New Page 1

The Cage page!

Having been out of the loop really with the most recent additions to the cage market I have redesigned this page to include more links to sites that cover what is available currently , I also look at some general pointers to consider before you buy your cage and I discuss my current rat set up.

Introduction

I feel it is important to mention the significance of the CAGE as part of your shopping list for your new pets as it is where they will be expected to live the majority of their lives. Therefore space is probably the most important consideration, people (including many pet shops!) often underestimate the amount of room a rat requires but rats are intelligent active animals so need plenty of room to move about. Couple this with the fact that rats are best housed in pairs or small groups then be prepared to purchase a sizeable cage.

Rats live a large part of their life in a cage, so it has to be right!

Basic considerations

Space and price - There is no two ways about it, the cage is the most expensive purchase you will have to make when you are getting your rats. The fact that rats require a minimum of approx 2 ft squared each means you are looking for a large spacious cage that will likely cost more again. Avoid being tempted by starter kits offered in (most) pet shops as these are normally not large enough, although they may be more appealing in price. I would also be very sceptical of anything that call its self a rat cage until you get the tape measure out! As a rough figure I would say you are looking to spend any where between £50-£200.
Enrichment - There is no point giving your rat all this space, if it is boring empty space! Rats love to have cages full of things to do and there is plenty available on the market to help you make their home exciting and fun! Some suggestions include hammocks a firm favourite, parrot ropes, tubes, igloos, boxes etc etc You can also visit the Podel's Toy page to get some other ideas of how to enrich your rat's environment!
Positioning the cage - I know it sound obvious but....do you have room for the cage you have chosen in the room you plan to keep it? Is there space to access it properly and clean it out easily? These are important things to consider and difficult to fix once you have the cage installed! Other things to consider are that the cage isn't right next to a radiator where the rats will get too hot, neither is it in direct sun light OR in a draft. As with most animals rats prefer a constant temperature so keep this in mind when positioning your cage. Finally as already mentioned rat are intelligent animals and if you have the option it can be nice to position the cage in a room where it isn't too busy but that they can see you and you will walk by often to say hello!
Other types of housing - Although this page is mainly discussing cages as housing for rats it is important to note other types of cages that are used to house rats. The three other types of cages you may see used are plastic tanks, glass tanks/fish tanks and hutches. Plastic tanks with sliding bars along the top are useful for nursing does and kittens, ill or elderly rats but are not roomy enough for an active adult rat. It was common when I first got my rats to see glass tanks used however they are not ideal as they get very hot in the summer and don't provide enough ventilation. Finally hutches, large systems of hutches are often used by breeders and for those rats kept outside in sheds/garages can provide warm quarters for the winter. The down side to hutches is they are often not that big, the wood is very chewable and it also soaks up the urine therefore is difficult to clean!

Kittens and Small does

Some of the large cages available may have wide bar spacing, this is quite often because they are not primarily designed for rats, but chinchillas or ferrets etc instead. This large bar spacing offers perfect opportunities for kittens and even some small adult does to escape!

Luna : "I want out!"

To combat this you can either do what I have done in the past and have a smaller cage, with closer bars for your kittens to grow up in. Choose a large cage with narrower bars (although these are rare) OR temporarily cover the cage in chicken wire, held in place with cable ties till the rats are big enough for the cage to be safe for them.

Older rats

Older rats have yet again different requirements from the young/adult rats. As they get older you will find a lot of rats cant get around as easily and are generally not as active, preferring to spend more of their time sleeping. Cages at this time of life can be smaller to reflect this more sedate life style. In addition to this, cages for older rats should have few big drops and no steep slopes or ramps for them to climb. It is important to consider all the toys and enrichment you include for them too as they must be able to safely use all of their enviroment.

For very elderly rats or those with badly wasted/paralysed back legs it can be kinder to have them in a single level cage so that they can easily access everything in their environment. Although saying this my old rat Bramble who has very poor use of her back legs could still get around her cage well and could still manage to get on the platforms using the gently sloping tubes I have replaced the ladders with.

Size vs. Cleaning out

Another important factor that I have learnt over time is that a large spacious cage can mean that it is difficult to clean out /access/ move around your home, especially if you keep your cage upstairs! It is important to way up the pros and cons of space over how easy they are to clean out. Be realistic in what you will be prepared to clean out however many months down the line, when some of the novelty has worn off your new pet and it is freezing cold outside. It is important to find this manageable balance between space and ease of use.

My old Ferretrail cage, a super fun cage for my rats...a pain in the bum to clean out!

My current set up...

As of the beginning of 2009 my rats have moved outside to the garage, this is because my parents no longer wanted any cages in the house. Moving my boys outside has been a massive learning curve and with my dad's help we are constantly improving their habitat to make it as ideal as possible for them. So what is the new set up like? ...Well I currently have 3 boys (soon to be 4) and they live in a double story hutch that is over 4ft long. It fits perfectly in the space I was allotted in the garage and provides lots of room for the boys. It cost around £90 from an internet website and was fairly easy to construct. I chose a hutch because as already mentioned it suited the space I was given and would also be warmer for my rats in winter however it does have some down sides. Chops has successfully made little chew marks all over it. Also as suspected, even though it was said to have a protective coating in the base it does soak up the urine on exposed wooden surfaces and can be hard to clean in that respect (in other ways it is very quick to clean though).

The boys hutch...

Since having it we have made several modifications to make it more suitable, including adding varnished shelves for more space, hooks for hammocks etc, decreasing the bed compartment access hole to make this warmer and countless attempts at fiddling around with the best method to heat them in the winter. Rats ideally shouldn't be kept below 10 degrees so we have very recently installed on the bed compartment ceiling a "Reptile Radiator" by habistat (which cost around £48), which we plan to connect to a thermostat and monitor carefully. Initial trials show that this is very effective at heating the space, although the manufacturers say it will not burn it does get quite hot, so we may add a guard at a later date depending on how the boys react to it.

Finally future improvements that I may make include buying a hutch cover for really cold winters nights and possibly covering the floors with either lino tiles or Perspex to make it easier to clean.

Recommended links!

The Rats of Alpha Centauri - RATZ - Housing page! - This is an excellent page with reviews of many, many types of cages!
Fancy Rat's cage reviews - Gives detailed cage reviews, including information on how many rats you can fit in each and the bar spacing.
Ratty Corner - Our Cages page - Goes through the cages they have used past and present, the dimensions and how they found them.
Ratty Corner - Cage Size Calculator - Good for working out how many rats will fit in the cage you plan to use!