Ratties C&C for ratties?

[GreyWish]

I have some rats that i REALLY want to make a bigger cage for. they have a small petstore rat cage and i want to give them a huge play space
Huge rat cages are 300-400 dollars and i only spend that kind of money on the pigs, almost 500 dollars is to much for 3 rats
is there any way to make them a C&C without wasting a bunch of the grids to make another have smaller holes ?

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

Line the grids with 1/4" hard ware mesh.

(broken link removed)

 

[Rayen]

An actual rat cage is going to be your best bet. Wire mesh gets incredibly stinky over time, and attaching it to C&C grids would make a small nightmare to clean properly.

Have you looked at a single level Critter Nation? They're only like $140 here in Canada, I'm sure you could get them much cheaper where you are. It should be big enough for about 4-5 rats or so and they are incredibly easy to take care of. Even a double Critter Nation shouldn't be too crazy if you want to go bigger. Don't look in pet stores for cages, they're often wildly overpriced. Look online, Amazon usually has some decent prices for cages, I'm not really familiar with all of the US sites, but I'm sure looking around you may find some cheaper prices. You may even be able to find one second-hand in your area if you keep an eye open.

 

[GreyWish]

i got my cage from a bird/ferret store
if i think about it their cage isnt that bad its a 3 level rat cage i was thinking a cage more along the lines of a 4 level ferret cage cause i want to give them space to run around and give them a lot of toys and stuff, they are hairless rats so they need a lot of fleece things
I buy fleece toys anyways because i have 2 skinny pigs (hairless gpigs)
after i load up the rats cage with all their fleece things there isnt much room for them to run since they dont like their wheel and wont use it
i was thinking something like a house like i do for my pigs, 2 bedrooms, potty, kitchen, and play area
their fleece things are gpig things and are too big so.... thinking bigger cage than smaller toys.
i was thinking a cage like this https://www.petco.com/product/11638...-On-Unit.aspx?CoreCat=MM_Ferret_CagesHabitats

 

[CritterSlave]

Im in the process of building bookcase cages for my rats. Google the grotto at the dapper rat its what im basing mine off of.

 

[Rabbit_Lover]

That is only an add on unit. Meaning there is a whole in the bottom to go the the bottom levels. Your best bet is to purchase this https://www.ferret.com/item/ferret-nation-habitat-model-181-single-unit/650428/ this store has the cheapest place to get them at with free shipping. That is if you have large rats, since the bar spacing is 1" if that is to big https://www.ferret.com/item/critter-nation-small-animal-cage-single-unit/650231/ this is only a few more dollars cheaper with the correct bar spacing.
May I ask why you only spend money on the piggies?

 

[Princess_Piggie]

I wanted to ask that question myself as well, @Rabbit_Lover. Are you breeding the rats for sale/food or something?

I don't want to sound rude/insulting at all, it just seems a little odd to happily invest hundreds in one pet and not in another.

 

[GreyWish]

No no no! i didnt say i was only spending on piggies i meant i spend more money on my pigs than my 3 rats because i have a lot of pigs and then only 3 rats so i normally spend 200 with no problem on all the pigs
With the rats i could buy them SOOOOO much stuff for 400 dollars so i dont want to spend it on a cage. i spend a lot on the C&C cages for the pigs and i just bought coro for all my C&C cages so i spent like ....a few hundred dollars
im not placing them under the pigs, it would just be a bad investment on my part to spend 400-500 dollars on a cage and then the pigs do without because the rats get something that they dont NEED

 

[Princess_Piggie]

That makes A LOT more sense. In the OP it sounded like you where saying the rats weren't worth the money ahah!

 

[Rabbit_Lover]

Thank you for clarifying, I suggest you check out the links, there the cheapest prices out there, and the best cages to

 

[GreyWish]

Yes i looked at the links and i think i will get that cage ~ thank you everyone

 

[Gandalf]

Yes, I also got our Double Critter Nation through ferret.com. It's good to go with the CN as opposed to the FN in case you ever get young ratties later on. The smaller bar spacing is better for them.

I believe the single CN is for 4-5 rats, so the Double is loads of room for 3 rats. We love our DCN!

 

[GuineaPigster]

Critter Nation has good rat cages! There are really tightly-holed C&C grids, but they are hard to come by, and a rat cage is overall your best bet.