( rat cages? )

[I love rats 2]

Does anyone have any ideas if i could make my own wire rat cage  because, i wanted to make one five feet tall with different levels and ramps is there any links to show me how to make one, and  what  i will need to make it?  

[swedishnightingale]

Sure, it can be done, if you've got the time and patience. There are a couple of pages that tell you different ways of doing it, and what you'll need, but unfortunately the URLs are on my other computer... I'm sure someone can give them to you. Can you get powder-coated wire and a plastic tray for the bottom? Those are the basic parts needed... then you can add whatever you like, provided it's safe for the rats and their chewing.  

[KayR]

Sure you can! I'm making designs of my own for cages I want to make. And I'm planning on making travel cages that will fold flat, and assemble in under a minute. I'll pass along some URLs and some supplier info. Add this to the list of things I'll be happy to help you with.  

[Aristophanes]

It's definitely doable... with just a couple potential problems, like the difficulty of finding small quantities of heavy gauge wire.  But what you can find at Home Depot works okay, as long as you have enough cross support.  Depending on how large you want the horizontal dimensions to be, it can be hard to find a tray big enough... I ended up ordering one from Martin's (along with some door latches and a couple other supplies) because I couldn't find anything anywhere else that was as large as I wanted (24x36... I ended up settling for 22x34, at least at the bottom of the pan).  I looked at various plans online, then ended up basically doing my own design... which looks rather like the Martin's Ruud (not available at the time... *sigh*), only with a different set-up of the ramps (mine are longer and run from ledge to ledge, through the floor).  Really not that hard... just time-consuming and tedious at points!

[Lone Star Rats]

looks rather like the Martin's Ruud (not available at the time... *sigh*

The Ruud rat cage has been available for several years... you just had to know to ask since it wasn't on their site until *I* took a picture for them

[Aristophanes]

looks rather like the Martin's Ruud (not available at the time... *sigh*

The Ruud rat cage has been available for several years... you just had to know to ask since it wasn't on their site until *I* took a picture for them

Then why oh why couldn't you have taken the picture sooner?  

 

[Panda Phil]

 You can find a bunch of designs at:
http://curiosityrats.tripod.com/id31.htm


 I based mine on:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/5397/camelot.html Cost me about $35 for the walls, a couple bucks for zip ties to hold it together, and proably about $10 for various scrap pieces of shelving to make balconies.

 Hope this helps.

[Suebee]

There are links in the Internet Resources thread in the Reference Desk for cage plans.

[pigsandrats]

We just put a new Martin's together last night for our new girls we're getting soon, and it took me an HOUR!
If I tried to make my own it would take a month!!

[eor]

We just put a new Martin's together last night for our new girls we're getting soon, and it took me an HOUR!
If I tried to make my own it would take a month!!

It took you an HOUR? There is no way I could've put my cage together in an hour! Granted it's the first cage I've ever put together, but still!!  I'm definitely impressed!  

[Aristophanes]

We just put a new Martin's together last night for our new girls we're getting soon, and it took me an HOUR!
If I tried to make my own it would take a month!!

Well, it definitely didn't take me a month... it did, however, take CONSIDERABLY longer than putting together a Martin's cage... and the savings were not nearly as significant as I had hoped... so, well, there ya go... unless you have fun doing this sort of thing (which I kinda do, so it worked out okay for me)....

[pigsandrats]

Actually, I like the idea of making my ratties a home by myself...... kind of like making your own baby's cradle.

However, I know my limitations and if I tried to do it I would end up very frustrated and probably injured..... I'm not the most coordinated person either......

I bought  a wooden picnic table a few years ago, and I was all scratched up when I finished it, about FOUR HOURS LATER!!!

Put me with wire cutters, God only knows what could happen!!!

[LifeInCircuit]

We just put a new Martin's together last night for our new girls we're getting soon, and it took me an HOUR!
If I tried to make my own it would take a month!!

It took you an HOUR? There is no way I could've put my cage together in an hour! Granted it's the first cage I've ever put together, but still!!  I'm definitely impressed!  

lol..we've put together so many martins cages...it takes us probably 20 minutes max for something ruud sized or bigger. maybe people should pay us to put theirs together....

[pigsandrats]

LifeInCircuit,

Actually that's a great idea! I'm totally serious. There are lots of people like me out there who would love to have someone else assemble a cage. To me, it would be money well spent!!

Where exactly do you live, anyway??? **half kidding half serious**