Rat Cage Ideas

So you adore rats and love to pamper them, and you know that housing your rat is an important part of pet care. It is your responsibility to find enclosures that offer them plenty of room to exercise, sleep, and play.

Also, rats depend on you for their food, water, security, and warmth. That’s why you should control and take care of their livelihood, so do not jump into rat ownership on a whim because your pet will suffer. Do you want that to happen?

Choose the Right Cage for Your Rat

Making things yourself is really fun and allows you to customise your cage and save your money. Rat cages can be made from metal, plastic, and glass. Some cages are single-storied, while others have two or more levels.

A cage should be able to sustain a rat’s exercise needs and also easy to be clean. If you need to make a rat cage, then you have come to the proper place for some ideas and guidance that help you to find a suitable idea to set up.

Rat Cage size

Determining the cage size is an important step in the cage selection. A cage with two or more levels is a good choice, which at least has the same length and width with shelves and ramps. You may end up having a good-sized ferret-style cage.

Whatever you prefer, it depends on how many rats you intend on keeping. Rats love space and naturally live in groups so that it is unfair to keep one alone.

It is good to keep a single pair of rats in a cage with two shelves at least, that is not smaller than 29 x 15 x 18 in inches, but for sure bigger is always better.

Ease of Cleaning

Rats leave a lot of mess and trash; of course, you have to clean that up. Keep in mind that some cages are easy to clean and others are not. Cages with multiple large doors and detachable flooring are easy to clean.

Setting Up a Rat Cage

You will have to set it up yourself, or you can go for pet rat cages that come with clear setup directions and are easy to assemble.

Some Do’s and Don’ts

Metal is the best option to make rat cages as such cages are well ventilated and easy to clean. For sure, making a wooden enclosure is something you should avoid because such a product will start stinking as wood soaks up rat urine.

Also, aquariums are not good habitats for rats since they retain ammonia and dust. Both are bad for your rat’s respiratory system. The same goes for plastic.

A Wire Cage is the best

Based on what we mentioned above, we suggest using a wire cage with bars and shelves. Make sure that the space between bars is little enough unless you want your pet rodents to escape. We believe ½” spacing is suitable for rat babies.

If possible, construct a cage with horizontal and vertical bars, that eliminates the chances of a baby rat getting stuck or escaping.

Also, wire cages provide a lot more space for your rat to climb and give you places to hang on toys and hammocks and provide ventilation to promote good health.

Rat Cage Ideas Gallery:

Check these photos of different styles of Rat cages:

Hope you have enjoy this post, if you are considering DIYing the cage itself, you might want to look at our post on DIY Cat Cage for an idea.