Looks like a lot of fun for them. I don't mind it at all, and so far I didn't put anything on the wires.


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## Felix (Oct 25, 2015)

*thanks  *do you have a CN? I have the second floor on the highest notch now; does that sound right? the ramp wasn't going down all the way properly on any of the other notches...


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## BlackoutCat (Jan 23, 2016)

Can anyone post pics of their pans _in_ their cages? I'd love to see the urine guards too. I'm considering the investment of a bass pan for my lowest level but I'd like to see how far up the sides they do come and how they sit in the cage. One of my boys is particularly aggressive towards my cats and is jamming his face as far between the bars as possible or lunging (thereby smashing his face) into the side of the cage to attack. I can't see that being good so I strap cardboard around the outside of the bottom so they don't see each other but I'm going to run out of cardboard at the rate it gets "loved" by the boys. My curious cat is just confused while my elder cat ignores them. I actually am keeping the rats/cats separated for free range mainly for fear of what the rat would do to the cat not the other way around! I wouldn't trust it regardless but boy is that little guy aggressive! 

I'm only looking into Bass pans though because they eat plastic at a prodigious rate and those mixing tubs look like a feast!


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

There are a couple pics of DCNs with Bass pans on page 11 of the Ferret and Critter Nation pics thread, if that helps. They do have 2 depths: 2 1/2" and 3", I'm not sure but think the pics show the 2 1/2" pans.


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## rats-alive-at-55 (Jul 16, 2015)

I am using the home depot cement mixing pan for the bottom of my DCN. However, the girls sometimes decide to carry the aspen shavings to the upper levels and the stuff gets everywhere, in and outside of the cage. I don't put fleece on my pans either, for the same reasons mentioned above. It is easier to take out a shelf or pan, dump off the debris, and give it a quick spray and wipe. With fleece, I had to take out the pan/shelf in order to remove the clips holding the fleece, usually trash the chewed up fleece, and I still had to clean the plastic pans. I do have at least three fleece hammock type things in there for them to snuggle in.


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## rats-alive-at-55 (Jul 16, 2015)

I made a couple of small ledges out of wood to cover the exposed cut parts of the tub. I also don't use the ramps while the rats are young and agile. I have a ladder I attached to the opening in the top of my DCN and it goes down to the ledge. I made a smaller shelf they can use to get to the shelf on the bottom level, but they usually just climb up the cage sides to access the shelf above the cement tub.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Felix said:


> *thanks  *do you have a CN? I have the second floor on the highest notch now; does that sound right? the ramp wasn't going down all the way properly on any of the other notches...


I have the second floor on the middle notch. The ramp is fitting properly, just push the ramp 1/4 inch on the left and it would sit perfectly- at least it does here. Let me know.


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

I'm doing the same thing with the cement mixing tray. I trimmed the edge with a jigsaw but it could be done with a handsaw or tinsnips.

I use carpet squares on the top level of my CN cage. I get them at the dollar store and they go in the wash each week. So far one set has lasted about a month.


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