Can a rat get out of a critter cage?

[cchardwick]

OK, so I have two groups of rats in 40 gallon critter cages, they are glass aquariums with sliding and locking screen lids. The rats found out they can sit on the water bottles and reach the top of the cage, they seem very interested in it. I was wondering if they could chew through the screen on top of the tank? Anyone else use critter cages for housing rats?

[Sirrush]

As long as the lid is secured in place (ie not just sitting on top lightly) it should be fine, just keep an eye on it and if you DO start seeing chew marks, remove the offending rat immediately or they will all start chewing (monkey see monkey do).

[GoingPostal]

I've never had a rat chew out those metal tops.

[Ba11er]

If the screen material is the type commonly used for housing lizards, I would be concerned.

If your growing out rats or establishing a breeding colony over time there could be chewing or sagging of the screen as the rats push on it.

I can imagine an adult rat especially a male determined to get to a female would find a way out. A motivated rat can do some amazing things. I would error on the side of caution; rats throughout history have plagued ( haha )man with there resilience and ingenuity.

[Marrissa]

Build some tubs man! I can't imagine cleaning 40g every week. Tubs are cheaper, easy to build, and give you plenty of room. They are also super easy to clean. And you can build racks to put them in.

On the left is a 105qt rack I built for my does in downtime.