No more flinging poo :)

So I had one of those wire, three story ferret cages for my rats, which worked really nice when they were smaller since they love to climb and run around, however it's SUCH a PITA to clean. They are both males so they fling poo everywhere, and they musk eachother and the cage constantly, and I finally had enough. So, with the guidance of three awesome members I decided to try out a tub set up.
The ramps were from the 3 story cage, mainly there just for extra climbing and to reach their hammock.
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With the lid, I put screen up there for a little extra ventilation and for a place to hang their hammock that they adore
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Small square on the side for water bottle
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They had a bath too, so they are cleaning themselves and checking things out
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I cut small "T" shaped holes on both sides for climbing space, the wire expands over the holes by about 3 inches. The holes in the chicken wire are also much smaller than they seem, so it will be very difficult for their large turds to escape. I also know that ideally, the screen should be on the inside, however the edges are VERY sharp and I worried about them injuring themselves. They've never really been huge chewers, I give them plenty of wood and alfalfa blocks to chew on, as well as a strip of newspaper to rip up occasionally. I have my fingers crossed they don't don't start chewing now. I never saw it or heard it in their other cage, so I guess I'll find out tonight after my work shift ;)
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The setup looks great. I'd be interested to see how well it holds up to the 2 of them over the next few weeks. I guess it all depends on the males because I have some boys that chew anything and everything in front of them and others who could care less. They look like two very well cared for ratties :gj:

How did you attach the wire to the tub?

I eventually had had enough of chewing and bought cheap walmart 10 gal aquariums for all rodent breeding. Ive had more plastic tubs get chewed thru than the aquariums cost me.(over $100 of them). and a simple chrome rack from lowes. If u only have 2 rats that should work for awhile but watch for chewing.

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Originally Posted by babyknees

How did you attach the wire to the tub?

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Steel zip ties :)


I wanted to update. It's been 5 days and this has been SUCH an awesome setup. No poo escaping at all, and no chewing from my boys so far. They are generally very well behaved rats luckily, I'm hoping they keep up the good behavior because this set up is so much nicer lol.

Thats awesome, i have a trio of dumbos that i currently house in my feeder rack, which I would like to move inside since they are pets. I might have to try this out.

I've used similar setups -the wire mesh (I just used a soldering iron to put a bunch of holes in the sides etc). Hopefully you won't have any chew outs, Mine lasted for a long while. Eventually though, they found the edges and I had a few breakouts. I finally went to a rack. I believe yours are pets though, right? You may eventually want to go to one of those wire cages that fits over a tank or something they can't sink their teeth into :) . Nice setup regardless! :gj: