# want a new rat cage



## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

where online can i buy cages 
what sort do you have and what do you think about them so then i can make my mind up :lol2:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I've just bought a Tom Rat for my boys and I'm very happy with it. Coated wire which is great and it came with a wee house, water bottle, food hopper, 3 shelves, a ladder and 2 tubes to reach the shelves.

I bought mine from Zooplus, but through ebay, which is where they sell their returned items, so cheaper. Zooplus were still the cheapest that I could find on the internet and if you haven't ordered from them before they'll give you 10% off your first order, so a good deal and delivery is great! :2thumb:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Avoid at all costs, the ferplast Jenny. It has to be the absolute worst cage I have ever had the misfortune to own, as far as cleaning is concerned. It has 2 very small doors, one on top and one on the front and unless your arms are made of rubber, there is no way you can easily bend them round in order to wash and dry the platforms inside.
I have no idea why Ferplast never changed the design. If the whole front was to open, then I would say it was one of the best I'd ever had.


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

i have seen a lot of people saying that about jennys :lol2:
i dont want 1 of them 

been looking at the tom rat its quite nice :2thumb:


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## elliottreed (Jan 9, 2008)

I've bought plenty from Pet World Direct
and found them to be pretty good, have had "the haven" and am going for "the happy house" next...

how many rats is it to house? xxxx


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

You could try looking at this as well. It's quite helpful regarding rat cages, or at least I found it so. Shunamite Rats

She certainly confirms exactly the same faults with the Jenny that Fen says!


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## pippainnit (Feb 20, 2009)

I was torn when trying to decide on a new rat cage as I initially housed my two in a small animal vivarium type thing that I had to hurriedly buy! In the end, I decided to modify the vivarium that I had as they seemed to really like it, plus I liked the fact that it provided them with so much more warmth and cover than an entirely wire cage does. It's also really easy to clean. 

This is my creation: 










It took about a day in total to construct and cost £40 for all the materials, which is a lot cheaper than most of the ones you buy in shops! My rats have never once tried to chew any of the wood and they seem so happy with all the floor space and the ability to climb. I also love being able to modify it from time to time to give them something a bit different. It can be a bit complicated, but I definitely recommend building your own if you're willing.


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## elliottreed (Jan 9, 2008)

that is such a beautiful custom built cage 
love it !! you can make me one  or 10...
hehe !! xxxxxxx


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## fuglyrats (Feb 22, 2009)

I have an explorer cage which for access to the rats and cleaning has to be the best thing ever invented but they havent made the trays fit properly so I purchased perspex which I have put around the sides. You can get a bit of an idea at www.fuglyrats.co.uk. The picture isnt the best as I keep my rats in the study so not enough room to get back and get a straight on photo. I cant remember where I got it but it was online, just searched explorer rat cage. My second favourite has to be the tom rat as mentioned above which I also got from zooplus via ebay. Not all the parts were in the box but it didnt matter as I dont usually use all the shelves as I prefer tea towels and boxes!!
Hope this helps.
Sharon


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

All that was missing from mine was a few shelf brackets and my husband just made his own - no problem! Everything else was there and undamaged, but they do tell you in the details what the problem is if it's broken and what's missing if something's missing, so you can pick up a good deal.


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## ChrisNE (Jul 13, 2008)

Already passed this on today.

Pet World Direct - Rat Chinchilla and Other Cages

I have the explorer which is like the size of a wardrobe, lovely galvanised metal and has easily removable trays for cleanin. Very nice cage and if you have the dosh the rats will sure appreciate the room! Some other nice cages on there 2. Be warned they've been going up a tenner or so every 3 months! :whistling2:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

My rats are still new babies and the only problem I've encountered is that they've worked out, intelligent little critters that they are, that if they go on the top shelf, I just can't quite reach them to touch them, because of angling my arm under the door (which is the middle) and then over the edge of the shelf. Most of the time they are happy to sit and be stroked and walk onto my hand, but if something spooks them, they "adopt the position" and I can't reach them. :lol2: I find this highly amusing!


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## elliottreed (Jan 9, 2008)

pet world direct are pretty fab tbh.
the delivery driver perhaps not so!
however any problems with the cage on arrival was sorted within 2 days with all of the metal replaced xxxxxx


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## ferretlad (Mar 6, 2008)

I use a Paul Spooner large rat cage for my rats, not a bad cage, but you do have to make a few personal touches to make it into a comfy home for your pets, and plenty room for 4 large males to play in.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

So how many rats would it be for? No point recommending a cage unless we know how many it needs to hold.

acrorats - home page

The Rat Warehouse

www.EquineCanineFeline.com - amazing value pet products and accessories, UK Based, unbeatable prices!

Pet Supplies, Pet Food, and Pet Products on Sale Now at zooplus.co.uk

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Although the cages from PWD are very tempting and cheap, I know a couple of people (myself included) who've had cages turn up damaged, missing parts, or missing holes for bolts to go in, etc. People having to drill their own holes into the metal frames of Explorers. I'd still recommend them as their prices are fab, but dont expect high quality gear from a low priced shop like that. One of their cages is the same as one I bought off Ebay (PWD call it the Happy House), and IMO isn't suitable for rats without some fairly drastic changes to it (removing the wire bottom and getting someone to make a tray that fits it and working a way out how to attach that tray). I had to get rid of mine after a couple of weeks, as it was such a pain in the backside. Same with my Explorer, my rats ate the trays within the space of about 2 months. My Ferret Nation wasn't even nibbled, tougher plastic, higher quality.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

LisaLQ said:


> So how many rats would it be for? No point recommending a cage unless we know how many it needs to hold.
> 
> acrorats - home page
> 
> ...



I think rat keepers are getting taken for mugs. I would love a new cage for my pet boys but anything large enough will set me back nearly £200. Are they taking the ssip or what? There is no way a bit of metal wire, and some plastic parts, can justify those sorts of prices :bash:
If I want some spare ferplast jenny corner shelves, they are around £6 each!!! Do what??:gasp:

So, I still want a nice large cage for my pet rats, but am going to make something myself. Either out of some kind of antique looking cabinet or cupboard, or from a secondhand parrot cage. A little bit of thinking about, some playwood, painted with gloss paint to make it waterproof and wipeable, some thick rope, branches off my trees and some plastic potting up trays of an appropriate size and I should have something really nice and for a fraction of the cost.
Pfft!! £200 <stomps off muttering about daylight robbery>


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## ferretlad (Mar 6, 2008)

LisaLQ said:


> So how many rats would it be for? No point recommending a cage unless we know how many it needs to hold.
> 
> If you are refering to my post, the answer is i dont know how many rats you could cram in it. I said there is plenty room for 4 large males and thats all i keep in my one, or would want to. I depends how much space and comfort you want to give your rats as to how many you want to put in there.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

I wasn't referring to any post other than the OPs. If someone wants cage recommendations, there's no point recommending a Tom to someone with 10 rats, or a Ferret Nation to someone with two elderly ones.

I dont see how that was referring to your post, but hey ho.

I've never paid £200 for a rat cage either. I've paid a max of £125, and it wasn't worth it (my Explorer - which I sold on). Even my Ferret Nation (also no longer have) was only £99.

You do get what you pay for though. Home made cages are great temporarily, but from experience, most rats eat through them fairly quickly. We made a fab one out of an old wardrobe, but it lasted less than a year. And it stank of pee well before then!


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

LisaLQ said:


> Home made cages are great temporarily, but from experience, most rats eat through them fairly quickly. We made a fab one out of an old wardrobe, but it lasted less than a year. And it stank of pee well before then!


 That was a daft thing to say as it depends entirely on how the cage is made, from what materials and how it is treated etc. I have had home made cages before which lasted easily the life of the rats in it and was easy to clean and certainly didn't stink of pee.
If your wardrobe one lasted less than a year and stank of pee, it says much for your lack of skills as a D.I.Y er.
I am not going to fork out £200 nor even a hundred for a cage. At the lower price I won't get one large enough, but for half that amount I can adapt something to accommodate several rats properly, which means, plenty of room, ventilation, no chewing out and easy to clean.
I think that there are some wonderful cages on the market and if I was so inclined, I see several I would like but I'm a skinflint, and creative so I'd prefer to make one which will suit the decor in my little old cottage a whole lot better than garish coloured plastic and wire would.
Each to their own eh?
I will of course post pictures of the finished article if and when it all gets done. It's on the back burner as I plan on building a large ferret cage first as I want to bring my 2 ferrets indoors now they are old ladies.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Gee Fenwoman, you really need to work on those people skills. Telling someone their experience is naff and their DIY skills are crap isn't exactly grown up.

How the hell do you know how good or bad my DIY skills are (or indeed if I even made it) - why cant you take some peoples experiences at face value and in the light they were offered, instead of turning everything into a fight.

Crikey woman.

Mind you, I'm arguing with someone who'd rather do everything on the cheap, rather than the best.


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## ferretman (May 11, 2008)

Mind you, I'm arguing with someone who'd rather do everything on the cheap, rather than the best. 



Bit of a stupid comment theirs nothing wrong with doing something cheap why pay over the odds for something when you can pay less and end up with a far better cage,seems perfectly sensible to me. Most of my cages are made from scrap wood and odd bits so I must all so be a person who does it on the cheap.

Fenwoman is just straight to the point half the poeple on here dont like her opion its a public forum so she can say what she wants people seem to forget thats its a public forum.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

LisaLQ said:


> Gee Fenwoman, you really need to work on those people skills. Telling someone their experience is naff and their DIY skills are crap isn't exactly grown up.


people skills? Why do I need 'people skills'? Someone says something, I say something back. Does one need some kind of diploma now just to hold a conversation?
If the cage you build stank of pee and lasted only a year, should I have said that your DIY skills were obviously wonderful but that the wardrobe, paint or plywood was obviously faulty and that your rats pee was obviously industrial strength? Or should I surmise that because it only lasted a very short time and stank of pee that there was a design and build problem due to a lack of skill?




> How the hell do you know how good or bad my DIY skills are (or indeed if I even made it)


I can only go by what you typed and you typed " _We made a fab one out of an old wardrobe,"_.
So I would take that as an indication that you did indeed make it, unless you were telling lies about it?




> - why cant you take some peoples experiences at face value and in the light they were offered, instead of turning everything into a fight.


 I'm not turning anything into a fight.I was expressing an opinion. You said DIY cages were rubbish and I maintain that they are not. The one you made (or didn't make) stank of wee and fell to bits after only a year, the one I made didn't stink and is still in use after 5 years (although it now houses my rabbits and 6 guinea pigs)
So one can only surmise, that whomever made yours, wasn't as skilled a cage maker as I am.






> Mind you, I'm arguing with someone who'd rather do everything on the cheap, rather than the best.


 Oh I love people like you who think that a thing has to be expensive to be any good. I go to auction and buy your discarded goods for peanuts.
My £10 wardrobe/cage is still going strong after 5 years use, still easy to clean, still well ventilated, still looks nice, still not chewed or smelling of piddle. Are you really saying that a cage which cost you £100 is better than my £10 one? If you are, I'd be interested to hear why. Not a fight, but merely asking you to justify what you stated so vehemently.


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

ferretman said:


> Mind you, I'm arguing with someone who'd rather do everything on the cheap, rather than the best.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Couldnt have put it better myself:notworthy:


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

be good i only ask 1 thing now bug off the lot of you and stop fighting:bash:


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

and i love that home made cage picture it looks lovely great even !


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

pippainnit said:


> I was torn when trying to decide on a new rat cage as I initially housed my two in a small animal vivarium type thing that I had to hurriedly buy! In the end, I decided to modify the vivarium that I had as they seemed to really like it, plus I liked the fact that it provided them with so much more warmth and cover than an entirely wire cage does. It's also really easy to clean.
> 
> This is my creation:
> 
> ...



:flrt:dont worrie i think your rats are lucky little devils so cute if only i had a dad what could do that for me:lol2:


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## pippainnit (Feb 20, 2009)

Thank you! They do seem pretty content. I always leave the cage door open too and they have never tried to escape. I like to think that that's a good indication that they're happy enough in there and not trying to get elsewhere! 
Don't get me wrong, it would've been far easier for me to buy something from a shop and I completely understand why people do, but the way I saw it was that I am so ridiculously picky and every cage that I saw I wanted to modify in some way anyway, so I figured I may as well just make it from scratch to my own specification in the first place. 

It's just a shame that my two are getting a bit old now and while they're completely adapted to the environment, I'm not sure if any others that I rescue in the future will be able to be kept in it as it's not the most escape-proof creation in the world!


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## pippainnit (Feb 20, 2009)

Incidentally there's a bit of a shredded paper overload in that picture - it's not normally so crowded with bedding, it was just during the time of 'the snow' and they were a bit shivery!


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## jlldhd (Mar 10, 2009)

We can supply cage.


missyrain said:


> where online can i buy cages
> what sort do you have and what do you think about them so then i can make my mind up :lol2:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

jlldhd said:


> We can supply cage.



Hmmm out of the 6 posts you have made, 5 of them have been spam for your company. Why not just put a post on the shop classified section instead of spamming, especially as you appear to be in China and want people to buy a container load of the products you sell.


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

I have just bought an old oak china display cabinet from the 1940's and am going to turn it into a lovely rat cage. Will do before and after pics.


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