# My Rat Nursery :)



## mamatank (Jul 9, 2011)

just wanted to share some pictures of my rat nursery and talk about how i made it, in case others needed to construct one. this was my first time raising rats - an accidental litter of 9. my young rat juniper give birth 2 weeks after i bought her, and her 9 babies are now almost 3 weeks old.

i used large plastic container with a lid as the base for my nursery. i'm limited in tools so i used a hack saw to cut out most of the lid, allowing the handles to still lock in place but also creating a lot of ventilation. i then covered that large rectangular cut out section with some small wire mesh that i got from a hardware store. i used simple duck tape to secure it and haven't had any issues or escapees. then i used some flexible wire to attach the water bottle in such a way that it's very easy to take it in and out, and used more duck tape to secure it to the plastic. if you'd like detailed instructions or pictures on how i did the water bottle let me know  

inside the nursery they have lots of stimuli - 3 different houses/nests (one store bought, one empty tissue box and one empty cardboard canister that i covered in scrapbook paper), papertowel and toilet paper rolls (perfect tunnels for little rats!) a soft bed i sewed for them, lots of nesting materials, special treats hanging and a pinata, several toys, a ladder and a thick, large piece of wood for climbing. things inside the nursery are always changing since i clean the cage twice a week. i'm always trying new ways to entertain them during their in-cage time.

oh, and as you can see in the picture, the nursery is called "the chamber of secrets." i gave all of the babies harry potter professor names!  

if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to share!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

After all your hard work you are going to have to find a regular wired cage (2 actually) for them soon. It was a very good bin cage up to about 2-2.5 weeks but now they need a lot bigger and you'll need to separate all the boys in 2 weeks.


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## mamatank (Jul 9, 2011)

yes, i know this. the nursery was necessary because the spacing on my rat's wire cage allowed them to escape as soon as they learned how to get to the second level. in fact it was meant to be a very temporary stay (about 2 weeks) before they're separated. this may be my first litter but i know how to use google 

also, it was very easy to make. not really "hard work" as you put it. but i'm glad it looks that way  i just wanted to post this since there are so many accidental litters and i couldn't find much on rat nurseries on this forum. i hoped it could help someone.


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## luvmyfurbabies (Jul 27, 2011)

I am sure this will help others who find themselves in a pinch with unexpected litters. That looks like a super fun place to be a baby rat, too. ;D


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## mamatank (Jul 9, 2011)

thank you  i just added a tube style hammock for them and they all love it. all 9 babies crawl in there at one time, weighing it down so much that it almost touches the floor of the cage lol.


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## AllegroAssai (Jul 21, 2011)

CUTE! Where is Snape, show me Snape!!!


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