lifewithrats

I thought I’d take you on a tour of the girls’ cage today. The cage is a modified rabbit hutch. I started with a store-bought rabbit hutch, with a white, plastic tub bottom and a wire top. The girls could squeeze through some of the bars, so I modified the cage with chicken wire to make it inescapable.

I also had to fix a hole that a few generations of rats had made in the side of the cage. I took an expired plastic gift card and taped it to the outside of the cage, covering the hole. They’ve not managed to chew through it yet. Prepare to modify any plastic bits of your cage, because rats will chew. Also, check the bars often, especially with younger girls who can squeeze through very small areas. Modifying a cage is not hard, but takes some trial and error.

I use old newspapers as bedding. My vets typically approve of this bedding, so long as I am sure not to use the shiny papers. Those inks are not necessarily non-toxic. My kids love the newspaper, since they can rip it and nest with it. A plastic castle filled with strips of newspaper makes  a delightful winter retreat.

I usually lay down three or four layers of newspaper on the bottom of the cage, and then shred about a quarter of the Sunday paper to give them something to nest with. They always manage to tear through my layers at the bottom, but they usually wait until just before cleaning day to do so.

They have a ledge to climb on, a cozy fleece hammock to lie in, and a few toys. We’ve cleaned out most of the toys, but only to givet them time to forget about them. Once they look like they’re getting bored, we’ll introduce the old toys again.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the diet I feed my rats. It’s not the perfect diet, nor is it the best I could be doing. Maybe this blog will challenge me to create a healthier diet for my rats.

Amanda

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