# Wall Mounted Rat Cage?



## Ratmadoo (Nov 19, 2016)

Is there such a thing? Has anyone tried this? I would like to wall mount a rat cage, pref I would like to buy a large one ready made that can be mounted, this is due to lack of floor space - I could build one myself if need be but have never seen one like this.

My rats won't pee on the walls for sure 
I have back problems so waist high would be so much easier to clean out
I have a lack of space on the floor 

At the mo I have 2 large rat cages 1 is 6ft x 3ft and the other is 4ft x 4ft so I do have some space on floor, but I would like bigger and wall mounted. I am thinking maybe doing the WHOLE of one wall as a cage.... Am I mad?


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## charlypie (May 15, 2017)

I've never seen a commercial cage that was intended to be wall mounted, and I don't think most cages could be with how they are designed, so it would probably need to be something you make yourself. Have you considered putting up a shelf at the level the cages would be best for you and putting them on that? Or just putting them on top of tables or something. I think that might be easier than making or modifying a cage to mount to the wall.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

I've seen them but I haven't been overly impressed. The biggest issue I have with a wall mounted cage is the difficulty of deep cleaning. Every couple months, I disassemble my cage and give it a good deep cleaning from top to bottom. I think it might be difficult to design a wall mounted cage that would allow this. You don't think your rats will pee on the walls but that doesn't mean that the wall behind the cage won't get dirty. It will. The inside and outside walls of the cage will need to be cleaned somewhat regularly, as well. Consider how to easily remove the cage from the wall for cleaning when designing your cage. 

The nicest _looking_ wall mounted cage I've seen was made from an Ikea unit.









It looks like it was a pretty expensive build but It doesn't seem to have much in the way of cross ventilation. At least the floors, lower corners and edges, and the lower portions of the side walls are sealed with plastic tiles. I don't think wood is the best rat cage material (especially fake Ikea fiber board). I'm sure the holes between the sections will get gnawed on.

I've seen another one made of plywood that looks really fun but would probably need to be thrown away after 6 months or so.









It's a neat idea but it looks impossible to clean.

I've also seen people create a sort of "open air" play area for their rats on their walls using shelving. Raining Rats Rattery has the coolest cage setups I've ever seen. They have an open play area on the roof of their cages and they mount shelving above that with ladders and such so their rats can explore their way up the walls. 















Perhaps something like this could be adapted for your purposes.

Just keep the important things in mind as you consider designing a wall mounted cage. Make sure it has good air circulation, can be thoroughly cleaned (your rats will poop and pee on every surface), and isn't made with materials that absorb urine and smells over time.

It might just be easier to purchase a sturdy wall mounted shelf to put a good manufactured cage on.


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## Ratologist (Nov 24, 2016)

OMG! That open air space is the coolest! There is no doubt in my mind, however, that my rats would jump to the floor and be off on their own adventures! LOL!


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## Ratmadoo (Nov 19, 2016)

charlypie said:


> I've never seen a commercial cage that was intended to be wall mounted, and I don't think most cages could be with how they are designed, so it would probably need to be something you make yourself. Have you considered putting up a shelf at the level the cages would be best for you and putting them on that? Or just putting them on top of tables or something. I think that might be easier than making or modifying a cage to mount to the wall.


My 2nd cage I made specially to go on top of a piece of furniture, but it was a bit too tall (I was standing on a chair to clean them and lifting the cage down twice a day to free range them :0 ..and so now it's on the floor, lol) A shelf is a good idea, I could probably make that and get the brackets, I do worry about it falling as the cage is heavy, but I guess I could screw some screws at the top to the walll to make it stable (I would have a ladder or pipe down so the rats can come out). - The other thought I had was putting the cage back onto the piece of furniture that was too tall... Instead of lifting down 2wice a day to free range I was thinking of cutting circles through the bottom of the cage, through the furniture, and out onto the floor, so the rats can exit to free range. (can't find a ladder long enough for the height of that unit) I asked my partner about a pully system to lift down the cage and he thinks I'm truly mad, lol.


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## Ratmadoo (Nov 19, 2016)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> I've seen them but I haven't been overly impressed. The biggest issue I have with a wall mounted cage is the difficulty of deep cleaning. Every couple months, I disassemble my cage and give it a good deep cleaning from top to bottom. I think it might be difficult to design a wall mounted cage that would allow this. You don't think your rats will pee on the walls but that doesn't mean that the wall behind the cage won't get dirty. It will. The inside and outside walls of the cage will need to be cleaned somewhat regularly, as well. Consider how to easily remove the cage from the wall for cleaning when designing your cage.
> 
> The nicest _looking_ wall mounted cage I've seen was made from an Ikea unit.
> 
> ...



Thank you so much for the input, some amazing ideas and pics here! And thanks for the advice  Yeah well ventilated and easy to clean are my main goals as well as it being at a comfortable height and a height that is easy for the rats to exit to the floor for free range. My own cages are self made with wood (decent wood not plywood though) but mostly wire and you are right about it needing to be remade every so often, my problem is with the wire getting dirty, anything not powder coated I am replacing after 1 year. The wood they are fine, I think I must have angel rats, lol, mine honestly don't pee anywhere but their beds and their litter (males) I feel very lucky about that  

I do love the cages made with furniture, but yeah don't want to risk all that amount of wood smelling and bad ventilation, and quickly ruining the furniture, I do prefer to have wire on all sides of the cage. I have 2 amazing units that would make really eye catching and large cages, but I just can't take the plunge of doing it and taking the risk of not enough ventilation etc. I love how the furniture cages compliment a room, but the ones we can buy kind of jar and stand out, wish there was a place too get 'beautiful rat cages' lol. 

Thanks you've given me plenty to think about


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## Ratmadoo (Nov 19, 2016)

Ratologist said:


> OMG! That open air space is the coolest! There is no doubt in my mind, however, that my rats would jump to the floor and be off on their own adventures! LOL!


It's awesome isn't it! hehe, mine too probably, never seen them jump but sometimes find them on my bed, on top of the furniture, etc how on earth did they get up there!! lol


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## Ratmadoo (Nov 19, 2016)

I just found this ...http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...s-and-runs/outdoor-guinea-pig/rose-rabbit-run could be turned upright, acrylic backing, more doors, and make levels and covers for the wire floor - the wire looks strong and there would be wire on 3 sides (H122 x W122 x D61cm) I think I'm just having a creative meltdown lol


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Ratmadoo said:


> I just found this ...http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...s-and-runs/outdoor-guinea-pig/rose-rabbit-run could be turned upright, acrylic backing, more doors, and make levels and covers for the wire floor - the wire looks strong and there would be wire on 3 sides (H122 x W122 x D61cm) I think I'm just having a creative meltdown lol


It looks like the bar spacing is pretty wide (1" or so) so I would use caution if you're planning on housing young rats or smaller females.


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## Ratmadoo (Nov 19, 2016)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> It looks like the bar spacing is pretty wide (1" or so) so I would use caution if you're planning on housing young rats or smaller females.


I'll bear that in mind, I think I would like 2 more babies, and maybe even more, lol...  My currant rats don't even fit through the bars in my stair gate though :0 They are quite wide spaces, these males seem to be growing much larger than the last time I kept rats :0 - I've just seen the price of acrylic sheets in my hardware store over £100 :0 :0 That can't be normal!! I thought the acrylic would be good to line and protect the wood parts, but not at that price. So re-thinking the whole idea.


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