# First time rat owner help and cage help



## Col5632 (Apr 26, 2011)

Hi folks,

Me and my girlfriend are looking to buy two rats in the near future, we are struggling to find a big enough cage that doesnt cost much (ideally £80 or less) and will be good enough for the rats and also small bar spacing so they dont escape :'(

Any advice greatly appreciated 

Thanks

Colin


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## Jekka08 (Apr 24, 2011)

Hmmm, that's a tough one. The cheapest cages (for two rats and with ideal bar spacing) are in my opinion the Savic Freddy 2 or the Ferplast Furet Plus Cage (which was the first cage I got for three 8 week old does).

I assume you live in the UK since you've specified £s. The cheapest I've found are these cages at (there might be some cheaper cages on the same site)

http://www.equinecaninefeline.com/catalog/savic-freddy-cage-free-delivery-p-6750.html

and the ferplast furet plus for £81.99 at

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/furet-plus-ferret-and-rat-cage-by-ferplast-15988

Sorry if I've not been helpful, less then £80 is hard to come across as far as I've seen. And also sorry if these links don't work I will try to fix them if they don't.


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## Col5632 (Apr 26, 2011)

Jekka08 said:


> Hmmm, that's a tough one. The cheapest cages (for two rats and with ideal bar spacing) are in my opinion the Savic Freddy 2 or the Ferplast Furet Plus Cage (which was the first cage I got for three 8 week old does).
> 
> I assume you live in the UK since you've specified £s. The cheapest I've found are these cages at (there might be some cheaper cages on the same site)
> 
> ...


Thanks for your help, i have seen the critter 3 cage for sale well within budget and what looks like a great cage that will last ages, will this be ok for young rats?


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## Jekka08 (Apr 24, 2011)

My 4 adult girls are presently in a critter 3, and I'm pretty sure that even an 8 week old female rat would have trouble getting through those squares (but it should still be tested). A word of warning though, the critter 3 can be very difficult to clean as the doors open inwards and the metal tends to rust after awhile of exposure to rats and pet safe disinfectant. Overall I would say it's a good cage which has served 4 degus (when two critter 3s were joined together) and 4 rats well.


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## Col5632 (Apr 26, 2011)

How big are the squares? Im guessing cause its horizontal and vertical bars its pretty small? Could i cover the wire with something like lino?


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## Jekka08 (Apr 24, 2011)

It's 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch spacing for each square I think, I'm pretty sure it has to be at least an inch spacing for them to escape, or at leasts that's what I heard.


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## Col5632 (Apr 26, 2011)

Jekka08 said:


> It's 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch spacing for each square I think, I'm pretty sure it has to be at least an inch spacing for them to escape, or at leasts that's what I heard.


As long as the head cant get through then the body cant :\

Do you have your cage on a stand? also how do you stop bedding etc coming out the cage?


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## Jekka08 (Apr 24, 2011)

Pretty much, my girls have never managed to get more then they're noses through the bars. I have my cage on a set of drawers about 1/3 the height of the cage. As for bedding, the base is deep enough for it to usually not get kicked out, occasionally it will but very rarely so it's just the case of brushing it up. Wood bedding such as aspen and shredded paper fall out more often because they're lighter, so I would recommend a paper based bedding such as back-2-nature or a paper based cat litter like bio-catolet as these are reasonably cheap. I personally prefer Carefresh since It's a rather bulky bedding, but some people are super sensitive to the smell of it and it can be dusty (and a little expensive ).


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## Col5632 (Apr 26, 2011)

Well decided upon the ferplast one from pets at home, seems the best cage for the money we have to spend


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