My New Rack

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Originally Posted by Shadera

I've got 4 of those 6 tub racks all of them with at least 2 rats full time in them. At first my thought was how bad could it be filling bottles when they empty. Now I dread having to fill them daily. I'm ready to make the switch.

The only thing I worry about is will they all always have access to water? I mean, is it possible for there to end up being air in a line somewhere that's going to cause me grief? Any tips and tricks you can share about the installation and initial usage? I've read a few DIYs on how to put one in, just looking for the experience of people who have been there and done that for any special stuff.

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Sorry it took so long to get back to you. The installation is pretty easy. You should follow the DIY threads. I actually used this website: http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/rat_rack/ratrack.shtml to build my rat breeding racks, and run the gravity-fed water systems.

Each time you fill the buckets, you should test each nozzle to make sure water is coming out. If the water line ever goes below the hole in the bucket, you will have air in the line, so never let your bucket get that low. One issue that has happened to me twice is flooding. Each time the rats bit the plastic tubing, and the water flooded their tubs. It killed all of the rats in the tub. Make sure that it is impossible for the rats to get to the tubing. I believe that the newly designed nozzles heads are larger, so only part of the nozzle fits into the hardware cloth, so you should not have this issue.

Hope this helps, and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

The rats look pretty stressed. You have alot of porph going on... Might want to change the bedding(carefresh is disgusting and VERY dusty).

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What's "Porph" ?

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Originally Posted by dizzy

What's "Porph" ?

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Porphyrin, it's the red looking substance that they secrete from the tear ducts and nose. It is a sign of both illness and stress and I agree they look a little stressed/ill. Rats have VERY sensitive respitory systems and less dust in their bedding, the better.