New Rat Cage!

I can check off one of my summer goals off the list! Yesterday, Dad and I put together the new Ratland!

My original plan was to find some sort of base (plastic or metal) and then design a frame around it. We started at Home Depot in the Wisconsin Dells, and discussed using a big cement mixing pan (plastic) with some rubber coated chicken wire. I wasn't entirely sure of this idea, so we kept looking.

We drove to Baraboo because I needed more pet bedding (and there are no stores near Dad's that carry the right kind) and we found a neat store called Pet Supply. It is run by an older couple, and they had all kinds of interesting critters! The usual hamsters and fish, but also GIANT pythons and tarantulas! They also happened to have a used ferret/chinchilla cage for sale, $75, that would work for that rats. After some deliberation, we decided to keep looking in order to keep costs down.

We went to Farm and Fleet, and stumbled upon a gold mine of pet cage ideas! First, we looked at the pre-made rabbit cages, which are sold separate from plastic bases of various sizes. Then we started coming up with all kinds of cage wall alternatives, including using grill grates or cooling racks. Both of those ideas were a bit pricey, and we kept our eyes open for similar looking products. Eventually, we went to Menards and discovered exactly what we were going to do.

At Menards, we found some Rubbermaid metal shelving units, 4 and 8 feet in length. We decided that we could use two of the 4 foot ones ($15 each) that we would cut in half, and a 24''x24'' plastic base that we saw at Farm and Fleet, all held together by wire cage clips meant for building rabbit hutches. The total cost of this was about $45-$50. The following pictures are the completed project!