Rattie cage idea!

Ok, I have an idea on this and this seems to be the new Rodent Forum or at least where all the Rodent people are. I was thinking about one of those long shallow rubbermaids as a tray and then buying some chicken wire and building it from there. The only things I'm really worried about are 1. Can they bite through the rubbermaid? 2. How do I make the door? Has anybody ever tried this or have any suggestions??

Also I bought four small Mice tonite. Two white, and one all black named Midnight, and a dark brown spotted one with white background who has yet to be named. The white ones I had to feed to the Snake. I feel bad but then again thats the way I feel about it. I have less emotions towards colorless ones, but at least I have that cause baby Snakes have to eat. Thank You!

Kristin, if there are ridges in the bottom of the Rubbermaid, the rats could start chewing on them and once they start... there's no stopping them. If you're thinking of just regular chicken wire, which is pretty thin, I'd worry about rats chewing through that as well. I've seen rats chew through 14 guage romex, and that's quite a bit thicker than chicken wire. If you're wanting to build your own cage though, I'd find a thick, heavy duty tub without ridges in the bottom, and then look around for cage wire at feed mills or farm stores. It would be much more sturdy than chicken wire, and IMO a lot easier to work with. It's essentially the same type of wire they use to make a lot of bird and small animal cages (especially for rabbits) that you can find at pet stores.

Good luck!

Yep, a rat can easily chew right through chicken wire, and little ones can sneak right through it as well.

Kristen: I am not a rodent expert but I think the type of housing probably depends on the purpose of the rodents. Those who have rodents in order to breed for their reptiles generally seem to use aquariums for a small operation or racks for large ones.

I feed F/T so my live rodents are pets. For the hamsters and gerbils I bought some of those plastic enclosures with tubes and wheels and other fun stuff to make their habitat more interesting.
However, mindful of the fact that they may chew through these homes despite the fact that they were made for rodents, as insurance I am placing the homes inside some large plain acrylic enclosures.
The gerbils have been in the acrylic enclosuree for at least a week while waiting for their fancy homes to arrive and have not chewed on it, I've provided several other items for them to chew.

Alright then. Hhhhmmmmm. Would a thick cat litter pan work? I've been thinking about this for months and my brain isn't going anywhere.

Lucille these are pet Rats that are not for Snakes. Two Females so no breeding. I would love to have a nice cage. I have a Rat friend down here who helps me out and she has a $200.00 home for hers but I don't live at home with my parents like her. Don't have $200.00 but figured I could be creative and make a home just as big. There was a picture in a Rat book of a home made out of a kiddie pool with chicken wire or some kind of wire around it. Kiddie pools are out of season here though. Anybody have any ideas on trays?

My son had a pet rat for a while, its cage was a screen covered aquarium, high enough so it could not get up to the screen. But mostly it lived on top of a hutch on his desk at his apt., never jumped down, just hung out, ate, and had a great rat life.

Originally Posted by Leighanne

Would a thick cat litter pan work?

Absolutely. That's what some of the rack manufacturers use specifically for rats -- you just want to be sure that they can't access an outside corner or lip of the tub because that's where they can start chewing.