Calling All Rat Lovers/Owners!

[Paranoia]

Actually this is all pretty good. Well, I would suggest checking out you local shelters/rescues first if you would be interested in that, but to each his own.
I personally dont like Martins cages but that may just be me. They were always a pain to clean and seemed way too small. But for two females I suppose that shouldnt be as much of an issue. And of course fleece is a necessity for those mesh floors, so good call.
If you'll be using fleece or fabric then the bedding you buy will more than likely just be used as litter anyways, so that's definitely a good choice. I personally use Yesterdays News for all my liter boxes and cage pans and its worked out beautifully, especially for liter training.
Owbow Regal Rat Pellets is also definitely the best possible feed you can get besides homemade mixtures, backed by pretty much every rattery/rescue I know (besides the Mazuri brand rodent blocks which are simply cheaper/slightly lower quality) so yet another great choice.
Hammocks, tunnels, extra ledges, hides, whatever you can think of - go for it. Rats love having new toys and items added all the time so you may want to look into making homemade toys as well. Im sure youve seen plenty of examples of decked out cages, but this is one of my favorite examples to use (sent in with an adoption application from our rescue - and of course they passed with flying colors haha) xXx. What I like best about this setup, besides the perfect size, is how a majority of these items are either hand made or very cheaply acquired. Old baskets for hides, branches for climbing/ladders, scrap fabric for bedding, cardboard hides, old lids for litter training boxes, tissue boxes for beds, an old shower rack for extra ledges, even old tiles under the water bottles to help grind down nails. Perhaps that will give you a few ideas?
Feel free to message me if you have any direct questions. I happy to make suggestions or answer questions, or send you in the direction of someone who might have better answers haha

For any other animal I likely would go for a shelter, but since rat lifespans aren't very long to begin with I'd like to get a young one and that's the only reason I'm going for a breeder ;v;

I've been between aspen bedding and some form of paper which I heard is usually dustier and gets mushy when wet. The pellets I have linked are paper but seem to have generally very good reviews and be less dusty.

The cage I'll be getting is 24" x 14" x 36"
With two balconies and a full middle floor.
It'll be powder coated and have a flip top.

Should I cover the ramps with anything as well or are they fine to be left as is?

I don't expect to get anything from pet stores aside from maybe toys and things like that. Anything else I'll probably purchase online.

[ShadyBro]

Actually this is all pretty good. Well, I would suggest checking out you local shelters/rescues first if you would be interested in that, but to each his own.
I personally dont like Martins cages but that may just be me. They were always a pain to clean and seemed way too small. But for two females I suppose that shouldnt be as much of an issue. And of course fleece is a necessity for those mesh floors, so good call.
If you'll be using fleece or fabric then the bedding you buy will more than likely just be used as litter anyways, so that's definitely a good choice. I personally use Yesterdays News for all my liter boxes and cage pans and its worked out beautifully, especially for liter training.
Owbow Regal Rat Pellets is also definitely the best possible feed you can get besides homemade mixtures, backed by pretty much every rattery/rescue I know (besides the Mazuri brand rodent blocks which are simply cheaper/slightly lower quality) so yet another great choice.
Hammocks, tunnels, extra ledges, hides, whatever you can think of - go for it. Rats love having new toys and items added all the time so you may want to look into making homemade toys as well. Im sure youve seen plenty of examples of decked out cages, but this is one of my favorite examples to use (sent in with an adoption application from our rescue - and of course they passed with flying colors haha) xXx. What I like best about this setup, besides the perfect size, is how a majority of these items are either hand made or very cheaply acquired. Old baskets for hides, branches for climbing/ladders, scrap fabric for bedding, cardboard hides, old lids for litter training boxes, tissue boxes for beds, an old shower rack for extra ledges, even old tiles under the water bottles to help grind down nails. Perhaps that will give you a few ideas?
Feel free to message me if you have any direct questions. I happy to make suggestions or answer questions, or send you in the direction of someone who might have better answers haha

For any other animal I likely would go for a shelter, but since rat lifespans aren't very long to begin with I'd like to get a young one and that's the only reason I'm going for a breeder ;v;

I've been between aspen bedding and some form of paper which I heard is usually dustier and gets mushy when wet. The pellets I have linked are paper but seem to have generally very good reviews and be less dusty.

The cage I'll be getting is 24" x 14" x 36"
With two balconies and a full middle floor.
It'll be powder coated and have a flip top.

Should I cover the ramps with anything as well or are they fine to be left as is?

I don't expect to get anything from pet stores aside from maybe toys and things like that. Anything else I'll probably purchase online.

I understand. You would be surprised the number of rescues that have babies though. Its worth a glance if nothing else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aspen is definitely best choice if you decide to go with wood shavings, ceder is a HUGE no no, pine is okayish. But personally what you have picked out looks pretty good.

I still believe the cage is a bit too small, but you can check out some of the cage calculators online to see for yourself.

Definitely buy or make ramp covers as well. I personally had some issues with using Rat Manor ramps in one of my cages a while back (which have that similar mesh pattern) - one of our girls literally got a toe stuck and broke her wrist.

Etsy is actually a pretty good place to find hammocks and some other toys as well if youre going for online shopping. I always prefer handmade products to cheapy factory productions. Plus - theyre hella cute haha. Here is one of my favorite shops - great prices for custom orders.

[Paranoia]

I understand. You would be surprised the number of rescues that have babies though. Its worth a glance if nothing else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aspen is definitely best choice if you decide to go with wood shavings, ceder is a HUGE no no, pine is okayish. But personally what you have picked out looks pretty good.

I still believe the cage is a bit too small, but you can check out some of the cage calculators online to see for yourself.

Definitely buy or make ramp covers as well. I personally had some issues with using Rat Manor ramps in one of my cages a while back (which have that similar mesh pattern) - one of our girls literally got a toe stuck and broke her wrist.

Etsy is actually a pretty good place to find hammocks and some other toys as well if youre going for online shopping. I always prefer handmade products to cheapy factory productions. Plus - theyre hella cute haha. Here is one of my favorite shops - great prices for custom orders.

I've heard kiln dried pine is okay but I don't think I'd even want to risk it.

There is one that's 30x18x36 if you think that would be better! It's only about $30 more so not that big of an expense.

And thanks for all of the suggestions! I was definitely interested in hand made items but I imagine some pet store items wouldn't be bad to look at either.

[ShadyBro]

I understand. You would be surprised the number of rescues that have babies though. Its worth a glance if nothing else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aspen is definitely best choice if you decide to go with wood shavings, ceder is a HUGE no no, pine is okayish. But personally what you have picked out looks pretty good.

I still believe the cage is a bit too small, but you can check out some of the cage calculators online to see for yourself.

Definitely buy or make ramp covers as well. I personally had some issues with using Rat Manor ramps in one of my cages a while back (which have that similar mesh pattern) - one of our girls literally got a toe stuck and broke her wrist.

Etsy is actually a pretty good place to find hammocks and some other toys as well if youre going for online shopping. I always prefer handmade products to cheapy factory productions. Plus - theyre hella cute haha. Here is one of my favorite shops - great prices for custom orders.

I've heard kiln dried pine is okay but I don't think I'd even want to risk it.

There is one that's 30x18x36 if you think that would be better! It's only about $30 more so not that big of an expense.

And thanks for all of the suggestions! I was definitely interested in hand made items but I imagine some pet store items wouldn't be bad to look at either.

I would definitely stick with aspen yeah lol

And that cage size is much better. Of course my number one recommendation is the critter nation as I showed in the example, but 30x18x36 should be good too c:

Youre welcome - like I said, feel free to shoot me a message if you ever need anything ^^

[mew,]

Oi, anyone know whether I should get 2 male rats or 2 female rats?

[ShadyBro]

Oi, anyone know whether I should get 2 male rats or 2 female rats?

Personally I recommend males since theyre usually calmer and more affectionate, but there can be more of a smell factor if you don't get them neutered.
Females tend to be more high energy, which I suppose some people prefer, but if I could switch my main cage to males without having to spend thousands of dollars spaying every female I own (some of them literally cant due to health reasons anyways) - I definitely would lol
Sorta up to you and your preferences.

[winged-backpack]

Hi there!

Does anyone have any suggestions/reccommendations as to buying (UK) or making an outside-the-cage playpen for my 2 boys? I've been looking on amazon but all the ones that they wouldn't be able to jump out of seem to have really big bar spacing that they'd squeeze through.

Any help is really appreciated!

[The Lost Gremlin]

Hi there!

Does anyone have any suggestions/reccommendations as to buying (UK) or making an outside-the-cage playpen for my 2 boys? I've been looking on amazon but all the ones that they wouldn't be able to jump out of seem to have really big bar spacing that they'd squeeze through.

Any help is really appreciated!

Honestly I've never been able to find a suitable playpen for rats, for the same problems that you listed - not to mention any commercial metal or plastic playpen is usually ridiculously expensive 0_0
Instead, trying getting some large cardboard boxes, unfold them and tape the panel ends together so that it forms a ring, or alternatively board off a corner to a rat-proof corner with one. Pretty badly worded I know but a pic is worth a thousand words:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... 5e79ad.jpg
(I should add, this is not my photo. It's just one I pulled off Google to help illustrate my 'explanation')

The nice thing about these cardboard playpens is that they're cheap, lightweight, easy to replace and easy to flatpack for storing. I've personally never had any trouble with cardboard playpens either - just make sure the panels are tall ( at least 80cm, I'd say) and there are no gaps for them to slip through =3

[cornspurrd.]

I have a question, How often do ya'all clean the cage, I pick upp all their poop and shake their fleece and shake it out once a week, And i deep clean once a month. Am i cleaning to much or to little?

[Paranoia]

I have a question, How often do ya'all clean the cage, I pick upp all their poop and shake their fleece and shake it out once a week, And i deep clean once a month. Am i cleaning to much or to little?

I don't personally have any rats yet (but I've looked up multiple things) but your cleaning schedule entirely depends on how many rats you have and how large the cage is, as well as if they're litter box trained (and what bedding you use).
If it ever gets stinky you're waiting too long to clean it. How often do you wash or change the fleece? Ammonia build up can be not only detrimental to your rats health but can be bad for your own. I'd say cleaning it at least every two weeks would be a minimum, and you should try to clean it up a bit every day if possible.