1" wire spacing?

[Grace Jr]

I'm trying to make cage plans for a cage I want built, but I'm wondering...  Those of you that have cages with the 1"x1" wire spacing, how common is it to have a rat escape?  I have two cats, one of which would be more than happy to "play" with the rats, so I really don't want something they can get out of!   

Right now I've got 6 adult males, 1 teenage male, and 1 adult female, ranging in weight from 318g to 610g.  I don't believe any of them would be able to get out of a cage with that size bar spacing, but, I'm wondering what will happen when I eventually get new babies...

I would prefer the 1" spacing, since I can get my fingers in for scritching, etc (Plus I think it looks nicer), but is it safe to risk it?



Edited to add...  The shelves and ramps would still have 0.5"x0.5" spacing, it would only be the "walls" and roof of the cage with the larger bar spacing.  I also have two elderly males, one of which has no use of his hind legs, and the other is slowly starting to lose the use of his.

[knuckles]

I had adult females get out 1x1 inch spacing.  Only two that were under 300 grams.

[Sunilata]

Wow, I look at my girls, and then at my ferret cage (that has 1" x 1" spacing) and can't picture them getting through there... but then again, rats can squeeze more than we think is possible. Can you get a different sort of wire, just to be on the safe side?

[elle]

i've had 1x1 spacing on my cage for a year now, most of the time with 6 rats in it. Some were quite young when i got the cage, and one of my boys has never been more than 400g... and I haven't had one escape.

[Grace Jr]

Wow, I look at my girls, and then at my ferret cage (that has 1" x 1" spacing) and can't picture them getting through there... but then again, rats can squeeze more than we think is possible. Can you get a different sort of wire, just to be on the safe side?

If they can make the cage, I'd assume I could get either spacing I preferred...  I'd rather have the 1" wire, since it's more "interactive" than the 1/2" stuff is.  I just don't want to spend a couple hundred dollars on a cage they'll get out of.

[Sunilata]

Wow, I look at my girls, and then at my ferret cage (that has 1" x 1" spacing) and can't picture them getting through there... but then again, rats can squeeze more than we think is possible. Can you get a different sort of wire, just to be on the safe side?

If they can make the cage, I'd assume I could get either spacing I preferred...  I'd rather have the 1" wire, since it's more "interactive" than the 1/2" stuff is.  I just don't want to spend a couple hundred dollars on a cage they'll get out of.

Mm, I know what you mean. I love how easy it is to stick my fingers into the ferret cage for pets and kisses; with the Ruud, I can only squeeze my fingers in a bit. It's also easier to grip the ferret cage's wire, when I'm dragging it around for cleaning and stuff, than the Ruud.

I just remembered the time (before I got my ferret, but I had the cage all set up) that I put all fifteen girls in the ferret cage for a temporary holding place while I cleaned. They went so nuts that I think if they could've gotten out, they would've; they definitely wanted to. But they didn't, yet leaped into my arms when I opened the door (after a whole hour in a boring, smaller cage. Poor them!) And I have a little girl who stopped growing at age three months. She looks like a dwarf rat. She still seems too large to fit through the spacing.

[Dearpie]

I understand how it's much nicer to have the larger 1" x 1", but you said it yourself, is it worth the risk of them escaping with cats around?  My answer to that would be a strong, "No!"   I'd just do it right the first time, and get the safe wire spacing.

[Adventure Rats]

I think 1x1 would fine. I have a small girl in one of those ferret tube cages, that spacing is probably more then 1 inch wide. She hasn't gotten out. I've had other small girls in the cage too with no problems.

1x1 is actually a lot small then it seems and if you measure it, it's actually a little smaller then 1x1.

Just my opinion.

[kim]

i agree- i have had many rats (including my mini nekkids) in 1x1 spacing, and they were all fine - in fact, most of my rats past the 4-5 month range tend to be safe, but then again i have ginormous rats

[Grace Jr]

i agree- i have had many rats (including my mini nekkids) in 1x1 spacing, and they were all fine - in fact, most of my rats past the 4-5 month range tend to be safe, but then again i have ginormous rats

Speaking of ginormous...  My tiny little Turin is almost 600g!   *dies*  And Dorian is already over 400g!  (Hard to believe he's almost 4 months old already!)

[ratzrkool]

Two of my girls can poke their heads out of the 1x1 spacing but they have never escaped.  When we had the boys in that cage Mo did escape, he was three months old. We finally found him under the dresser, so I would say little ones would/will escape.  Also, you said you have a cat who would love to play with your ratties.......... 1x1" spacing is perfect for a cat paw to get in! When we gave the ratties some hay, our cat kept reaching in the cage to pull the hay out so he could eat it (thank goodness he ran away whenever the rats came near him!!!!!!!!!). I'd say if you have any doubts go with the smaller spacing, or keep one cage with smaller spacing and another with 1x1" spacing and move the ratties around to see who does best in each type of cage.

[Doskymom]

I have a friend who had a similar situation to yours.  Her cat was also very interested in her rats, but she thought everything was okay because her rats had never escaped from their cage with the 1" wire.  What she didn't count on, though, was her cat reaching into the cage and literally dragging one of the rats through the bars and out of the cage and killing it.

[Ratwings]

I've kept some fairly petite girls in 1x1 cages without any problems.  I think it depends on how determined the rat is.   I have one very little girl at the moment who I would NOT trust in a 1x1 cage, because she is forever trying to be somewhere else.  She climbs like a monkey, jumps like a squirrel, and no doubt can fit through whatever she decides she wants to fit through.

[BJ in WI]

I have my 2 girls in a Superpet ferret cage w/1"spacing.  I didn't feel comfortable, because I also have 2 cats. I got garden fencing from Menard's ($6) and wrapped it around my cage. The spacing on the fencing is 1/2" squares. No my girls are plenty big, but I'll leave it on for when I can't control my GGMR any longer.
I have had a lot of people tell me that it looks nice too. The base of the cage is purple, the bars black & the fencing is green....nice and colorful.
If they can squeeze their heads thru...they can no doubt get out!

Better be safe than sorry.