# What rat cage would be best.......rats escaping!



## Lady_J (Feb 18, 2007)

I did post this in equipment but on second thoughts realised it might get a better response here.....

I need to buy a new rat cage because mine is causing me all sorts of problems with the baby rats just walking through the bars. Ideally should hold 3 or more rats per cage, size of the cage isnt an issue (unless its too small of course!) I don't want to use glass really use a glass tank either.

The Jenny rat cages seem to have smaller bar spacing than what I currently have however I have just read some bad reviews on them with lots of ppl saying they rust quickly and access is really bad.

I think the cage I currently use is a critter 3 (not sure though).

Any tips would be much appriciated,

Thanks,

Julie


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

That's odd - a Critter 3 should be ok from 4 weeks onwards.

A freddy is a good cage for 3 rats. You need something with 1cm bar spacing for babies. If you're meaning for a nursery cage for one mum and her babies (til they're split at 4-5 weeks then you might need something bigger like the Freddy), I really love my Marys - but they're really expensive now to buy new, I'd look for second hand on eBay.

Savic Freddy 2 Cage For Rats and Ferrets : Ferret : Rat

Ferplast Mary Rat Cage With Accessories : Rat

Those links are just to show which cages I mean, I'm not recommending the shop as I've never used it. :blush:


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## Lady_J (Feb 18, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> That's odd - a Critter 3 should be ok from 4 weeks onwards.
> 
> A freddy is a good cage for 3 rats. You need something with 1cm bar spacing for babies. If you're meaning for a nursery cage for one mum and her babies (til they're split at 4-5 weeks then you might need something bigger like the Freddy), I really love my Marys - but they're really expensive now to buy new, I'd look for second hand on eBay.
> 
> ...


Thank you for that,

Yes I do want them from when the litters are born ideally.

I wondered if either the explorer or happy house on this page would be any good: Pet World Direct - Rat Chinchilla and Other Cages


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## KathyM (Jan 17, 2009)

Explorers are gigantic and not suitable for birthing/newborns. They're only suitable for rats who are ready to be in the "grownup" groups (6 weeks onwards). Personally even then I would avoid such a large cage at first. 

For birthing and raising kittens you would be better off with much smaller - Marys and Zoozones are ideal, although with Zoozones you may need to cover the top with a finer mesh. Once the babies get to 2 weeks Mary cages are the better of the two as they can start to climb. I think Marchioro make a similar cage that is sold on ebay (and sometimes Zooplus) as a Rene 82. Then at 4.5 weeks I would recommend two bigger cages, Freddy cages are good for this, or Critter 2s, Marchioro Tom, Samo 82 (split into two) etc. :2thumb:


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Yep for nursing mums and litters, you want a one level cage so that mum cant give birth on a shelf and risk them falling, like a Mary, Rene 82 or Zoozone (there's someone on eBay doing bargain twin packs of Zoozones if that's any help). Like Kathy said though, some Zoozones come with a lid with inch bar spacing, so you may need to cover it with mesh.

You can move them to a bigger cage once they're weaned and seperated, but even then I think the mahoosive cages should be avoided til they're 6-8 weeks or more as they're a bit daunting for babies.


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## bluefront (Nov 9, 2008)

i have lab rat cages available for sale ( new) i house my rats in them 1.2 and some with 1.3 in if you are interested please email me ob [email protected]


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

The OP said she didnt want anything too small. Minimum cage size for a trio of rats is something like a Freddy. Lab cages make great carriers but not permanent homes for pets.


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## kimmylizards (Feb 8, 2008)

*sounds like lm going to have fun*

my female has had babies ,at bottom of cage week old now but she is in a chincilla , degu cage with 3 floors oops looks like lm going to have to do some work


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## ladyboid (Nov 25, 2007)

I recomend freddy 2 for a trio of rats but if your breeding them as well this might be a tight squeeze and most larger cages have larger bar spacing.

I keep my large groups in a furret tower and move them to freddys and home built cage ( see below) for birthing and growing on

"I have found a new type of mary cage for birthing.." 

I cut a jenny cage in half so got rid of that silly door at the front and now all access is from the lovely big door at the top.. makes a great cage for babys and quite often the jennys can be picked up free :O)
looks just like a mary as well :2thumb:


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Jennys and Marys have the same base if I remember correctly, the Jenny is basically a taller Mary - same brand. :2thumb:


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## ladyboid (Nov 25, 2007)

This is what i thought when looking for a mary and looking at my jenny cage that i wanted to get rid of :O)
after cutting it up and looking at mary photos again i thought mmmm got me self a cheep may :no1:

also ... jenny cages (the floor) fit freddy 2 cages so worth keeping just incase you have a chewy rat that kills the freddy :O) 

I like to recycle rat stuff (the jennys really seen as they are no good for rat cages as they stand) :lol2:


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Kathy's just got one second hand and it's been modified with an extra door, and a bigger one where the little front one would be. It's fab with two doors on it!

Good size for kittens when they're split into sexes. :2thumb:


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