Flip Top Lids?

[Kiko]

In the future I will be adopting two male rats.  I was looking at cages, and I want to buy the Martin's R-695.  I was wondering, is the flip top lid a good idea to add? 

I mean, the cage is already three feet tall.  The cage will be going on my desk, wich is a little bit taller than three feet.  So that means that the cage top will be a little more than six feet up from the ground, and that, from my height (5'6"), I won't even be eye level with the top of the cage.  So the only way I would be able to reach in from the top is if I stood on the desk and reached down. 

But then again, I don't want to end up wishing that I had ordered it.  I have no idea how big the doors actually are, other than the picture on the site.  So I don't know if those will be good enough or not.

Is the flip top really worth it?  Or do you guys think that the doors that are on the R-695 are enough for easy access to the cage/rats inside of the cage?

[Rattiemama]

I don't have the my R695 yet, but I ordered the flip top lid. From what I hear, it's very helpful when you clean the cage. You can just flip up the top and scrub inside more easily. I wouldn't use it to get the rats in and out most likely, but for putting large igloos and other toys in the cage and ease of cleaning. If you don't get it, it looks like cleaning the inside of the top half of the cage (above the full floor) would be a real pain. When you clean it you probably pul it off the table to scrub and spray anyway, so the height issue wouldn't really matter. Hope that helps!

[Kiko]

Thanks.  I actually never thought of it that way... I was more thinking along the lines of it making it easier to access the rats in the cage, not to ease cleaning/adding large toys.  I'll order the flip top now.

[Scubbs]

When cleaning a Martin's cage, it is hard to reach parts of it without stretching a lot.  I thought I wouldn't need a flip-top lid since it looked easy enough to clean in the pictures.  Then I got the cage, and when the first cleaning came around, I realized what a mistake I made.

[jorats]

I bought two cages with flip top lids, one was a R695 and the other was my F475, for me, it was not worth it. I never used it once. My big weekly scrubbing is done outside with a pressure washer, so that's why the flip top wasn't needed in the end.

[Squrlshell]

You DEFINITELY need the flip top to put large items (large Wodent Wheels) in the cage.  Plus I kind of like it because it gives my rats a place to "perch" if they don't want to come out and run around, but just want to relax without being behind bars.

[TheChicagoCrew]

I have a flip-top on my CC3018 and my 695 and I very much prefer cages with Flip-top lids! It makes for easier cleaning and easier placement of large items like wheels and such.

-Melina

[sarah-beth]

I got my Ruud with a fliptop lid but the ruuds as tall as me so I dont really use it. If the cage is gonna be higher than you you might not need it.And I dont know how large the other artins cage doors are but I can fit my body through the top floor door on my ruud so I think the doors are a pretty good size lol.

[ttiwedas]

I got my 695 with a flip top lid, but when it arrived i thought it was so tall i would never open it that way. But after trying to scrub the shelves inside, I wish that I hadn't ziped it shut when I built the cage, because now I have to remove all those ties to get it open again. After scrubbing once through the doors, it was definitely worth it to get the flip top.