The girls cage is made out of a converted bookshelf in a similar design to Dapper Rat's grotto. It consists of four levels, separated by trapdoors. These are left open most of the time so the rats can move freely about the cage. They are only shut to aid in cleaning or when I am introducing new girls and wish to house them seperately for a period. This cage can house around 10 adult rats.

To see pictures of the individual levels please click on the links below

Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4

My rule of thumb for sleeping areas is that there should be at least one place per two rats. While you will often find 8 rats curled up in the same hammock, it is nice if there is space where they can get away by themselves for a while. This reduces the amount of day-to-day quarrels in the cage.

Water bottles are provided on most levels too. Fresh water is essential for your rats heath, and should be easily accessible at all times. Food is generally provided on levels where the rats do not normally sleep to encourage exercise in the lazier rats.

The Boys Cage

For the boys cage we opted for a more avery-style cage. This provides more ventilation, which is desirable for our scentmarking males. This cage can be divided into two seperate cages by placing a fixture into the trapdoor hole between the top and bottom half. A wooden surround was added around the bottom and middle complete level where we place the aspen litter to minimise the amount kicked out of the cage.

The cage measures 600x600x1600 mm and can house between 10 - 12 male rats. We are very happy with this cage design, as the open layout allows the boys to climb the full half height of the cage.