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Post by Angel on May 21, 2008 21:45:03 GMT 10
So, I've got some babies coming in a couple of months, so I wanted to find them a cage, but the only one that resembled decent that I could find in a store was shot down for being way to small for anything more than two babies on a British forum. I've looked on ebay but mostly they're much, much to large (I'm looking for a cage large enough for two but I can still get in my room with a bed and my desk in there XD)
So where do you guys get your cages from? I'll end up with two bucks.
--Angel.
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Colleen
Aussie Rat Owner 
Andy
Posts: 405
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Post by Colleen on May 22, 2008 17:08:36 GMT 10
Usually your local pet shops will stock them, but like you said they are often inadequately sized and expensive. but if you have any large pet stock/supplies store around often they have larger cages, and they might possibly be slightly cheaper, but if you want a good sized cage, thats the best way to go.
there is a pet supplier chain call Mega pet warehouse (and there are different ones around) who have lager wire cages which would be big enough and aren’t too expensive. there is one type that looks good and has a green bottom.
the cage i had was a converted bird cage which was much too small.
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Post by wulfyskingdom on May 23, 2008 13:29:28 GMT 10
Is your room too small to have a freestanding cage. Not necessarily a tall one, but one that sits on its own stand (with wheels)? although with that type of cage that im thinking of you wont be able to use it until they're about 6 months old because they can get through the bars when they're smaller.
Are you in Brisbane by any chance? I saw a pet store on the weekend with cheaper cages.
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angel
Aussie Rat Owner
Posts: 72
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Post by angel on May 23, 2008 15:44:45 GMT 10
No I'm in Melbourne  The space the rat cage is destined to go is about as deep as my desk (so roughly the length of the arm of an adult female (tips of fingers to just before my shoulder) and slightly larger than the width of a single bed. I could theoretically get a free standing cage in there, although I'm thinking it would be impossible to access lower area of the cage. I have three crates of books there at the moment (I have no bookshelf), the stack is sturdy so I was thinking of putting the cage on top. At the moment its just random junk that should be turfed out anyways. |
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Post by Hayley on May 23, 2008 19:32:12 GMT 10
Hey there This is the cage that I got and I have 2 girls. Has been great. I have also just got a stand for it. The 24" bird stands fits perfectly with this cage. Good luck looking. www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=731cheers Hayley |
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Colleen
Aussie Rat Owner
Andy
Posts: 405
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Post by Colleen on May 24, 2008 9:43:58 GMT 10
yess, that is a good cage, and there are others like that around. the only problem is that the bottom is wire and the platforms are also wire, not solid, which can cause bumble foot in rats. You can line the bottom of the cage with news paper, but often food and pallets (of both kinds  ) get pushed out of the cage, making it a messy job to clean up. there is a cage around, that i really liked the look of, it is similar in a way to that cage, but it had a green bottom (no wire to stand on) and high sides. |
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Post by Hales80 on May 24, 2008 13:10:59 GMT 10
There is no perfect rat cage out there, nearly anyone you buy has to be modified in some way. I wish there was a cage like mine on top and sat on a deep base, that would be great. I have found that two cat litter trays can fit in the bottom. Have fun searching....
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Post by wulfyskingdom on May 27, 2008 8:54:15 GMT 10
I have two of those cages from Hayley's post above (http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=731) I've found them to be excellent for baby rats.
Although because baby rats have a tendancy to throw everything around in their cage I got a cardboard box and cut it in half and put the cage inside it so anything that gets thrown outside the cage lands in the box instead of all over the floor or behind whatever you have the cage on.
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Colleen
Aussie Rat Owner
Andy
Posts: 405
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Post by Colleen on May 27, 2008 16:35:07 GMT 10
would that cage be big enough for two male rats... once they have fully grown?
also, isn't the bottom of the cage wire? if it is, then that could become a problem for there feet.
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angel
Aussie Rat Owner
Posts: 72
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Post by angel on May 27, 2008 18:09:03 GMT 10
Well I've been all over this state trawling for rat cages. I today went to a local pet warehouse (as in they don't sell animals just accessories) and fell in love with a cage. Until this point I hadn't realised it was possible to fall in love with a cage but I was wrong apparently XD
Anywho its 59h x 59w x36d - so not very large. But it's purple, and it had a very sizeable base on it like I hadn't seen before on a cage available here. It has a door in the front and on the roof. It occurred to put another cage on top of it to make one massive cage <3 At the time I didn't have enough for a second rat cage, but I had enough for a budgie cage - and we already had one at home.
So now I plan to remove the bases off the budgie cages, secure them on top of the rat cage and make a door way in the back of them both so the rats can move in through all three cages easily.
I'm hoping this is a good solution until I get more money to get a proper rat cage for the top instead (when they grow a bit), and maybe I can just build a massive rat tower. XD
My only concerns now are: How do I secure the cages to the rat cage so its easy to take apart and clean and how do I discourage the little ratlets from nibbling through the base?
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Post by wulfyskingdom on May 28, 2008 10:23:17 GMT 10
would that cage be big enough for two male rats... once they have fully grown? also, isn't the bottom of the cage wire? if it is, then that could become a problem for there feet. I bought some cheap flexible plastic cutting boards to line the bottom of the cage with so they werent walking on the bars. A few months ago someone suggested that i could use lino too. and its a little softer than the hard plastic. i was given some left over pieces and its worked quite nicely. I also make sure there is a hammock for them to rest in, and i put a towel on one of the wire levels too. |
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Colleen
Aussie Rat Owner
Andy
Posts: 405
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Post by Colleen on May 28, 2008 16:40:41 GMT 10
arrrh! thanx, thats a good idea actually. my grandparents have heaps of lino left over from when they re-linoed their floor. so i could use that.
im guessing lino would be fairly easy to clean coz it would just require a wipe down in soapy water a few time a week.
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Colleen
Aussie Rat Owner
Andy
Posts: 405
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Post by Colleen on May 28, 2008 16:44:14 GMT 10
My only concerns now are: How do I secure the cages to the rat cage so its easy to take apart and clean and how do I discourage the little ratlets from nibbling through the base? ...just adding on from my last post well you could put clips on the side of the cages. they could some how clip the two cages together... im not sure if that would be possible to do though :S |
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angel
Aussie Rat Owner
Posts: 72
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Post by angel on May 28, 2008 17:55:15 GMT 10
You guys have been seriously awesome =D  Not put together, and I need a second budgie cage because the one my mother said she had was actually very rusted, and I figured it was a bad idea to use it. So you guys really think I need an entire second cage to go on top? It looks big to me already but I really wouldn't know.  This is the place it has to go. I'll be needing to lower the crates of books down a bit, and there is a shelf up the top there just outta the piccie. I'm sure I could make it work if I need to add more to the cage though. And that pink bed is the bane of my existence. I'm looking for any excuse to replace it with something less pink, and its metal so I cant let the rats "accidentally" chew it |
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angel
Aussie Rat Owner
Posts: 72
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Post by angel on May 28, 2008 17:57:54 GMT 10
...also, is lino those fake plastic tiles you get from Bunnings? If so I found some that were 65c a square yesterday and I'll be using that for the shelves. Doesn't matter if the rats chew it because its so cheap to replace <3
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) get pushed out of the cage, making it a messy job to clean up.