an idea...

Thats alright. i nitched that idea anyway .. i posted a wanted add on craigslist and have already had someone contact me back with a large ferret cage, ill be able to go look at it today or tomorrow. if nothing else i could always cover it with the mesh thats been mentained here previously. :) he said he would like $20 which is what i was requesting no more than, so if its nice and he has any accessories (hes a rescue and doesnt need all the cages from what i understand) ill give him more.. i cant wait! ill be sure to post pictures later on when i know/get more.

Wow for $20 if that cage is in any sort of decent shape, that's a great deal!

A Ferret cage with 1" bars will be fine for adult males and larger adult females, but younger rats coud escape.

As for other cage sources, I have to go with the pet rat forums and say check out martinscages.com, the R680 685 and 695 are all very decent rat cages for the money, just be sure to get powdercoated.

I've tried the cage topper thing, and cleaning was a major pain, as was getting in and out of the cage. A 10 gal with a cage topper is still very small even for just a couple rats.

I've also made a homemade cage out of hardware cloth and a sterilite underbed bin for the pan. Works well enough but martins cages are much better and larger for not a lot more money.