What do pet rats need for a happy home? (Rat cage setup)

[@mau4098]

Thank you for this video!! As a future rat owner this didn't make me feel overwhelmed as some other videos I've seen x

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Oh thank you that is really wonderful to read! Getting rats was the best decision I ever made I adore them! When do you get them? 😊

[@ratty_soupXx0]

i feel the same lol i’m getting mine in a week and i met them today

[@Heart4Kyia]

I’m a 11 and my first rats I got them a double critter nation and filled it with so many toys,hammock etc and most people say kids won’t take as good care of them as adults but I take full responsibility and do a deep clean every month and spot clean everyday

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

@Heart4Kyia That is so amazing! My daughter is 11 too and she loves looking after them. 😊 What are your rats names?

[@Heart4Kyia]

@@MiceAndRatEnrichment Milo and Peanut

[@jamiedelgado1484]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I'm always excited for new rat content. 🥰

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

You’re so welcome 🥰🤗

[@gabrielsj365]

Hi. Do you have pet rats? I just love rats

[@heather-xo]

Oh wow I want to live in there 😂 They are definitely living their best lives! ❤

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

🤣❤️ thank you for the lovely comment.

[@juulz9712]

Greetings from the Netherlands. As a (near) future owner this helps a lot❤ I will let them free run when I am home (under STRICT) supervision. But when I leave, they have to be in the cage. Also very excited to see how they interact with my dog. Her response to rats and gerbils in the store was extremely positive. Interested, but not predatory🐶

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

How exciting for you! Let me know how the intro goes I’d be interested to know. I’ve always been nervous due to the size of a dog vs rats and mice but I have seen other people do it successfully.

[@juulz9712]

@ I will, thank you😁🐶

[@mysweetlittlerodents]

So glad to see a video from you! The cage looks incredible. I finally made that hammock stand for the piggies that you sent me a video of and banana is obsessed 😂

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Oh wow amazing! It’s been a really full on year so it’s been tricky to film for a while, felt so good to post again! Haven’t spoken to you in so long, I’ll message you on WhatsApp x

[@AllaAlla-w5j]

Отличные условия, ваши крысы будут довольны и благодарны вам за заботу и любовь...

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Thank you that’s very kind. ❤️

[@gabrielsj365]

What cuties! Love your info and ideas and tips! I personal have 10 rats and love them and give them the best life possible! I love seeing them play during free roam and interacting with them and seeing the different balance of who is the alpha of the group and how they work things out ❤️

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Oh wow!!! 10!!! That’s amazing. What a handful of mischievous pocket puppies you have. What’s your setup like? Do you ever video them? 😊😊

[@gabrielsj365]

Hi! It was not intenstion to own 10 years back maybe 3-4 was the last time I had rats before my breeder moved to a different state. So less then a year ago a new breeder popped up close to me and I got my four girls two are martens and one is a double Rex and her sister is a rexx. My breeder reached out to me since I always sent her updates and such trusted me enough to asked if I would be interested in some boys? Which I never owned any before I always had girls in the past. It was varies reason from people not showing up to pick them up as well not really warming up to the idea of hairless rats! So I took them that I show I ended up with 10 not that I'm complaining lol. the boy were bonded but different in age maybe by a few months but things started to shift I don't know if they sensed girls in the air I even changed floor time and let the girls out last so they wouldn't catch a scent of them cause the boys would tend to start bickering at each other then it got to the point of even in the cages they would get into little fights no blood but just for me to be comfortable I split them into two groups of three I made sure each group had a leader which those two seemed the ones to go at it the most. I have video of them on my IG page. I'm new to your channel do you have videos when you first got your rats? Any news videos coming ❤️

[@kimberlyryan8618]

Dryer vent tubing also is a good "ladder" to use as a tunnel to get to higher parts of a cage.

[@evolutionworld1505]

Rats Are Cute ♥️

[@Petopiaa]

Thank you so much! I really wanted this vid! ❤❤❤

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

You’re so welcome! 🤗

[@erikalangbein4586]

In my opinion rats should have a large digging area. Best is to have the whole bottom as a dig box. My cage is placed onto a large deep tray (perspex or acrylic is most common) so that they have a box (mine is 100x50x60 cm) that is filled as deep as possible. I leave a gap of ca. 10-15 cm on the top which leaves them with 35-40cm of bedding.

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Agree, I’ve since started to do this too. They especially love tunnelling through shredded paper! I still like to give them the smaller dog box with a different substrate as well 👏

[@erikalangbein4586]

@@MiceAndRatEnrichment thats great, mine also tunnel a lot, its so cute to see them through the sides

[@VandelayH]

This is better than my house! Also 😍

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

🤗🤗

[@aeternamthule7383]

Preciosas tus ratitas, que bien cuidadas y se ven muy saludables. Un saludito desde Colombia

[@Petopiaa]

So cute! Their living their best lives! I have a question… can i feed my 2 rats a meal in the morning and afternoon (thats it) with cooked pasta, peas, cat food, chicken, oatmeal (plain), rice, etc? With no dry mix? If not, where do u get/how do u make ur dry mix (mine dont like me mix 😅) so sorry for the long question!

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I think the dry mix is important for their teeth and also foraging. I follow the Shunamite diet, I’ve got a video on it here 😊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pn3dgnh5otVrldUsi=2rwpXhSYvHToStQa

[@Petopiaa]

@@MiceAndRatEnrichment thank u so much!

[@hannahbarrick2547]

Thanks so much for the video! Im hoping to rehome a group of three rats in the near future and this has given some ideas of what is safe and enriching for them. One quick question though - how would you know how much to feed rats each day? I don't want to end up overfeeding them and making them overweight so was wondering if there was a guideline.

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Great question! I find that each rat is different. Some are storers whilst others will eat there and then. I give my girls a small handful of dry food each day (mix of grains, seeds, nuts and rat pellets) the next night I look at how much is left, if the bowl isn’t empty I’ll reduce it the next day. Each week when I do a clean out I check the cage to see how much they store. That should give you your own guideline. Hope that makes sense? With fresh food I give them something different each day. Usually something raw and something cooked because they enjoy cooked veg but raw is good for their teeth. Fruit both raw and dry is good too. I give them a few pieces of that and take out what is left the next day so it doesn’t go mouldy. Re weight, I limit the amount of nuts per day to about 2 each to avoid excessive weight gain. They love almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and walnuts! 😊

[@careyhutcheson4473]

I'm just curious about the cat litter. And harmful chemicals used. Also I'm very curious about the humidity. I found humidity helps my rats so much

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

It depends on the level of humidity you are talking about. A wet humidity is not good long term, so living in damp bedding which can also breed bacteria is not good for them. Paper based cat litter is a popular litter tray choice amongst many rat owners, the main thing is to ensure it’s different to their bedding material so they can differentiate and obviously a natural, non-toxic choice is a no brained.

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Scientific article re: humidity and respiratory disease in rats: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7162205/

[@The_irlbruno]

What cage do you have?

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I don’t know the specific brand name as it came from a small independent supplier here in Australia. I believe the critter nation is a close match. That’s what I was initially looking for. I’d definitely recommend big front opening doors. 😊

[@The_irlbruno]

@@MiceAndRatEnrichment thank you

[@Petopiaa]

Where did u get your cage?}

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I got it from a shop called Budtrol in Sydney. It’s so hard to find good rat cages here! I absolutely love this one. The big front opening doors make it so easy to clean and set up.

[@Petopiaa]

@@MiceAndRatEnrichmentthank u so much!

[@olivefromredmorningcups7600]

Hello, do you consider cotton ropes safe? Cause the thread is long..

[@kimberlyryan8618]

A ball bearing water bottle works best for keeping water clean.

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Yes I agree, I have a fantastic square one that screws onto the cage door.

[@Coral-h4c1]

I wonder how much is all of this stuff to get an idea what I should spend on two rats to keep them happy

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

For me the cage was the biggest investment. There is so much that can be put in the cage that is simply everyday things. I’ll be uploading a new cage set up video in the next couple of days reusing everyday items.

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Request a personalised video: www.cameo.com/miceandratenrichment

[@ea3paintings]

omg! they are so cute! How many rats do you have?

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Thank you! I have two! Lilac and Willow 🥰 they honestly are like tiny puppies.

[@lucii_xx09]

Where do you get the blankets from?

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I just get them from the baby section of Kmart 🙂

[@gokussj6959]

How do you potty train your rats? I just got mine today and didn’t know that was a possibility. I’m completely new to this and want to make sure they live happy and healthy lives with me

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I give my new rats a litter tray. Each time I take them out of the cage for play time I put them in the litter tray first and then the same when I put them back in the cage. Annoyingly I haven’t managed to stop them peeing in their blankets but I think it’s because they scent mark. So I just rotate hammocks etc through the wash.

[@amy1234]

What cage brand is this? The one I currently have has very small doors so is hard to clean

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

It came from a small boutique self branded store called Budtrol here in Aus but it is similar to the critter nation cage. Front opening doors are definitely life changing!

[@fijiangel801]

Tight

[@mattshull4665]

What are you using for a litter tray and dig box?

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I use a cardboard box as a litter tray or a Perspex tray. Dig box is usually a big cardboard box or the depth of the tray base in their enclosure.

[@MattisWi]

what rat cage do you have? im planning on getting 4 pet rats

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

I don’t know the exact brand as I got it from a local boutique retailer, but it’s similar to the Ferplast rat cage. For 4 rats you’ll probably want the two story one so they have a bit more space.

[@CevilGrain]

Hey im getting rats is soundproof cages okay? If not ill stick to normal cages you guys suggest its just i dont mind the noise but others dont.

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Hey 🙂. Due to ammonia produced in their waste they need maximum ventilation. So no glass enclosures for rats.

[@mariabrett6712]

My rats would pee all over that boxand they "kill" hammock's but my girls are beautiful just dirty ladies ❤️ my older girls are clean 😊🐀

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

🤣 yes mine do too! I just rotate the boxes and hammocks each week.

[@imogeneloise]

This video has helped me massively with bringing my boys home! Thankyou so much for the brilliantly informative video ❤️ I have 2 very happy boys thanks to your suggestions 🫶🏻xx

[@MiceAndRatEnrichment]

Oh I’m so pleased to hear that thank you so much. And congratulations what did you name them? ❤️

[@imogeneloise]

@@MiceAndRatEnrichment Mickey & Minnie ( my daughters choice haha 😂) they are both boys so we call Minnie min to make it more boy ish🤣❤️

[@fijiangel801]

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