Warming Up Ratties

I know that it's not Winter anymore, but that doesn't mean that the cold is done! Where I am it's still pretty chilly, so I need to make sure that the ratties are nice and warm! It can be very dangerous if you let your rats get too cold.

Rats do better with colder temperatures than they do with warmer temperatures, but if it's gets too cold it can be hazardous. Usually rats are okay to ~50 degrees Fahrenheit. Even then they're alright with enough soft bedding and friends to cuddle with.

However, if it gets very cold, and you have no power, there are a few things you can do to help keep them warm.

Pocket Warmers

Pocket warmers are great little things, and can get very hot. If they aren't ones that get super hot, you can put them directly under your rats cage. However, if they are extremely hot, you need to wrap it up in a towel before you put it under the cage, as it may burn your rats.

Blankets

You can also wrap a space blanket around your rats cage to help keep in heat. I think this is the best thing to do, as rats can keep warm if you provide enough bedding for them to hide in.

Other

Every morning, since it's so chilly here and cold in the room when we wake up, I like to give them a nice warm porridge.

• Bob's Red Mill 5 or 7 Grain Cereal (5 grain is more flaky, while 7 grain is more of a soup-y consistency)
• Fruit or vegetable baby food
• a little bit of baby cereal
• water

You just warm up some water, put in the grains, and add baby food. If it's too thin, I'll add a little baby cereal, just to thicken it up a bit. I also like to add some ground flax seed. My rats are a little picky about flax seeds, so I get the Trader Joe's Ground Flaxseed with Blueberry, for flavor and to get them to eat it.

Cage Review: All Living Things "Rat Starter Kit"

Alright, so I ended up purchasing this cage because I am in the process of moving and I felt bad about keeping the rats in their small moving crate. So, this was on sale and the size was decent for my needs, and I figured that it would come in handy when using it for a quarantine cage in the future.

The kit includes a water bottle, plastic food dish, small bag of paper bedding, a flat running wheel, a plastic-y hammock, a wooden chew kabob, and a bag of All Living Things Rat & Mouse Food. I personally wouldn't recommend using the food as a main food, but you can keep it as extra or as emergency food. The hammock is plastic feeling, so I'm not sure if I'll leave it in the cage because I don't want the rats to chew it up and ingest any plastic.

The kabob is alright, I've bought the same one before and the girls just ended up chewing the middle bar so all the pieces just fell off.

The reason that I say I wouldn't use the food is because I much prefer Oxbow. I don't like to give my rats food that has a lot of other things in it because then they can pick and choose what they want, and that's never really good because they will often leave the good stuff for them uneaten and just eat the sweeter things. Also, the first ingredient is ground corn. That's a big turn off for me. And there's dried corn in the food, which you shouldn't feed to rats. So if you are going to use this, make sure to pick out and of the dried corn kernels that are in the bowl.

Getting a food bowl is nice as a spare but I prefer to use ceramic bowls because they are harder to tip over and they are less likely to chew on the ceramic. One of my rats looooves to chew on plastic, so I probably won't ever bother trying to use the bowl. The water bottle is alright, it doesn't leak much (so far), and the holder keeps it in place -- it doesn't get moved around. I don't know if I will use the wheel because there isn't much room in the bottom of the cage, and I don't think my girls would use it. Again it's plastic so it has a high chance of being chewed!

The size of the cage itself is alright. I wouldn't keep six rats in it for a long time, but for a temporary house it's a decent size. The cage itself is fairly easy to assemble, however getting the ladders on and the shelves in place was a big pain. Also, the ladders are terrible; the rats have a hard time climbing up them as they are too slippery, even with the little grips it has on them. So they just climb the sides of the cage to get to where they want. Again, it's all plastic so I'm not sure how well it will hold up against Iris, the rat who loves plastic. It has three doors, two on the front and one on the top of the cage. They lock easily and are very easy to open, so they're nice. They are just a little small so it's hard to get some larger things inside of the cage.

Overall rating: 6

Ease of assembly: 4

Quality of cage: 5

Quality of items included: 3

Types of Rat Cages: Recommended and Not Recommended

Okay so I thought that this would be a good thing to post about, because one thing that really upsets me is seeing rats in cages that are not suited for them. You don't have to buy the most expensive cage on the market to have a good rat cage, however there are some cages that you want to avoid.

Here I'll talk about good cages, bad cages, and how to get the recommended cages.

Not Recommended

Aquariums

First and foremost, this is the type of cage that you should absolutely avoid. Rats have very sensitive respiratory tracts, and because there is little to no ventilation in an aquarium, it will easily cause respiratory issues. People tend to just get them because they are most likely uneducated and don't know otherwise.

Also, people will sometimes get a "topper" for an aquarium, like in this picture:

I still do not recommend getting something like this. I wouldn't want my rats in an aquarium at any point, really. Not to mention, there isn't a whole ton of room for them to move around in.

Most Pet Store "Starter Cages"

Okay so not all of them are bad, but most are. A lot of the time you will see a starter cage that has one level, and isn't the right size for more than one rat. The only time that I would recommend getting a starter cage is if you're going to use it for travel, or you're going to use it just as a temporary cage (such as using it as a quarantine cage). Some will have a little "second story", but it's really just a shelf -- still not enough room for more than one rat.

Now for this cage, I would use it as a quarantine / travel cage. Just as long as it's not permanent.

Recommended Cages

Critter Nation / Ferret Nation

These are my absolute favorite cages you can get for rats. They are spacious, provide plenty of ventilation, have a lot of room for quite a few rats, and you can add more units to it to make it as large as you need. They are fairly easy to clean, and there's so many ways to make the cage a very enriching environment for your rats. Of course, they aren't the cheapest cage you can get, but they are worth every penny in my eyes. You can always search Craigslist to see if there are any near you that you can get at a much cheaper price than buying new. You can also search for a Ferret Nation, the only difference between the cages are that the bars of the Critter Nation are horizontal bars that have 1/2 inch bar spacing, while the Ferret Nation has vertical bars and a 1 inch bar spacing. You can hang a lot of different toys from the bars, and hang up hammocks.

Image Credit: http://www.moonlitwatersrattery.com/ratcare.html

Image Credit: http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23862 via crumbilina

Image Credit: http://www.rattyratrattery.com/ratty-care.html

Martins Cages

I have never personally owned a Martins cage, however I gad heard good things about them. They aren't as spacious as the Critter / Ferret Nation, but they have some good sizes. Here is a link to the site where you can buy the cages. There are many different types, and don't feel like you have to stick to the rat cages! Experiment, and look at the sizes and what would fill your (and your rats) needs. The only downside that I have heard about these cages are that they can be a pain to clean. Again, I have never used one so I can't tell you how easy or hard it is to do so.

Tips

I mentioned it in the Critter Nation section, but you can look at Craigslist to find a used (or, if you're lucky, a new one) cage. If you manage to find one, make sure you get pictures of it or go check it out in person before you go to for sure get it, because it could be broken. But if you snag a nice one, good on you!

If there is a cage you have or are looking to buy, but don't know how many rats can fit in it, here is a rat cage calculator! It's very useful. If you are really unable to afford a larger cage, just make sure that you let your rats have a lot of outside the cage playtime!

I hope that this was helpful, and if you would like to ask me anything, shoot me an email or leave a comment!