01/06/2021
Today was cleaning day, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to show off my rat room and drop tips 😁
I use Critter Nation for my cages. Two triples and a double. The triple on the right is for my girls, the one on the left is for the boys. The double in the middle is where babies go when they’re temperament tested and separated from mom at 5 weeks old. It’s basically two stacked singles, the top and bottom are not connected, so the babies are separated by gender into either the top or bottom.
The 5 tub rack by the cages was purchased, the other I built. This is where my rats go when they are paired to breed or nursing a litter.
The bedding I use in all the cages and racks are pine. I have a base layer of pelletized pine to help absorb moisture and control odor, and then a fluffy top layer or kiln dried pine shavings for comfort. When buying bedding, avoid cedar, and if you buy pine, make sure it’s kiln dried. Aspen is safe, but I don’t find it to have the same odor control as pine does. I recommend medium shavings, if you go with fine shavings, it tends to be very dusty and it’s ideal to avoid anything that’s going to irritate your rats lungs.
My rats, as of right now, are eating mazuri 6F as their staple. They also get occasional fruits and veggies and meat treats. Fun fact, chicken is a good treat here or there for your rats and you can give it to them bone and all, they will eat everything. I recently gave them strawberries and each triple Critter Nation got 1/4 of a watermelon! I’m the fall, I enjoy giving each cage it’s own pumpkin 😁
For enrichment, they have cat toys (the balls with the bells in them), a variety of bird toys, cardboard boxes, paper towel/toilet paper/wrapping paper rolls, and colorful tissue paper and paper streamers. I sometimes build little little DIY toys with treats hidden inside. They love working for their food. Bored rats tend to chew on the cage bars. If you have a chewer, give them more entertainment. I also provide my rats with hanging baskets, lots of hides, and hammocks.
Dollar tree is an excellent place to shop for rats accessories. Igloos and huts can get expensive, but most of my hides are just converted storage bins from dollar tree 😁 the rats don’t mind at all.
I could keep going all day. Feel free to ask any questions you’d like!