Wire flooring: what to cover it with?

[Scubbs]

I'll be getting a Martin's Cage pretty soon, and I'm really anal about wire flooring.  I can't stand any animal being on it, regardless of the spacing between the wires being small enough, or if it's powder-coated.  So, I need some ideas on what to use to over the wire levels.  Currently, my thoughts are bouncing between linoleum tiles, tileboard, and coroplast.  Any other ideas?

[Marybelle]

You can also use plastic canvas (I think that's what it's called anyway).  It has small holes in it, so the urine doesn't sit and puddle, but provides the support of a solid floor. 

[Scubbs]

You can also use plastic canvas (I think that's what it's called anyway). It has small holes in it, so the urine doesn't sit and puddle, but provides the support of a solid floor.

But then... what if one of the boys pees, and it drips down?     I'd like something solid, so stuff doesn't drip/fall down to other levels, or on to one of the rats.

[Dearpie]

That's just it, you don't want it to puddle ... so it needs to go somewhere.  It needs to be absorbed.  I use tshirts on my shelves, but of course the rats move them to wherever they want them.  Urine does drip down below, either onto an igloo or into the pan with towels or sheets to absorb it.  If a rat is in the way, well, it's a fact of ratlife that it's gonna happen!  Personally, I think solid floors are MUCH worse than wire, due to waste not being ABLE to escape. 

[Suebee]

I use vinyl carpet runner. I cut it to fit, then punch small holes in it around the edge, and attach it with cable ties. They chew up the corners, and the pee -will- obey gravity and then run down the sides (or pool in the middle of the level, which is even better - NOT), but overall it has worked very well for me.

[Darksong17]

You can use ceramic tiles probably, but if you don't want holes in  it you have to wipe them down frequently so the rats aren't standing in their urine and stuff. That can cause bumblefoot just as much as any wire cage if not more.

[Sunilata]

I just leave my wire floors bare. I do feel bad sometimes that the rats are always walking on wire but at least it is PCed wire and has no sharp edges. They pee all over the stuff on the bottom levels, but what can ya do? 

[Joolz]

I use the plastic grippy drawer liner that they sell in IKEA, very easy to cut to shape, easy to wipe clean and quite cheap too.

[KittyRat]

ok, dont laugh...puppy wee wee pads.
i dont use them, but i know someone who uses it for her ferret cage.
otherwise, craftycreatures sells "cage linens" on their site-it's an absorbent fleece material fitted with clips to hold it in place. there's different sizes and colors to match your needs.

[Sugarfoxx]

I use tile in the center and leave some wire edges but they dont walk on them....they pee through them....good thing is out of 16 rats, 13 are potty trained and just have an accident when they are really sleepy! 

I just watched my two baby dumbos wake up after sleeping in a pile.  After a stretch and a yawn, Patches got up, turned around and squated over Shadow and...you guessed it....peed on his head!
ACK!

I also cover my older rats floor with cloth diapers that really absorb the wetness.  You cant even tell they peed on them!  They work fantastic!   Peanuts entire cage is like a soft padded mattress...both levels are covered in velux blankets and padded with cloth diapers.   he is totally potty trained though.  He has a bad case of bumblefoot and the culprit is not the usual staph, but instead its YEAST!! 
He is doing much better now that we got the biopsy back but I wont let him walk on anything hard again!!

[RNPaulie]

Where the big food bowl is I have one of those 12x12 squares of linoleum floor.  Great for easy wipeup.  On the balconies I use towels that I secure to the wire with a few bungies on the outside corners--great for catching pee!!! I change them every one to two days and it works great and a little softer on the feet.

[nightsdoc]

I use tile in the center and leave some wire edges but they dont walk on them....they pee through them....good thing is out of 16 rats, 13 are potty trained and just have an accident when they are really sleepy! 

I just watched my two baby dumbos wake up after sleeping in a pile.  After a stretch and a yawn, Patches got up, turned around and squated over Shadow and...you guessed it....peed on his head!
ACK!

I also cover my older rats floor with cloth diapers that really absorb the wetness.  You cant even tell they peed on them!  They work fantastic!   Peanuts entire cage is like a soft padded mattress...both levels are covered in velux blankets and padded with cloth diapers.   he is totally potty trained though.  He has a bad case of bumblefoot and the culprit is not the usual staph, but instead its YEAST!! 
He is doing much better now that we got the biopsy back but I wont let him walk on anything hard again!!

Why is the song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" running through my mind?

I've got Carefresh on the bottom level, the first ledge has a carpet piece from Martins, the full middle floor has nothing (but there are some socks and towels on it...sorta like my bathroom floor!), the second ledge has another Martin's carpet tile.

Christy and Pepper don't do hi-level whizz-ardry, at least from what I've seen.   I'm thinking on seeing if I can get them litter trained but it's going to require a redo of the first level.   Anyone think they'd mind me rearranging things?

[Sugarfoxx]

Nightsdoc

I think rats like when you move things around.  They are so smart, they get bored easily.

Variety is good...change is good. The only thing I suggest you dont change once you get them trained is the litter box location.

After you find their usual potty spot, thats where to plop the retangle or square (any shape I suppose) litter box. 
Fill it with litter and take up half the litter around the area leaving the bare floor.  See if they continue to go on the bare part or if they move toward where the carefresh is or if they dont care and still go wherever they please.

Oops this isnt a thread on how to litter train....sorry......my bad!

[menagerie]

Nightsdoc

I think rats like when you move things around.  They are so smart, they get bored easily.

Variety is good...change is good. The only thing I suggest you dont change once you get them trained is the litter box location.

Most of my kids don't like change. If I rearrange the cage they put it back the way they like it. 

I use Coroplast on all my levels. I don't like the idea of pee going from one level to the next and I have a couple of cages of boys that will grind their poop into the wire which is disgusting and NO fun to clean either  . With the coroplast I just scrape that shelf. It should be noted that I wipe the shelves at least once a day so there aren't standing puddles of pee.

[Bluejackal]

I have PVC-coated wire floors at 1/2" mesh (made smaller by the coating).  On every level is a solid tray with litter for raisins, plus hammocks they can easily crawl into.  I don't like puddled urine and because I don't have a washer, using towels is not a good option for me because they'd sit around and be smelly after each cage cleaning until laundry day, which is ALWAYS an ordeal anyway.  I hand wash their hammocks in the sink often.  There is no litterbox in the bottom tray because it's filled with aspen.  Strange mixture, I know, but it works...somehow.

If you're bent on covering the shelves, I think a sort of cloth cover would be best.  You can use bullpins to keep it all in place easily, plus you just whisk it off and wash it!  I'd find that easier to clean than scrubbing on plastic.

[Squrlshell]

I use that plastic canvas (got a bunch from the arts & crafts store), and I tie it on with string on the edges.  Then on top of that I put towels, t-shirts, fleece blankets, etc.  My boyfriend gets grossed out when I do the "rat laundry", so now I just take it to a public washer/dryer.  It's more cozy to lie on, and it stops any pee from going through to a lower level.  Plus then I don't have to take the plastic canvas out to scrub it so often!

[jaimee]

my girls have lino on their bottom floor and levels, with half-inch gaps all around the edges where the wire is exposed a little, but they spend so much time playing in hammocks/boxes/igloos/pots, etc, etc, that they don't even really spend much time on the lino, besides occasionally having a nap on the very top level when it's hot. i wipe the lino down every day, or at least every second day to make sure there's no pee left sitting there.
when i first got pirate, she discovered the litter tray and within the first 24 hours was peeing and pooping exclusively in it, until jules came along, started peeing on everything, and undid the fantastic job pie was doing, lol.
so now i must live with the regular changings of hammocks and wiping down of shelves to keep them pee-free.

[Siana]

I use hand towels.  Of course the rats rearrange them so some of the wire floor is occasionally exposed, but I prefer the wire to a solid floor.

[Bluejackal]

You can also take these sorts of things into perspective.

Wire floor with no relief is BAD, very very bad.  I feel terribly for the laboratory animals and pets all over the world that are subject to this.

Wire floor with relief is fine.  In fact, some rats find it comfortable and a few of mine prefer sleeping right on the floor to sleeping in the hammocks...or they pile in the hangy-box.  Heh.  If it's small square mesh wire (1/2 or smaller), then you don't need to worry about it quite so much. Larger sizes or 1/2 by >1 inch mesh you can worry about because the feet can easily fall through.  I covered that in my girls' old cage with carpet protector.

[lindsay-poo]

I've used hardwood floor or carpet protector several times to cover wire floor. Works well but does get puddles where they pee.

I use vinyl flooring in my hedgehog cage. Works well also. It's waterproof for the most part but I think that if pee sits on it long enough that it might start to absorb through. It would work if you wanted to wipe the puddles daily... just might have to be replaced after a while.

I know of people who use the plastic needlepoint canvas and seem to like it. Personally I think that although it works to drain the pee through, that it would start to get smelly since the holes are so small that pee would eventually build up and get stuck inside.

There are lots of choices.

I leave my Martin's cage as is. Works best for me. I'm not worried about their feet because listening to the debates, it seems as though solid hard floors are what cause bumblefoot, not the wire ones. Plus the wires are close enough together that they can't get stuck and they can still keep flat footed.

[jaimee]

with the carpet idea - are you sure they wouldn't just rip it up? having it peed on is probably the least of your worries, lol. my girls like to play underneath my wardrobe in the corner of the room, and they've ripped up a few inches squared of carpet, exposing something sharp (can't see what it is exactly :/ ). now i have to keep an ear out for ripping carpet whenever they get freerange time. if only my mother knew...