Comments on: Thinking About Getting a Wire Cage

By: Marianna

Marianna — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:25:38 +0000

My two female rats,Snowball and Butterscotch,seem to enjoy their large cage that was honestly meant for hamsters.Yes,it does have bars,but you see,the top is spaced out and the ventilation is perfect.Also,females may enjoy hamster wheels!

By: Maja

Maja — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 14:37:53 +0000

Hello my name is Maja and I have two female pet rats called Bella and Phoebe. I do agree that aquarium tanks are not so good for keeping pet rats. First of all the air circulation is very poor, secondly the little rascals are not able to climb, which they love , and lastly its very hard to attach hammocks and/or tubes in tanks. I think that hammocks are a must have as my pet rats love them and they snuggle and cuddle in them all the time If you do get a wire cage make sure to put fleece on the levels (you don’t want your rats getting bumblefoot) and to get a lot of toys and hammocks for the ratties so that they don’t get bored. Oh and if you use wood shavings for bedding you should stop using it ASAP ! I used wood shavings but I stopped because my rats got fungus from it and they had to get medicine ! Right now I use cat litter but paper strips are also very good !
I hope this helps you and I wish you and your ratties all the best !!!

By: Monex Investigation

Monex Investigation — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:47:53 +0000

Rats like your attention so you may consider putting the cage in a room with high movement. Now as for the dimensions of the cage for one to two rats I would go no smaller than a 24 L x 12 W x 24 T. NEVER house rats in a small hamster habitat solid plastic cage 10 gallon aquariums or ventilated storage bins.

By: Zoe (the rat lady and her furry marshmellows)

Zoe (the rat lady and her furry marshmellows) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:08:51 +0000

Thanks for this! I want to show it to my dad who kept saying aquariums are fine for rats! They are SOOO NOT!

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 01:19:57 +0000

I currently keep my “babies” in a ten gallon aquarium. I intend to buy something larger, but have yet the money to do so. When my “big boy” and his partner were little (she recently died) I would take them into the restroom for about a half hour at least once a day to just run around. I would also take them into my chair with me while I worked on my laptop and they would crawl around there. I eventually put them on the floor and they were very shy of the floor. They would start to venture off a few feet at a time and come back and check on me. Soon they were running all over the place, but not hiding. Now at least twice a day I take them out of their cage for about a half hour twice a day to just run. About 30 minutes seems perfect and I have not found any “presents” from them. They come back when I call them (I did not train them to do this). I also have not found anything chewed up either. Maybe I am just lucky and have the Most well behaved rats,ever

By: Sandra

Sandra — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:23:01 +0000

Hello,
My first rat was Elizabeth, a PEW. Her cage was an acrylic display case used in museums that measured 4′x3′x3′. I put two plastic milk crates in upside down and she created a very nice little home for herself. The beauty of this cage was that i could climb right in to clean it!
Anyway, Elizabeth got yesterday’s leftovers. I never fed her rat pellets. One day when she was quite little she did two things that startled me. She couldn’t reach or jump to a treat I had placed high up in the cage. So she figured out how to push a cardboard box toward the treat and she was then able to reach the treat. I also give her dog biscuits. One such biscuit was for medium sized dogs and if she had attempted to carry the bone through a small rat-hole of her favorite box it would jam. But Elizabeth figured this one out immediately and took hold of one end of the bone and pulled it into her lair! Since then I have never underestimated how intelligent these creatures are.

I now have four ratties: Lard-Ass #2 (LA#1 hid in the garbage and was taken out with the rest of the recycling. He was spotted two kilometers away and is living the high life with another family!) Then I have Squeak, so named for obvious reasons. He just yaps and squeaks for no apparent reason constantly. Papillon is the greeter. He likes to hang out on a table top at the entrance to my apartment. As soon as I come in he gets on his hind legs and reaches expecting a treat. I sent a letter to Wal-Mart asking for a blue smok size XXXXXXXXXXX-small – and explained it was for my pet rat. Several weeks later i received a smok that measured three inches by two inches. And finally i have Cecile. Cecile was to replace Lard-Ass #1. he is the only one who lives in a cage. my other three run around the apartment (Kitchen, bathroom, closets, door ways are all sealed off.)

I absolutely love my little guys. They each know their names. They each have their preferences for food (Papillon is partial to beer, and Lard-Ass #2 likes white wine. Squeak likes chocolate. None of this is any good for these beasts but considering they were destined to be snake food and have lived 22 months beyond their expected expiry date, i don’t really care if they eat, drink and are merry.

Enjoy your ratties.

(PS Elizabeth died naturally after three litters — all the pups were successfully adopted out to very loving families. She was an excellent mother. One day i accidently dropped one of the pinkies in the toilet and my buddy said just give it to the mother, she’ll know what to do. That little guy became Lard-Ass #1.)

By: Crickett

Crickett — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:40:04 +0000

Hi, My name is Crickett, I bought a couple of hooded rats from a pet store a few months ago. I used to keep them in a 10 gallon fish tank with a wire mesh top on them but as I soon found out this was not roomy enough for them. So, I invested in a pretty large rabbit playpen and they love it. I have been opening it a little for short periods of time through out the day and they have been coming out to explore a little. They like the door left open just enough to run back in if they get spooked. That pen is their safety zone. They also enjoy taking turns being up on the couch with me.Sometimes I doze off for a short nap and they have a field day running back and forth all over me.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:16:10 +0000

Also, to give your ratties a little more room and air (and to save you a bit of money), you can just get “aquarium topper” wire cages that simply fit over top of the aquarium and fasten around the lip. It’s what I used when my 3 rats were smaller.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:08:09 +0000

This one works really well for my 3 female rats, and would probably hold at least one more.

http://www.petco.com/product/106171/PETCO-Rat-Manor-Habitat.aspx?CoreCat=IO-_-ProductList_4-_-PETCO%20Rat%20Manor%20Habitat-106171

Otherwise, aviary cages work great also. Just be sure to replace the wire shelving with plastic ones, OR buy some of those stick-on linoleum tiles to cover them – you don’t want your rats getting bumblefoot. You can make things like hammocks out of washcloths or hand towels with holes cut in appropriate places, and using either child play link rings, or cage fasteners. Good luck!