How to build a cage just like this!

Even with next-to-no woodworking skills (like me) you can build a cage like this. It takes a little time and effort but your rats will love you for it :) I've given step-by-step instructions, feel free to use any creative flair you may have.

Basic Ingredients for cage:

In brackets I've put where I bought the things from, just search local stores if you like ....

1x MDF bookcase, preferably with removable shelves (Target furniture)

Lengths of 18mm pine (Placemakers), anything thinner will just split

15mm plain or powder coated wire mesh, not zinc coated (Placemakers) 

Nail straps (Hardwarehouse), these are flat holey pieces of metal with spikes in them

Assorted nails, tacks

Selleys Liquid Nails (Placemakers)

Hinges, easyfit hinges are the best (Building Depot)

Cover-it plastic self-adhesive covering (Placemakers, available also at other hardware stores and K-Mart)

Paint

Eye-hooks, plenty of them

Latches for door, I used roller catches (Building Depot) and cabin hooks

Velcro dots for securing items in cage

Wooden ladders

Assorted ratty toys and decorations (more on that later on)

How to build it:

• Start by measuring up a door frame and using the 18mm pine cut to length and mitre and sand the corners. Glue together with liquid nails and then use metal nails to secure.
• Measure out wire mesh to fit on inside of frame with an edge of about half the width of wood on frame left for securing. Cut and file off any spiky edges off the wire mesh to prevent rats from hurting themselves.
• Secure mesh onto frame with nail straps (lots of fun with a hammer!) and if available and need be staple mesh with staple gun between nail straps. This is the hardest part over and done with! You've made a door! :)
• Mount door onto bookcase with hinges, easy-fit hinges are perfect for someone like me who has no idea how to hang a door! :)
• Remove shelves and cut holes in them for the rats to go through. If you are cutting a hole where the shelf is held onto the bookcase then just use a tack nailed into the wall for it to rest on to stablise the shelf when in the bookcase. You can put a hole in each shelf for maximum cage room or you may want to leave a shelf without a hole so you can use it for different rat groups or to separate a rat or as a storage area for rat food, cleaning stuff etc.
• Cover shelves with the Cover-It plastic covering. This makes them waterproof and easy to wipe clean. It also pays to cover the bottom shelf of the bookcase if using all of the case for rats.
• Screw in eye-hooks on ceiling of bookcase, bottom of shelves and in spaces where ladders will hook on (measure spacing of hooks on ladders and mark on bookcase walls just down from shelf height where the hole in shelf is). These can be used for ladders, tunnels, hammocks and hanging treats.
• Paint the bookcase and door whatever colour tickles your fancy!
• Attach latches to door and bookcase to make sure the door stays closed when rats are in it. I used roller latches (a diamond-shape catch on door goes into rollers on bookcase) as these snap shut and won't have you forgetting to latch the door. I also have put cabin-hooks on the outside of the door as extra security (a roller catch turned out to be  slightly faulty and a rat escaped right in front of my eyes!)
• Place shelves back into bookcase and hang the wooden ladders on eyehooks on walls.

Decorate!

Here are some ideas I used to decorate my cage:

• Stick-on wooden craft items to decorate the front of the door. I used craft pieces from The Warehouse and stuck them on. Another idea is to use plain wooden cut-outs from Spotlight and paint them and glue them on.
• Every swanky-looking apartment block needs a name! My friend said the cage sounded like Rat Heaven, and since it was blue with cloud-looking covered shelves what better name than that! Just stencil/draw on a name and use a permanent marker to colour in the name with.
• You may want to paint each wall between shelves a different colour for different apartment levels, or each part of the cage a different colour.

Ratty furniture and essential items

Stick each piece to the shelf or to the wall with velcro dots to hold in place.

• Food bowls: I use heavy ceramic bowls that are less likely to get tipped over. I use one for fresh food and one for soy milk. I also have plastic bowls you can mount onto the wire mesh (the sort you use in bird cages) to keep dry food available at all times (like nutriblocks, cereals).
• Water: Use a water bottle that can clip onto the outside of the door and the nozzle pokes through to the shelf. This means that the water is nice and clean and ready at all times a little ratty mouth is dry :)
• Litter pan: With a cage like this there isn't any way you can put litter everywhere! Use a corner ferret litter pan and velcro it to the shelf. Fill with litter (I use Breeders Choice recycled paper kitty litter rather than woodchips) and place any ratty raisins in there. They should soon get the idea that they should go to the toilet in there instead of all over the shelves. Wipe down the shelves as they will still pee everywhere. Instead of the expensive corner pan from the pet shop I used a one level corner-caddy for a shower from a hardware shop for the girls and a office-type plastic tray from a plastic shop for Flame, as this is much cheaper!
• Rat houses: My rats love to hide in their transparent rat house. Velcro to the wall of the bookcase while resting on a shelf.
• Hammocks and tunnels: Make your own or buy from a pet shop. Hang from the eyehooks you've already put in the bookcase ceiling and bottom of shelves.
• Nest: Get an icecream container and fill it with old hand-towels and flannels. Velcro to the shelf. My girls are hardly ever out of this thing (notice the blobs in the nest down the bottom of the picture, my 2 girls Ruby and Locke). Another idea is a terracotta pot, my girls have a big round one that's not too deep so they can easily get in and out, and since it's heavy no need to worry about it sliding about. Replace flannels and towels with others while washing them, or you'll get dirty looks from the rats :) Paper towels also work well but are much noisier as they will rip, rip, rip!
• Rat toys: Cruise the local pet shop for toys. Sometimes you can get good ideas at hardware stores too, such as pipes. Quite often bird toys are suitable and new rat toys are coming out all the time. My rats have a "Bounce-back" rat you can hide treats in and has a little bell in it that dings when they try and get the treats.

Last of all add the rats! The cutest thing is a little ratty head poking up out of one of the holes in the shelves :) This cage saves you cleaning time (just wipe out the shelves) and money on litter as you only use a small amount in the litter pan. Also lots of running room for the rats and fun for you as you can see your rats while they get lots of ventilation :)

Have fun making your cage and decorating it with lots of fun things for your rats. All the best!

Feel free to drop me a line here!

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