# Cage questions. :)



## 2boysloose (Jun 27, 2008)

Ok, well, I talked to my dad earlier today, and we discussed cages. He actually threw in the idea of making a brand new cage for the rats. One defenitley big enough to maybe even fit all four! Of course the guys and girls would be completley seprated. 
Now, this is going to be a gradual process, like we would build a little a day. My dad use to be in construction, and even a little carpentering, so he knows how to do this, and is very skilled in it, luckily. 
What my questions are, is does anyone else have any ideas or pictures for how it should look? Does anyone have pictures of cages that they have made? 
Thanks!


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

Hand made wood cages = bad, always always bad!!!!! Don't waste your time and energy. My bf owns his own construction company and we have tried over and over again and the cages just don't last, have major design flaws making them hard to clean or decorate, not enough ventilation, the rats pee and even though we killz it, paint it and seal it it doesn't seem to matter much once they start trying to chew it and scratch it. They are impossible to clean, hard to take something that is wood outside and hose it off ya know. Not just that, but no matter what you do your going to end up spending close to $150 per cage (and that is for smaller ones) and $200 on a bigger cage. 

If he's handy, check out the thread about the aluminum cage. That thing will withstand over the years!! Also, when coating it use power coated hardware cloth, the green kind like what's found in the garden centers or it will absorb the urine and you will regret it!!


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## Nicotine (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm in agreeance with what lovinmyworm said. My dad's an engineer and very handy with the tools, so he and I were going to make a cage out of wood and wire cloth.. our plan was with good intentions, but we figured out pretty early on that it just wasn't worth the effort. It was time-consuming and a little complicated, and I realized that cleaning it would be terror. The wire cloth would have cost a lot, for how much we needed. It would have been hard to decorate, too, even if we were able to make it with perks such as big doors and a flip top lid. There was also issues over how sturdy it may or may not have been.
After that, we said screw it and he got lucky enough to find a pre-used SuperPet cage for $8.

Like lovingmyworm said, check out the home-made aluminum cage and consider something like that, or maybe you were originally?  Just whatever ya do, try to avoid making it out of wood.


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## 2boysloose (Jun 27, 2008)

Yeah, we were gonna avoid wood orginally, lol. We thought that the smell from the abosrbed pee would be HORRIBLE, and that they would ruin it by chewin' anyways. 
I'll check out the aluminum thing you guys were talking about.


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## saosin (Jan 6, 2008)

Good luck on the cage, I hope you will remember and post pics for us.


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## junior_j (Jan 24, 2008)

Have u check craiglist , freecycle , ebay , free adds for pre used cages , u can usually get a pretty good sized cage for quite cheap , i did once and it was right when i needed it , my plan was to save 100 pounds for my Jenny and this happend

Mum checked on freecycle once saw a rat cage going , big one so ok we got it , it was a large unknown named cage 2 stories , easy access , sqaure bars , no room for escape.. she also added all her previouse rat stuff ,we had food pasta , ceral , cat and puppy chow , brand new unopend toys and bowl , water bottles , laminiate lining , cat toys , it was excellent .. then when i got bored of the cage after 5 months , we found 3 boy rats who needed rescueing and they came with a brand new jenny (we didnt know that until we got them) and with some good cage swapping and when the boys went to a different home my girls got the jenny that i had always wanted.. all because we kept out eyes peeled
Jess x


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## 2boysloose (Jun 27, 2008)

I'll check out craiglsist and other places. Do they ship the cages to you, or what???


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## ScootersPet (Sep 4, 2007)

Craigslist has different states, then counties, look in the sections that are around where you live to see if there is one close by. Alot of people that post on craigslist and other like sites dont want to ship things to people, but want them to pick up the items.
Where are you located? State is fine, you dont have to disclose exactly what part if you dont feel comfortable with it.

Ebay has decent cages as well.


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## SamAnthrax (Jan 5, 2008)

I love craigslist. Its just a public advertisement site, like classifieds.


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## 2boysloose (Jun 27, 2008)

I live in Bakersfield, California.  Obviously the US of A.


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## Marysmuse (Apr 28, 2008)

2boysloose said:


> I'll check out craiglsist and other places. Do they ship the cages to you, or what???


Craigslist, like someone said, is basically a classifieds section, online. You'd pick up from the poster, in your town. (You search the list by state and city)

Same with Freecycle- most cities have their own Freecycle site. Everything on Freecycle is offered as free. Thus the name. 

Ebay is auctions, you buy from a seller, and they ship to you.

Good luck with the whole cage thing. 

Rejoicing in the day,
-Mary


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## Siwain (Feb 25, 2008)

lovinmyworm said:


> Hand made wood cages = bad, always always bad!!!!! Don't waste your time and energy. My bf owns his own construction company and we have tried over and over again and the cages just don't last, have major design flaws making them hard to clean or decorate, not enough ventilation, the rats pee and even though we killz it, paint it and seal it it doesn't seem to matter much once they start trying to chew it and scratch it. They are impossible to clean, hard to take something that is wood outside and hose it off ya know.


 I know exactly what you're talking about! My previous cage was made of wood and at the end i was sooo tired of it! Impossible to clean! Agh! Horrible! Very pretty, but awful! :?


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## junior_j (Jan 24, 2008)

Good luck with the cage thing!

On free cycle you can also use wanted adds , people may see ur ad for wanting a cage and think or yeah we got a old unwanted one ect..
Jess x


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