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Nancy_Rat
Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:54 am
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I'm making a wooden rat cage (just worked on it for like 5 hours) and I'm putting some plastic board over it, and it's not nailed down so I can take it out to wipe it clean. I'm also going to have newspaper/bedding over that and all of my other levels to avoid the wood getting stinky fast.
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God is like soap...Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?
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slipperyandfry05
Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:32 pm
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| doors |
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any good ideas for latching and hinging doors on homemade cages?
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LittleWillow
MODERATOR & RP Supporter
Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:37 pm
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Hmmm... C clips? at a push, strong wire twists? What's the frame made of? If its solid you could probably use proper hinges. Fastening it, I would again say it depends on how the cage is made. My cage has springs attached to hooks that keep it firmly shut, but I don't know if you could get something to do that.... maybe take a look around the hardware section of a store and see what they have, and what looks appropriate for the job!
_________________
Andy & The Rats
 ~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~
 ~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~ |
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bluerattyrat
Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:17 am
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Andrea14
Sun May 22, 2005 9:56 pm
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| Buildling a Cage Out of Playpen Material |
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There are small animal playpens currently at my Wal-Mart store for $10 each, and I had the idea of using them to build a cage, by using 2 of them. (Of course if I didn't build the cage and just used my aquarium still, the rats would have a nice large play area with them.) Can that be done? I would think it would be fine.. the panels are a good size.
EDIT: I built it! Seems like a nice size. I was so surprised how high it got to be.. 26"! I'm hoping to possibly make it larger, if I redo it at a later date. For now the boys really love all the climbing space. ^_^
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Happy New Year from Myself, Dumbledore, and Harry! |
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Jill
RP Supporter
Wed May 25, 2005 7:47 am
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| Combining two R-670s |
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I was wondering if anyone has had any luck combining two Martin's cages of the same size. My girls currently have an R-670, which is getting too cramped for the big girls, so instead of buying a whole new cage, we've decided to buy them ANOTHER R-670 and combine it with our current one. Now, I want them to end up as a single cage, so just cutting room for a tunnel wont' work.
These are the three options we have for combining the cage...
1) Stack the second cage on top of the first cage. This will give them a lot of room to climb (which they love to do) but will make it easier to fall (though I'll take precautions, of course), and will also not be as good for them as they age.
2) Attach the cages side by side. This will give them lots of room to spread out sideways, but won't add any height for climbing. On the bright side, they'd have enough room for their igloo to go back in their cage (it sits outside at the moment during the day for hoarding purposes because I decided they didn't have adequate floor space). The ceiling in our room is also short, and doing it this way would keep us from having to find a shorter table to put their cage on.
3) Attach the cages front to back. This gives spread out room like #2, but would make their cage floor a lot roomier instead of just wider. This would also give me a nice open space in the center with the way I would attach it.
I should point out that #2 and #3 would require me to mutilate their plastic trays. Has anyone done that? I'm a little nervous since the plastic is so thick, but we have lots of tools here, and I'm sure it could be done. Though I'm not really sure what we'd reconnect them with (though duct tape comes to mind!).
So, any opinions on which of these would produce the happiest ratties?
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KatysPerson
Wed May 25, 2005 5:48 pm
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| Wanting to build a Cage..... |
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I would like some suggestions on building a corner cage for my girls. I already have a bit of a plan worked up, but it seems to not be big enough for my 7 girls. I will see about getting a picture into the computer of my drawling, but no garuntees.
I also would like to know what the experiances have been with wooden cages. What do you use, or what do have in them to keep the smell factor at bay???
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kalynhanna
Wed May 25, 2005 6:07 pm
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Well never had a wooden cage myself but I did read somewhere that wood would soak up rat urine and would be contenuasly stink ( spelling?).
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KatysPerson
Wed May 25, 2005 6:45 pm
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well.. I have read that useing killz primer is good to seal it and to also use calk... I'm still reading past posts..... I'm still in the beggining stages and am looking for some pointers!
*EDIT*
Here's the Basement and Level #1....
I do have the shelves and open part mixed up in the picture for level #1. I will have the shelves on the right hand corner.
And here's Level #2....
One more thing... I'm also considering wheather or not I want the cage to be all open, or if I want the back 2 sides to be a solid peice of wood board. I think that the pricing of this total build will depend on what I use. Still.. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
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alfeoandbeppe
Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:30 pm
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| Custom Cages |
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Hi, I'm Savannah, I'm new here. I have two female rats, a Champagne Hooded(Chancey), and a Black Variegiated(Gypsy). I'm getting two more female rats in late August. My current cage is only big enough to house two rats. I'd like to Custom Build a cage. does anyone have any instructions or ideas? My mom thought of a cool idea, she called it a 'Rat Condo'. She said we could buy all kinds of bird cages and line em up and stack them and connect them with pvc pipes. i thought it was a pretty cool idea. any other idea suggestions? Thanks
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yourRumor
Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:40 pm
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Welcome to RP. 
Have you read through this thread and viewed the cage gallery? There's loads of ideas! Custom built cages are nice but can require a lot of work and time. Bird cages would work as long as you add in some type of shelving (baskets, wood, wire, etc). My girls love PVC so I'd definately recommend some of that! 
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--;[Dannie/]
Ratties: Kina, Cessi, Nerissa and Dare |
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LittleWillow
MODERATOR & RP Supporter
Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:48 pm
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alfeoandbeppe, welcome to RP.
Like Dannie said, there's lots of ideas here in this thread, and also check out this post for the cube cage that she's just built.
_________________
Andy & The Rats
~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~
~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~ |
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bluchimom
Mon Aug 22, 2005 11:28 pm
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| question about building a cage |
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Hi all I have a 3 shelve cabinet that I want to make into a rat cage. I was wondering, it does have a solid back but would I need to put wire down so they can't chew out? or could I just put it in the front of the "unit" Thanks!
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bluerattyrat
Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:08 am
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I make a grotto for my rats and they love it! My only suggestion would be to use waterproof paint and to cover all levels with some of the kitchen-type flooring that comes in the big rolls. The flooring gets chewed eventually but it sure takes hours out of weekly cleaning time because it is removable and easier to clean than painted wood. Make sure to get the 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch wire instead of 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch because it is a lot easier to make it stay in the shape you want since it is a bit thinner. Plus, another good thing, the rats will no longer be able to put thier hand out and pull your favorite sweater in for a chewing session...lol...we've all been there! Accidents happen. Good luck with the cages!
_________________
Loving Arms Rattery (LOVE)
Home of the sweetest rats on earth!!!
http://www.freewebs.com/loving_arms_rattery/ |
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Tim150
Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:41 am
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| Chewing problem |
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Yeah so i just finished my cage and its really cool, but the problem is my 2 ratties find that the braces holding in my removable panels are very tasty and like to take little nibbles at them. what could i do to prevent this? thanks
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Celynny
RP Supporter
Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:42 am
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| RE: Chewing problem |
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Prevent them nibbling by finding braces made out of metal...
I've discovered that once a ratty has it in his (or her) head that it wants to chew something into oblivion that it will ALWAYS suceed....
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Tim150
Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:56 am
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| RE: Chewing problem |
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would nailing sheet metal over it work? cus its all custom made and all, impossible to get metal stuff like that. also since the floors are made of wood, which are shelac'd what would be a good thing to put over that? i heard of those thin kitchen tiles but i was thinking something like a piece of carpet? whats you're thoughts on this?
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Kate
ADMIN & RP Supporter
Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:57 am
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| RE: Chewing problem |
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For floor covering ideas, see http://www.ratpalace.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3871
_________________
Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous |
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killinjoke
Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:07 am
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Tails
Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:33 pm
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| How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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This weekend, I spent a few hours putting this plan together, based on both the "Grotto" from The Dapper Rat and my girls current cage.
I'm very proud of it  because I never took technical design in school, and I think it looks quite professional (please excuse me being vain  but I really am proud of it, lol)
The link to the RASCALS page or the direct link to the .pdf file - last link needs Adobe Acrobat Reader.
_________________
Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
 Maxie & Pepper |
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Ellies_girl
Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:15 pm
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| RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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It does look really nice! And your site is really well organized.
_________________
Rosie
* * *
I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul |
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Tails
Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:01 pm
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| RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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*gets all puffy proud* Thanks Ellie's_girl!!!
_________________
Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
Maxie & Pepper |
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Ellies_girl
Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:28 am
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| RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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My mom said that if I build a grotto style cage my self, she will pay for it, and if I build it in time, Raoul wont have to live in a 10 gallon aquarium.
Does anyone have any advice for building a small grotto style cage?
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Rosie
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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul |
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Tails
Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:17 pm
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| RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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Hmm...how about modernising my plans to have only the one door and not both levels? Then you could just add a whole bunch of platforms, tunnels, hammocks, and ladders. And you'd still have the storage space. I havent looked through all the posts in this thread, but I'm sure there's also a small design somewhere around here Good luck, and when you're done, you better post pics
PS: If you use my designs, and something isnt clear, just ask and I'll be happy to help Also, there is a pic of my cage in the gallery called The Rookery Nook
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Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
Maxie & Pepper |
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BigBossPants
Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:40 am
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| My Cage Concepts |
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Hi!
I've been looking around at all the home made cages people have, and it's inspired me to design my own. I have a wee case of MGMR hehe and plan on adding a few females to my menagerie next year, and hopefully breed a few good litters.
Anyway, here's a link to my concepts, let me know what you think!
http://www.freewebs.com/ratpatch/cageconcepts.htm
They look a bit funny unless you view them full sized.
Happy viewing!
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Ellies_girl
Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:57 am
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| RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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I have been put on a very strict budget for the cage, so what I did was move all of the books on my bookshelf to the 2 long shelves above my bed, and instead of going and making the entire cage, I will jsut get the melamite levels. It will wind up having 3 floors (including the base one), but no storage space.
I was wondering if I could attach a 2" high 2.5' long (the book shelf is about 2.5' long), so that I could put littler on the base level.
My major problem is that I jsut can not figure out how the door/hinges would attach.
Also, if you cut out part of the shelf so the rat can get on it, wouldn't it unbalence the shelf if you cut out part of the corner?
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Rosie
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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul |
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Kate
ADMIN & RP Supporter
Wed Nov 09, 2005 7:18 am
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| RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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Anyone: If you have the money, here's a link to a thread in the mouse forum on having polycarb (plastic) stuff custom-made:
Something from there could always be incorporated into a self-built cage. I've always thought a cage combined of both wire and plastic would be the best of both worlds. If I ever have an extra thousand bucks lying around (LOL) I will build the most awesome wire-&-plastic cage in the universe.
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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous |
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Tails
Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:21 am
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| Re: RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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Also, if you cut out part of the shelf so the rat can get on it, wouldn't it unbalence the shelf if you cut out part of the corner? |
Well, what I did was use one of those plastic corner brackets (they hold 4 screws) and I attached that just at the edge where the little access hole was cut...erm...a little hard to explain, does it make sense??
_________________
Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
Maxie & Pepper |
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amazing_rat
Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:42 am
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| RE: Re: RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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Sorry about starting something in the middle of your conversation, but I was wondering if I could use this bookshelf that we just cleared.
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Ellies_girl
Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:32 am
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| RE: Re: RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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Yeah, I am sure that it would be fine Sarah. The one I used is a little smaller, but it should work the same.
Tails, I know what you mean. I cut it kinda in the center, but not so far back that it colapses.
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Rosie
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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul |
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Tails
Thu Nov 10, 2005 11:29 am
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| RE: Re: RE: How to build a "Grotto" cage |
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Oooh! I just love all this big-cage building!! All the spoiled ratties!! 
_________________
Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
Maxie & Pepper |
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cherrie
Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:09 pm
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| Customising my cage... any ideas? |
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Hi guyz,
I have a really big cage that my past rats have loved however it's a bit of a nightmare to clean as it's so big! I was thinking before I get my new ratties that perhaps it would be better if I had a pull out tray at the bottom to empty and clean. I have added the link to show u which cage I have, if anyone has any ideas of how I could improve it to make cleanin easier then please post- thanks alot!
http://www.animalinstinct.co.uk/item1467.htm
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LittleWillow
MODERATOR & RP Supporter
Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:20 am
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| RE: Customising my cage... any ideas? |
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Hi Cherrie - I bet they love that!
Can you get it out into the garden, or into the shower? With the bigger cages, it's definitely helpful to be able to spray it with water when cleaning it, but scrubbing all those bars always takes some time. I generally leave on the cleaning stuff for a few minutes to help get everything clean, and spray it a LOT. Toothbrushes are good for awkward spots.
_________________
Andy & The Rats
~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~
~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~ |
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bcorby
Fri Dec 16, 2005 11:28 pm
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So, here's a question for you:
I currently have an R-690 for my three girls. Given the choice, would you:
1. Get a customized R-670 from Martin's to attach to the top and make an "R-694 Mini-Ruud," or...
2. Say "screw it" and get an R-695, giving the 690 to a local rescue organization.
Any thoughts?
_________________
-Ben
My rats: Squishy, Squee, and Nibbler
My dogs (at my mother's house): Lucy and Ricky
My cats (at my dad's house--in Florida!): Cleo (RIP) and Zima |
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Ellies_girl
Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:35 am
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Are you planning on getting more ratties in the near future? If not, I would go with #2. If you are, it would depend how many. More than 2, I would make a "Mini Ruud". 1 or 2, I would give it to a rescue.
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Rosie
* * *
I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul |
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bcorby
Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:12 am
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I've actually decided on "none of the above," as a local ad showed up with a family that has ferrets but can't keep them anymore for financial reasons, and is willing to part ways with their Martin's FNE-480 New Englander--which will fit rats just fine with its 1"x1" mesh.
I may not be able to donate the current cage after all, however. My sister, after tonight's Petco episode, has decided that she wants rats of her own, and it going to work on our parents. I support her 100% if she wants a couple and will take care of them (and if she doesn't, she knows I will, and she will not get off easy if I end up taking care of them), so the cage may go to her after all.
_________________
-Ben
My rats: Squishy, Squee, and Nibbler
My dogs (at my mother's house): Lucy and Ricky
My cats (at my dad's house--in Florida!): Cleo (RIP) and Zima |
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penny_the_rat
Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:53 am
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I just wanted to mention that if you can't find a reasonable sized cage for your rats and you suck at building things (like me) you might want to check out some bird cages. I recently bought a large birdcage at a used pet store and the rats love it...but I'm still working on it. It doesn't have a second level but right now I have a hammock hanging up there. The rats love climbing all over the cage
_________________
~*Allie*~
Puppy: Pepper (my big suck) Kitty: Kitterz
Birdie:Mehico aka.Cheeky
Ratties: RIP Penny...i miss you pretty girl <333
Peaches n' Cream..2 bRATS
Jibroney!! --new rescue rat |
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Binky_My_Baby
Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:15 am
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I was wondering if anybody had any ideas of how to add more shelves to my cabinent . . .
As you can see we already have one shelf with two ramps for the ratties to get from the bottom to the top. But we did that when we first got the cabinent and it was a pure and utter pain.
Soooo. So I was wondering if you guys had any ideas of how to add shelves to the walls without any use of major hardware. (ie power tools and such).
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Tails
Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:37 am
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You could hammer a strip of wood into the inner side of the walls, then nail the shelf to the piece of wood strip...does this make sense? lol
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Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
Maxie & Pepper |
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Making the doors openable was the biggest pain.