RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:34 am

Hi I have several questions abt crittertrail cages ...

I just received 3 of these cages below for free off freecycle:

Apparently you can use tubes to connect them all together, which is neat. I was wondering if rats would find these cages interesting, with the tubes going to the different sections of the "fort", or if they would think I was retarded for putting them in there? I thought even if they wouldnt be suitable to live in it full time, maybe they'd like it as a getaway clubhouse or something?

Also, if they would like it .. I was trying to figure out how many should be allowed in at one time. I tried doing the cage calculator, and I entered in the dimensions of the cage, multiplied it by 3 (I have 3 cages to connect) and the results came back saying 15 rats, which I know isnt possible, so I did something wrong. How would I figure this out? The dimensions of one cage: 16w x 10.5d x 11h

Any help would be appreciated, thanks so much

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Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:45 am

To calculate the number of rats it would hold, figure out how many 1 would hold, and multiply that by 3.

How old are your rats? Fully grown rats are almost always to big for the Crittertrail tubes. I would take apart the cage and use it for toys for the rats. They can chew through the tubes, and escape from the cage.

Crittertrails are small, and even connected together, I wouldn't use it for anything other than a quarentine cage.

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Rosie

* * *

I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:52 am

My girls are tiny ... so thats why I thought they might like these tube things. Thanks for the advice! I'll probably let them play in them during playtime, but keep one as a quarantine cage for amergencies only.

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Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:16 am

My honest opinion is that even tiny rats are too big for Crittertrail cages. My sister has one that she uses for a hamster, and even that's a tight fit sometimes. Keeping one around for quarantine isn't a bad idea, but I'd pull all the tubes off and seal up the attachment points before using it, as rats are liable to get stuck in there.

BTW, multiply only one of the dimensions by 3. The way you did it was if you would have had a 9-cage setup instead of 3. So, for instance, your new dimensions would be 48w x 10.5d x 11h, which, according to the cage calculator, comes out to too small for one rat.

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-Ben
My rats: Squishy, Squee, and Nibbler
My dogs (at my mother's house): Lucy and Ricky
My cats (at my dad's house--in Florida!): Cleo (RIP) and Zima

Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:43 am

CritterTrail cages are designed for hamsters, gerbils & mice. Definately not ratlets. You could always get the ferret tubs that they have have out which would be better.

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Shadow Brook Rodentry

Bridge Ratties: Samson, Wraith, Aiko, Kasper - I <3 you & miss you.

Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:46 am

I dont think she meant it as keeping the rats in there but rather a play time thing. Shaz

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Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:23 pm

I wouldn't put ratties in a critter trail that were older than maybe 4 weeks. Those tubes can be really small and a rat could get stuck easily. The size that you were showing in a photo might be good for tranport, but I personally don't use anything below a 10 gallon aquarium for quarentine, and even a 10 gallon can be small if used on an adult male rat.
I do have some critter trail tubes that I use in cages by themselves when I have litters. But around 4 to 5 weeks the babies become to big for the tubes. The wheel that comes in critter trail can be good for young rittens to play on, but again they grow out of it quickly.

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Melissa Hubbard
www.pixiesworld.com

Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:06 am

The tubes are definalty too small for the rats..I had a bunch of old hamster cages and 100's of tubes and mazes (what can I say..I loved my hammies

) My rats can't fit through them at all...I put one in there for them to play with and my poor Peachy got stuck half way through!

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~*Allie*~
Puppy: Pepper (my big suck) Kitty: Kitterz
Birdie:Mehico aka.Cheeky
Ratties: RIP Penny...i miss you pretty girl <333
Peaches n' Cream..2 bRATS
Jibroney!! --new rescue rat