The Rattie Homes - how my tribe is housed

People seem to think I have hundreds of animals when they see my cages. The truth is, all but the two biggest house two to three rats. "No" I say, "They just live in rodent mansions".

I keep a variety of medium and smaller cages on hand to use in for incoming juvenile rats and in case of evacuation for Hurricanes.

BELOW - A cage line of most of my biggest cages:

The black one is a Martin's cage. The ferret castle F-460. It is 4' X 18" by 4'. The other cages are smaller, but you can see from the pictures, not by much. Martin's cages are probably the biggest cages you can get for your money. These cages are drying in the sun, which will rid them of any lingering bleach spray left behind by the hose.

This was a photo of the cages outside while they were drying. I completely clean cages every seven days. Some of the photos were taken last year.....rats have changed cages depending on their mobility and needs. Some of older rats have been moved to one level cages because they are too old to be climbing ladders.

BELOW - is my biggest cage in the house, it is a modified Martin's cage (24 inches deep by 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide) that houses my Oops litter , Baadger and Kermit, Jeremiah and Bertram - eight boys in all. I had intended to use it for the prairie dogs, but the Mistake litter happened.....so it was put to a different use. It started life as an iguana cage and I had Martin's send me a new complete middle floor and ramp along with a new front. I have added three close-up pictures of the cage, including the inside.

Blimey and Faux Paw in the doorway.

Kermit in the igloo

Jeremiah on the shelf, Kermit in the igloo

BELOW left : Martin's cage on the left houses Beauregard and his brothers, 4 males total. The maximum rats in this cage I would recommend is 6 adult males. I have modified the top shelves of this cage to hold litter boxes underneath because they were using the corners as potty areas because, being males, they were too lazy to go down a level and use a litter box. (yes, rats can and do use litter boxes for poo). I have included a newer shot of this cage. This cage measures 4ft x 4ft x 18in.

The cage BELOW right now houses my seven females and occupies a space where there is less chance of exciting a cage full of males in such close proximity. This cage was hand-made by an unknown person. It measures 4ft X 30" x 18".

This cage holds four boys total - rattie luxury!.

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Four cages of mine were made by an unknown maker.

Below: This cage now houses the newest girls until they get a bit bigger. SinDee, Jayla, Glory, Suraya and Pilialoha. It measures 30" x 18" x 38".

the little girl's cage

BELOW - This cage is used for geriatric rats. It is 30" x 24" x 18" and is easy for older rats to navigate.

Geriatric cage

Below - this is another cage with an unknown maker. It houses Wedge, Maux de Amour and Davet. The photo was taken when it was used to temporarily house four younger males.

BELOW - I have added a Martin's Ruud Cage (R-699) cage to my line-up which houses my five newest males - Wren, Jaeger, Zoom, Jacoby and Jayne. This was taken just prior to hosing it down for cage cleaning. So yes, it's dirty.

Below:

The bottom cage is a Martin's Rat Lodge (R-680). This cage is used for geriatric rats and when in use houses two rats.

The top cage (Martin's Rat Cubbyhole R-660) is one of a pair that I use for hospital cages, newly arrived young rats or nursing mothers.

Both of these cages are made of uncoated galvanized wire and do not stand up to the caustic urine of animals over time.

Cage cleaning involves:

Rats are removed and either placed in the bathtub with a towel, in carriers or on a flat surface with a towel and igloo. (males only, females tend to go on a "walkabout")
Removing all rat towels in the igloos, hammocks etc to be washed.
Removing all the hammocks to be washed.
Removing all cage furniture to be scrubbed by hand and left to dry.
Taking all cages outside to be sprayed down with a mild bleach solution, scrubbed and left to dry.
Vaccuming the floors and scrubbing the walls behind the cages.
Dragging all the cages BACK IN and putting all new clean towels, hammocks and furniture back in the cages.
Putting the ratties back in to their clean cages.
I clean the cat's litter box at the same time and it too is sprayed with bleach solution and left to dry.

Cage cleaning takes me at the bare minimum, 8 hours. It takes longer if I clean the gerbil, prairie dog and cat box at the same time. Doing laundry is part of cleaning the cages and it takes forever. To conserve energy, I do not use a clothes dryer so all my rat towels and hammocks are hung on a line to dry. I do have a compost pile and I try to compost most of the aspen wood bedding. I also now use corncob for the rat litter boxes and I use that as mulch for the garden and flowers. I have recently switched to compostable cat litter.

Links to supplies I use in my cages

Mondo Hammocks - the very best in quality and price, and seldom chewed.

The Rody Igloo - The Rat Shop

WODENT Wheels - wheels for your rodents

Petsmart -

Super Pet balls, tubes and igloos, corner litter boxes.
Aspen bedding, in the biggest bag they have. NO PINE, NO CEDAR!!
Corncob bedding - I used this for the litter boxes so I can compost.
Food bowls - cheaper if you look around the shop. Heavy enough to not tip.

Walmart -

16oz Water bottles - buy them at here and you will save money.
Unscented cat litter here for the litter boxes and slide in trays. 40lbs for 3 dollars. I used to use this until I switched to compostable litter.
Small square plastic litter boxes - usually 2 dollars.
Yogurt treats - way cheaper than a petstore and they LOVE the plain animal crackers from the snack department.
Soy Milk baby formula - in the infant department. A good way to put weight on a sick rat or a nursing mom...the generic stuff costs about 12 dollars for a large can. Mix it a little thick for the rats, a cream consistency.

Ebay - the ultimate source for all things rattie , including signs and collectables.