RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:53 am

Evening everyone. Ive been keeping gerbils for the last few years but after they recently died i wanted to go for something a bit more friendly ad sociable. so obvious choice was rats:D im really excited about getting them but im one of those people who believe if u keep an animal u should do it properly. Im looking at making a cage about 4ft long, 2ft wide and 3-4ft high. sides will be made out of wood and the frong will be cage mesh. im only gonna keep 2 female rats so plenty of space but i wanted all your advice and tips about how to go about making it: wood type, how many shelves, what i should have in there, and anything u can think of that will help me

thanks in advance

matt

Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:59 am

Welcome to RP, and kudos on checking things out before you go ahead. I'm sure you'll find rats rewarding - they're definitely more interactive than gerbils in my experience. wink

Have you checked the sticky on modifications?

The problem I can think of would be that wood tends to absorb urine very quicky, and gets stinky fast if it's not sealed very very well - once it starts to smell, you're not going to really be able to get it clean and smell free again. I would really recommend a wire cage, but if you are going to build one, be sure that it's thoroughly sealed on all areas, joints etc. You would need to look at either something like laminated products, or a pet safe varnish and several coats. Sticking waterproof coatings onto the areas inside the cage that could be exposed to urine (and that includes walls) can add an extra layer of protection.

It's also possible that they might start to chew on the wood, and this might mean that they can develop escape holes, depending on the rats and how it's made.

Generally, you want to have around a foot of headspace per level - so if you have a cage that is 4 foot high, you can put in three shelves (at 1, 2 and 3 feet) that would ensure that they have enough head room and most efficient use of space.

The type of wood to use - I'd personally avoid softwoods like pine - although cheap and easy to work with, they will be releasing the phenolic compounds that cause problems with pine/cedar bedding - and so potentially could affect their health. Otherwise, I suppose it's personal choice. A lot of people use bookshelves which are made out of MDF or compressed woodchip type stuff - as long as it's sturdy, it should be ok I think.

Wire - make sure it's coated (either with PVC or powdercoated) as galvanised wire will absorb smells and that smell persists. Preferably, you want the wire spacing in the door to be no more than 1/2" apart to prevent escapes (especially as you want females who are smaller). Ensure that there is plenty of ventilation to allow air to flow freely, and that - if you don't have the entire front swinging open - doors are as large as possible for ease of use and cleaning etc.

Overall - I think I'd still probably recommend a wire cage - either a completed cage, or creating one yourself (there are some ideas on doing so on here if you do a search) - because it provides plenty of air flow, and you don't have the problem of wood getting chewed or smelly.

Hope that helps.

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:55 am

thank you for that, helps alot. if i cant find a bookcase it will probably be laminated wood (would like white cos u can tell when its dirty and have to keep it clean) ummmmmmmmmm yeah i cant think of anymore Q's but if u have anything to add let me know

thank you
matt

Fri Feb 10, 2006 12:44 am

bookshelves are awsome for cages. There are quite a few ideas in other posts about how to make them, what to use, etc. Do a forum search...or google it. There are a whole lot of ideas out there. Or you can go the direction of the Grotto style cage which I've heard tons of good things about. I wish you lots of luck with your new ratties and cage!..and welcome to RP

Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:04 pm

Check out this pic look at the wire that I used.

I can have found that “ventilated shelving”(I think that is what it is called) is very versatile. You can get it in a 20” x 6’ section and it has a ½ in bar spacing (PVC coated to boot). It cost about $20 00 per section. For these plans you would need 3 section

I also highly recommend getting a good set of fulcrum and leaver style bolt cutters. It is cut able with lighter tools but once you start messing with this stuff you will find a ton of uses for it. This will snip right though it easily.

Only other things you would need are a sharp kife, two sets of pliers, a bunch of zip ties and finally two storage bins (has to have inside measurements bigger than 20x20)

Cut the two section of wire into 4- 3 foot sections

Line up the four section of bars with an alternating

|
L

Pattern and form a square.
Zip tie it together.
Use one of the storage tubs for the bottom tray
Use the other as a lid.
You will need to cut doors out of the cage. Cut the wire as close as you can to the big horizontal support bar. (BTW: don’t throw away the scrap wire there is a bunch of uses for it)

Congrats You just made a 20x20x3’ cage for about $50.00 and it should not have taken more than an hour. Not too shabby (I will cover the doors and latches in a sec.)

throw in some toy

When you at the hardware store getting the stuff to make the cage pick up about at minimum 500 feet of 3/8” hemp rope or some other non-treated rope. Trust me the more the better. What you see in the images represents about 250 feet

Rope floors, you should see all three version of what I do in the pictures.
**Use the bolt cutters for the rope too**

Rope (with end zip tied to the cage) woven side-to-side across the cage in an every rung configuration will build them a firm solid floor – it makes a good first floor. don’t do it in one large section though, take the amount of rope you need and cut in thirds or quarters firmly zip tie the ends (to keep then from fraying) tehn weave it in. The smaller sections of rope are easier to deal with and has more uses then the longer section.

** When you mash your hand down on the floor it will feel flimsy. To the rats they are very solid.

Alternating the weave spacing created a different flooring effect.
Every rung – “solid” floor the persistent ones can and will get trough it – good first floor
Every second rung – “solid” floor much more ways to get from level to level even the more laid back rats will like these
Every third run (should have two cage space gaps between ropes) – “solid” floor that is like a ladder rung. In the twisted mess in the pix my rats will race around the race track and blow through levels on a whim and not even slow down to do it.
Every fourth rung and wider – I would not recommend pushing past that keep it to a maximum of every third rung.

The twisted mess (or spaghetti mess) in the center is just a mix of knotted, braided, straight rope and just zip tie it around the cage.

Pick up a 12 inch real marble tile it should be about $12.00 each get them cut it in half. And you have 2 marble shelf covers for $6.00 each.

Get at least 50 feet of 4” black plastic flex tube, it can be purchased in 10 foot for less then $4.00 here where I am at.

Here is a design for an in cage maze (the tube cuts with a sharpl knife)
http://server3.pictiger.com/img/136974/pets-and-animals/ratmaze-1.5.jpg

here is a shot of it in cage and out
http://server3.pictiger.com/img/148770/picture-hosting/maze-15--1.php
http://server3.pictiger.com/img/148769/picture-hosting/cage-5.php
It looks like a huge waste of space but each of the tubes in my maze represent one hiding spot for a rat or a nesting box for all four of them.. It is actually one of the most effective uses of space I have in a toy seen yet. What you are looking at in that picture cost $4.00 to build. It takes 1 square foot of cage space and keeps the rats amused for hours. The sections that you see with the caged off ends (I used the scrap wire and it was done with a pocket knife and the two sets of pliers) are the treat rooms or dead-ends for the maze, what ever you what to use them for. Leave the rest of the maze open, the rats will crawl all over it. I make the treat rooms with only one door and let them free spin in the mine body. This is what gives it, its maze effect. There is only one door and as they move it opens and closes thus changing the dynamics of the maze. Notice the door I cut high over the center of the maze. This is so I can take out the treat room and flip it over or change all together. If you don’t do this you will have to strip the cage out to deal with it….

In the first pic above this line ^ did you see the tube running down the center? That is the same stuff as the maze, cut a few holes in the body of the tube and one extra big one for the bottom, make a knotted rope (use your fist to set the spacing of the knots). Drop that down the center and zip tie it in there at the top. The’ll love ya for it.

The ears – don’t know how to explain those, I will try to take a picture and get it posted. But they are heald on with 6 zip ties each and can easily be snapped on or off of the cage (you will need to make a set of doors to cover the holes in the side of the cage. I used 2 90 degree joints for the 4” flex tube the maze is made out of.and made a set of full length replacement doors and to hole size only doors.

Assuming you have a drill
Coconut nesting boxes and food bowls
At the hardware store pick up ¼ inch drill bit and a 2 ½ or 2 ¼ inch hole saw (with the center drill bit) both will work, after all they will make it bigger if it needs to be. Also get (1 - 1/4x2’” bolt with 2 – large 1.5 inch min ¼ in washers and 2 - ¼ inch nuts) you will need all of this for each coconut toy you want to use it for (should be about $2.00 worth of hardware)

Coconuts are about $2.00 at the store if possible avoid the pre-cut units. When they dry out in two days they will break apart on the scores

You can make 2 bowls or one nesting box with each coconut. It is difficult to drill out though.

Cleaning it out is a pain too you can bake it for a few min (google should help you there)

Shelves.
Take a look at some of my pix, you will see some shelves that I have woven rope into (this is to keep them from getting cut on the bare ends) All of them are made from pare L sections of wire and then I weave rope in it to make them softer. Fully cover most of them with rope. For the cost of the rope your making a shelf your rats will prefer over hammocks (not even a question in my cage) and are very durable.

Doors: look at how I have the doors cut. Then you go to cut out a door from your spare

The hinges and latches I made are just from me dinking around with the pliers and finding a bend and a way to lock the cage securely. That weird loop just kinda hangin there is to hold my door open. I also made some hooks that loop around the cage wire and then hook onto the cage again to hold the door open just a bit wider.

That twisted rope config in hammock dollars sot me back 1.5 hammocks to build

and add rats.
(the order is very important what ever you do don’t add you toys and throw your rats – rats don’t like to be thrown)

If this does not make any sense I am sorry, I am running on fumes right now and desperately need sleep.