Guide to making a suitable rat cage + me making one

hi everyone! Bored during quarantine so I have decided to record as I build another critter nation for the baby male rats. I have decided to do a jungle theme for them. I know this is probably not perfect, and I’m very open to on how to improve my setups.

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It is recommended to get your cage one week before your rats, for multiple reasons. First of all, this is necessary if you decide to make changes to the cage. Not only that, but having the cage set up before you get the rats is vital, and sometimes set up can take a while.

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Step one

Choosing a cage

Many first time rat owners dwell over a good cage to start with. A lot of rat owners start with smaller brand name cages, but starting with a bigger cage such as a critter or ferret nations are good investments as you may end up buying one anyway later. If that is not an option, bird cages make great alternatives. For more information, the amino has a PSA on Proper Cages. A good rat cage should provide at least 2 sq feet p/rat, although I and many others would recommend going over that. A good rat cage should provide floor space, but also should tall.

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Step two

Assembling the cage

Assembly can be difficult: some cages (especially bigger models) can take more than an hour to assemble. Some even require hammers, screwdrivers, and mallets! So be prepared, assembly can take anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours, and we wouldn’t want rats sitting around for that long. If you bought the cage secondhand, cleaning it first is recommended.

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Step three

Covering wire

A lot of mammals are prone to bumblefoot, a common condition in rats that is an infection from microscopic lesions caused most commonly by uncovered wire. (Read more about that on this Amino PSA) covering wires with fleece or cardboard (more temporary) is a good option: ramps should also be covered with fleece. Critter nation ramps come with fleece covers, and newer models are not even made of wire. Reguardless, they should be covered.

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Step four

Choosing a substrate

This next step is also very important to providing a good environment to your rat. There are various good substrates you can use. Loose odor free and dust free paper bedding is always a good option. More specific options include Aspen, CareFresh and Yesterday’s News cat litter (which up until a while ago I thought was rat-owner slang for newspaper 🤦‍♀) another popular option is fleece and an absorbent layer. This is the option I will be using for the critternation I am setting up. There are also a few choices to avoid. Pine and Cedar can cause issues because of the strong smells, which can affect the respiratory and immune system.

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Step five

Adding the essentials

Now we get to start decorating! I usually start with the essentials (a food bowl, water bottle/dish, and litter tray) this just assures the essentials get an accessible place in the setup. There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether a bottle or a dish is better. This is a whole other discussion, so I will not discuss it much. In my opinion, either can work as long as you clean them frequently. My babies have learned to use a water bottle so I will be using bottles in this setup. In the litter tray, I put a small amount of carefresh bedding and a small stone to encourage the rats to use the litter tray.

:warning: note! I have noticed many glass water bottles do not work/stop working, so I recommend a plastic one of that is the option you take

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Step six

Adding hides

Hides are important for almost any caged animal setup- they provide a place for the animal to rest and feel safe, and are good for natural stimulation. There are so many options for hides: plastic, cardboard and wooden hides are most commonly used in setups. In my opinion, there should be one more hide than the number of rats (this can include some hammocks) I have six rats in this setup, so I will provide seven hides. I like giving a few hides that are not transparent, just so we assure some privacy for the rats.

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Step seven

adding hammocks

Hammocks are also very important for rats. You may notice hammocks are popular among rats, and this is because rats will try to find the highest possible place to rest. Hammocks being above the ground, this makes them feel safe and secure. I like to have one hammock for every 2-3 rats, so I have provided three hammocks for the six of them.

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Step eight

Adding ‘other levels’

This step is more optional, but I still recommend it. By this I mean providing baskets, lava ledges, wooden shelves, bird perches, spacepods, etc. This just gives the rat more space to play. I added some baskets to this setup.

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Step nine

Adding enrichment

Enrichment has a versatile definition among rat owners. In my mind, it means non-essential toys that are used to promote healthy behavior. It’s the line between surviving and living. Some examples of this include (good quality) wheels, ropes, bridges, tunnels, and many more good examples. In this setup, I added a few ropes.

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Step ten

Adding chew/foraging toys

The final step to setup is adding toys: I put this as

the last step because the majority of chew and foraging toys will not have a set place, so adding them last is ideal. Some say chew toys are not necessary because rats can technically file down their teeth on their own, however I like adding chew toys because it seems to make the process easier. I added paper towel rolls, a bendy bridge and chew sticks. As for foraging toys, or toys that stimulate natural foraging behavior I added this puzzle toy.

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Step eleven

Final checks

I included this step, just to stress that before you get rats you should double check your setup is safe and enriched.

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Step twelve (final step)

Putting the rats in

Finally, you get to add the rats and watch them explore! It is recommended to leave your rats for at least 24 hours before handling them, just so they can get used to the new environment. Enjoy!

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Thanks for reading until here! I mainly made this for fun, and it should not be used as an independent resource and guide to how to build a proper cage. However, I’m glad if anyone found this helpful!

Dividers

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