Maternity Rat Rack

Hello all,

I have a quick question that I am hoping someone may be able to help me with.

I have recently had issues with baby rats not surviving. I don't feel the need to go into detail about this but I have decided to build a maternity rack in order to help with this. I feel good about the plans I have made except I am trying to maximize space and am wondering how much height I need to have between the bottom of the tubs and the next level. I will be using a gravity fed watering system and will install it as soon as the parts that I need arrive.

Thank you for any help you can give.

I don't know much about raising rat babies or anything, but if they're anything like hamsters just make sure the gap between isn't enough for them to squeeze out of. I've heard rats are quite the escape magicians. Are you planning to use a substrate for the young ones and mother rats? If so, what kind? What are the temperatures like for them? How often do you feed and clean the cages? I hope my answers will help, but hopefully someone else will chime in because I'm definitely not an expert here. But an excuse to research something new is always cool :)

You can get away with just 2-3" but it makes it hard to get the food onto the hardware cloth without a hopper. If you are just taking handfuls and throwing up there, I'd do 4-5" to make it easier on you to feed them.

Another thought: Consider the range of temperatures where your cages are located. Is this "climate controlled" or does is fluctuate a lot seasonally?

It's winter right now, so rodent cages closer together helps them stay warm enough, but in the summertime heat, that could work against you & more ventilation is needed or they won't survive.

In raising rodents, I've found that cold is easier to deal with than excessive heat- I can insulate cages & feed more nutrient-dense foods so they thrive- but summer heat needs good ventilation.

Thank you all very much. My racks are in a climate controlled area. I will make a 4 1/2 inch gap. Thank you for all of your help.

I build my racks out of 2x3s and use a 2x3 as my "spacer". So, my levels are 2.5" apart.