REACTING to YOUR rat cages 😯 | Part 2

[@MindfulPupper]

I super like your comments about sleeping spaces (hammocks) vs activity spaces (enrichment, climby things, etc). What a great way of helping people understand how rats might organize their own spaces.

[@wrongkiri1367]

Your voice is super soothing and I loveee you’re cage. It’s always great to find a new rat KZbinr

[@rebeccam6507]

I love these videos so much. It’s always nice to get inspiration from others, coming up with new layouts each week can be tough at times. My cage is in your first video showing cages and your advice was very helpful. I’m waiting on a new wheel, my current is 12 inches and I’m upgrading to a 16 inch wheel. I just have to find something to support the perspex tray so I can provide my girls with a deeper layer of substrate… waking up at 3am to discover the tape has come off part of the base due to the weight of it and all five girls are hiding somewhere in your room is not pleasant.

[@FaithfulRattos]

What cage was yours maybe I can help x

[@rebeccam6507]

@@FaithfulRattos it’s the single cage at 8:41. It’s the same size as the single little zoo venturer. Though I’m in Australia so I’m not sure if everything is entirely the same. With my cage the metal base it came with was supported my two little ledges and that was the entirety of the base. Now I have a 5mm thick perspex base that’s supported by those two ledges. When I put extra substrate in the base dips so when I get paid next week I’ll be off to find something at the hardware store so resolve that issue. Any help would be much appreciated x

[@rebeccam6507]

It seems odd to me that there’s no wire base to the cage (which was not shown on the Budtrol website) so I thought maybe I can find a metal shelving rack or a sheet of aluminium to support it, preferably a metal rack

[@FaithfulRattos]

@@rebeccam6507 have you tried putting the perspex base on top of the original cage base?

[@rebeccam6507]

@@FaithfulRattos my perspex base is the same size at the metal base so it won’t fit inside of it. I can’t even slide that one under the cage for temporary support because it’s too tall

[@AcornPapaya]

Im late to this video but great video this gave me some inspiration for my rat cage as I'm still collecting things up to put it together, just need to figure out how to make room to put a thick layer so they can burrow

[@aleksandere9441]

Super late reply, but maybe someone else could use these ideas. I have a cage with a super shallow bottom, and my options I've considered have been: -Shallow layer of substrate plus huge dig box (my current set-up) -Custom cut perspex (so freaking expensive! But very high quality and highly recommended by other rat owners) -Shallow layer of substrate plus a huge cardboard box of substrate (I've had this in the past and it allowed them to dig, but was easy to set up and super cheap) -A DYI wood bottom (this one would require a lot of work, but it significantly cheaper materialwise than perspex, but also would need to be replaced sooner) -A DYI cardboard bottom

[@marigoldrats1883]

Great video :) lovely to see such a different range of set ups and ideas x

[@eveykrushensky2928]

i absolutely love your accent tbh

[@FaithfulRattos]

Thanks 🤗

[@sherrickmads]

Excited to see everyone's cages, what a fun video! Thanks for including mine as well :D (LittleRatCrossing)

[@dawncowan7009]

I have that bird cage for my 2 girls. I'd recommend ppl cable tie them bird 10 doors as ratties could escape. But it is a good strong barred cage. The bars are more solid than my other made for rats, cage.

[@benratisp4706]

What an amazing video, just sent in my cage. :)

[@sharkeishatwerks1731]

I never sent in my cage! I'd love to participate in the next

[@harlot.c]

Hi Ashley, great video, out of interest do you know if rats can make burrows in a deep layer of Aubiose?

[@FaithfulRattos]

From what I've seen a not really, it's too light and doesn't hold tunnels alone. You could try mixing it with a shaving, a cardboard shred or hay to make it better. It definitely works for digging though, and it's super absorbent.

[@iheartkeqingg6681]

Im on a budget and can’t get a base tray + it’s harder to clean since i got a royale suite and bedding keeps getting everywhere. I do have a digbox in their cage that i use for foraging and they love it

[@FaithfulRattos]

Have you tried storage boxes on the base instead??

[@ashleypauley7588]

I got mine the big wheele to run on they havnt even tried it after a couple months so I'm gonna just take it out. I also did ropes n stuff to climb on they don't but they do love free roaming but inside they cage they mostly just chase each other eat and sleep.

[@FaithfulRattos]

Just because you don't see them using enrichment doesn't mean they don't and doesn't mean you should take it out

[@ashleypauley7588]

How well does they hey work and wonder how the rats like it ?

[@FaithfulRattos]

They use it as nesting material!

[@dawncowan7009]

Recommendations for getting perslex from x

[@FaithfulRattos]

The Plastic People or The Plastic Man

[@kristinascozycritters]

I have tried every bedding except a soil like bedding for my boys cage and fleece just ends up working best. I have bad asthma and allergies and my rats are in my room iv tried air purifiers, but nothing helped after a month I gave up because my breathing was so bad. As a kid I had hamsters and guniea pigs who stayed in our basement, but our current home dosnt allow me to move them to the basement so they are bedded in fleece. I do however make them dig boxes for play time wich they get every day and I add snuffel matt's to their cages so they can forage for their food. I'd say to anyone who cant use bedding fleece can work just fine, I do have to clean every other day or every 2 days but it works and I don't mind it. I also add shredded Easter grass paper to small dig boxes around their cages, and hand make all my rat cage hammocks so I do have a few filling my cage but plan on looking into more natural themed things, here in Canada it's harder to get natural themed unless I buy from other countries, but I'm going to look into it for sure. Love your videos keep them coming!!

[@FaithfulRattos]

What beddings/substrates have you tried? Fleece isn't a suitable alternative to a loose substrate even with the addition of small dig boxes. As for hammocks, only a couple are necessary and the other things should be active for them to climb on. 'Naturalistic' cage accessories aren't necessary but they do need to enable natural behaviours.

[@kristinascozycritters]

Iv tried aspen, and all the paper bedding from all living things to care fresh even yesterday's news and boxo paper based bedding and they all made my asthma horrible. I do use yesterday's news for their litter trays as it gets changed often. As a person who spent most their life in and out of the children's hospital for asthma its not worth the pain. My rats get lots of playtime and stimulation and I do the best I can with what I have and not everyone's cage will look the same that's why these videos are so great. I don't just make hammocks for sleeping I make fleece ropes and bridges so they always have to climb to get to where they want to go, I use alot of baskets and snuffel mats to try to mimic their more natural behaviours but at the end of the day I know I'm doing the best I can. They have a doubble critter nation lots of toys and climbing things ikea tie holder ect. As far as bedding they don't sell as many small animal bedding in my part of Canada as they do in UK, I do see cool bedding on KZbinrs channels in the UK. Also my boys only have the bottom level, their whole cage is open concept jam packed with ropes, hammocks, baskets, and lava ledges. I think your videos are awesome, my cage is full like yours but unfortunately I can't give them the dig area like I'd love to full time, and yes they have lots of hammocks, but it works for us. And what I ment by naturalistic was all the wood things in your cage, and the natural ropes and bridges. That being said thanks for the videos love watching them. 😊

[@sleepless.sprout]

@@kristinascozycritters hey! i understand you have health concerns, but there are always alternatives to fleece. one i would suggest is shredded cardboard! my sister has severe asthma and is constantly around cardboard, she's never had issues with it. cardboard is super accessible, most retail stores would be happy to give you loads of unused cardboard for free! (i've personally had people ask me during my work experience for broken down/unused boxes, we would never charge and it saved us from having to crush it/throw it away) if you can you can also make your own paper bedding at home that's not gonna have dust (duh, it's paper) with certain types of office/mailing paper. as long as it's thick enough for them to show their natural behaviors it should be just fine! :^) if you're not willing to put in the effort to give them a suitable home, consider rehoming. the alternatives can be very inexpensive and low effort. cleaning bedding from the floor/shredding the paper/cardboard is worth it when you take into account their basic needs and requirements for their natural behavior and overall happiness! if you can't do this, please do not be selfish and keep them in a home where they are not given what they need. thanks and take care

[@AnicaNorman]

@ohthemischief is she not on instagram any more

[@FaithfulRattos]

Nope she's not