Me too! I just keep looking at Donut and Banana (my trouble makers during intros) and telling them that if they'd only chill and be accepting, they could have a mansion! Both those girls are my most energetic rats too so they will enjoy the mega house most!
Anyone doing these, be SURE to secure the top clips for safety. They are on the inside of the side panels along where the top sits and they lock over a bar on either side. You can see them in this video, just flip them up and over. Please, make sure. If you dont do it, the top can separate from the rest of the cage causing injury to your animals, especially if someone tries to lift by the top.
honestly I'd recommend leaving it as a triple and a single. I was running a quad for a bit, but found that it was so much nicer having it be a triple and then the single as a quarantine/recovery cage so that they could be seperate but still near their buddies and helps for introductions too, as the spacing between cages + bars is enough that they aren't going to hurt eachother less they stick their hands through at eachother.
I have a plexiglas sheet that I can slide between units to separate it quickly - I'll be leaving in both walls so they will only be able to access the upper unit from the lower right unit, and that will allow me to use shelves up there (which I feel are essential considering Potato and Donut). So it will be easy to separate a unit if need be without taking apart the cage (I've used the plexiglas sheet to separate the top unit for rats recovering from surgery or such and its so much easier than putting up the ramp or changing the grate)
@@ShadowTheRat yea I've got a sheet of metal separating mine. The little monsters somehow found purchase on the acrylic I was using and had started making a hole through the flat side 🤣, because how dare I only have 3 critter nations setup for them 😔
Love this! I got something very similar for my rats here in Australia, although Critter Nations are somewhat difficult to get hold of here. It took me weeks of searching! ❤
Where in Australia did you get something very similar to the critter nation cage for your rats? I had to make do with a large parrot cage for my rats which is a real pain to put certain things in because it is hard to reach in certain places in the cage and it is also hard to clean out. I could not find any cage with doors like critter nation. It really annoys me that in Australia we have extreme lack of pet supplies for rodents.
Those are going to be some very happy rats when they get another bit of space. You take such good care of your rats. It is always such a pleasure to see you playing with them in your videos. This one was very informative and I am sure everyone will appreciate it as well. Thanks for sharing.
To me one of the most important things that new rat owners overlook is horizontal bars for the little monkeys to climb easier. There are cheaper cages of every sort, but vertical bars make it difficult for the rats to climb around as much.
I love the Critter Nation cages! Worth their weight in gold, and that's about what you pay for them in Canada. They are pushing $700 for a double, here. If I see one for sale, second hand, I jump at them. Since they are such great cages, I rarely see them for sale. I have found two second hand ones in 6yrs.
Hey Esther. Quick question regarding cages: I got unlucky and one of the rats I got from a breeder was pregnant. I guess she's due in the next couple of days. Unfortunate but what can you do. Now I am rather "lucky" as I do have a quite large cage, which I can seperate in the middle by pushing additional "Bars" in the middle to basically create two seperate cages in one. I would like to use this to seperate the males and females, before they are fertile. My (maybe a little weird) question is: Are rats able to "procreate" through the cage bars? Like are they able to "connect" even though there are bars between them? Or should i maybe try to put a sheet of acrylic glass in between or even get a whole other cage? I really want to avoid another disaster before I can rehome them. I really don't want to just shove them unto animal shelters or pet stores. I just want to take care as well as possible of the little kittens. I'm a first time rat owner and only have my rats for like 2 1/2 weeks so I hope you can help me, since I don't get any answer from my breeder (guess he bailed) or from my "local" rat rescue for tips.... Also: After researching a bit, some people say, don't seperate the pregnant lady from the other (also female) rats. Others say DO seperate her, so they don't bother her while giving birth etc. What the heck is the right thing to do..
Yes, rats absolutely CAN breed through the bars of a cage. I’ve seen it many, many times. I would personally get a second cage instead of taking away floor space from both sides of a regular cage, but I also don’t really know what your definition of a “large” cage is. Sorry to hear about your predicament. Glad you’re willing to do what is necessary though! Hopefully you can adopt out the babies quickly!
@@LunatheMoonDragon thank you so much for your answer this really helps a Lot! I actually got Home from Work 4 hours ago and they were already there. Its a little unfortunate, since I wanted to prepare a seperate birthing Cage for her or at least try to "rehome" her Nest to a lower Level. But everything is done already.. at least they seem to be healthy and Mitsuha (the Mom) is taking good Care of them. I got a seperate cage as you advised. If you have any Other secret Tips, please let me know. Thank you so much and have a great day!
Any tips on how to clean that calcification on the pans? I have tried soap and water, as well as vinegar to no avail. I got my cage second-hand and despite paying quite a bit for it was filthy!
No, this is a single unit assembled without the wheels. The add-on unit doesn’t come with the roof, as it assumes you will be adding it vertically to a full unit (which would already have a roof). The add on also comes with the cutout pan and grate, not the full one seen here.
Your video was a lot of help, unfortunately for me I have a wonky ass cage. Some parts are way too big for where they need to be and way to small for to their places. I had trouble getting the bottom panel in (still isn’t in securely) and the one of the sides is too short😭 Nearly brought me to tears. Are there any other cages you’d reccomend?
Did you buy it new? If so try contacting the company who sold it, they may ship you a new one. Amazon in particular is notorious for sending an entire new cage if anything is wrong with the one you were sent, and you don't have to send back to original so you end up with spare parts! Otherwise if you take a mallet to the wonky bits of the cage you may be able to fix it - sounds a bit crazy lol but my first CN had a piece was bent all out of shape so I used a mallet to push it into the correct shape lol. Now I've had it for years and have assembled and taken it apart so much that its just as easy as my units that didn't have that issue, but the mallet was really needed to assemble it originally. If the cage just isn't usable you could look for a used CN that is already assembled and so works well - its really hard to find an equivalent cage in terms of ease of access, ease of cleaning, escape proofness, good bar spacing, etc., so its worth giving finding a working unit a shot. But if you want a different cage entirely Petsmart has a slightly smaller but still pretty good cage under their full cheeks brand, exotic nutrition sells a similar one (same size and everything) but with only one door side that opens, there are some flight cages for large birds that can work well (check the bar spacing, it needs to be 1/2 inch) - some of these have small doors, but many have fairly sizable ones that make cleaning ok. Prevue has a rat and chinchilla cage about the size of a single CN as well, again the door is a bit small but it works well and has good bar spacing.
@@ShadowTheRat Thanks so much for replying! I got it up but one of the sides is still a little wonky so I’ll try that mallet if I must! I notified Amazon about it because I did purchase it from there and hopefully they can send me a new one. The problem is one side of the wonky part will slide right into one of the sockets but won’t slide in for the other, one of the corks is too short on the end that’s giving me trouble too.😅 Thankfully it hasn’t fallen apart and is sturdy enough for my boys so I’m sure it’ll hold up until I get a new one.
There aren't any top clips to my knowledge - it just slots into place with the pegs. Maybe you have an older unit? Or maybe the new ones come with top clips? The older units used to use screws, and the newer ones have the plastic ramps (idk if they have other changes though).
@@ShadowTheRat I can see the clip on the right hand side, second bar from the back. Its there 6:59. It flips up and over the bar on each side. It holds the top by something more than just the weight. There is one on each side. They are dangling down, just flip them up and over and lock the top on.
I’m unreasonably excited for when you finally add this to the main cage. It’s like The Office episode with mega desk. MEGA CAGE!!
Me too! I just keep looking at Donut and Banana (my trouble makers during intros) and telling them that if they'd only chill and be accepting, they could have a mansion! Both those girls are my most energetic rats too so they will enjoy the mega house most!
Anyone doing these, be SURE to secure the top clips for safety. They are on the inside of the side panels along where the top sits and they lock over a bar on either side. You can see them in this video, just flip them up and over. Please, make sure. If you dont do it, the top can separate from the rest of the cage causing injury to your animals, especially if someone tries to lift by the top.
honestly I'd recommend leaving it as a triple and a single. I was running a quad for a bit, but found that it was so much nicer having it be a triple and then the single as a quarantine/recovery cage so that they could be seperate but still near their buddies and helps for introductions too, as the spacing between cages + bars is enough that they aren't going to hurt eachother less they stick their hands through at eachother.
I have a plexiglas sheet that I can slide between units to separate it quickly - I'll be leaving in both walls so they will only be able to access the upper unit from the lower right unit, and that will allow me to use shelves up there (which I feel are essential considering Potato and Donut). So it will be easy to separate a unit if need be without taking apart the cage (I've used the plexiglas sheet to separate the top unit for rats recovering from surgery or such and its so much easier than putting up the ramp or changing the grate)
@@ShadowTheRat yea I've got a sheet of metal separating mine. The little monsters somehow found purchase on the acrylic I was using and had started making a hole through the flat side 🤣, because how dare I only have 3 critter nations setup for them 😔
Love this! I got something very similar for my rats here in Australia, although Critter Nations are somewhat difficult to get hold of here. It took me weeks of searching! ❤
Where in Australia did you get something very similar to the critter nation cage for your rats? I had to make do with a large parrot cage for my rats which is a real pain to put certain things in because it is hard to reach in certain places in the cage and it is also hard to clean out. I could not find any cage with doors like critter nation. It really annoys me that in Australia we have extreme lack of pet supplies for rodents.
Very easy to put together. Good job 😃🙂
After realizing my rat cage isn't as big as it should be (it's the bare minimum), I'm getting a scn soon so this is so helpful!
Those are going to be some very happy rats when they get another bit of space. You take such good care of your rats. It is always such a pleasure to see you playing with them in your videos. This one was very informative and I am sure everyone will appreciate it as well. Thanks for sharing.
To me one of the most important things that new rat owners overlook is horizontal bars for the little monkeys to climb easier. There are cheaper cages of every sort, but vertical bars make it difficult for the rats to climb around as much.
ooo its so cool!
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I love the Critter Nation cages! Worth their weight in gold, and that's about what you pay for them in Canada. They are pushing $700 for a double, here. If I see one for sale, second hand, I jump at them. Since they are such great cages, I rarely see them for sale. I have found two second hand ones in 6yrs.
Without this assembly I wouldn’t of gotten mine together, for some reason all my sides pegs on one side would not line up right
Oo can’t wait to see it joined to the others
Awesome!!!
Hey Esther. Quick question regarding cages: I got unlucky and one of the rats I got from a breeder was pregnant. I guess she's due in the next couple of days. Unfortunate but what can you do. Now I am rather "lucky" as I do have a quite large cage, which I can seperate in the middle by pushing additional "Bars" in the middle to basically create two seperate cages in one. I would like to use this to seperate the males and females, before they are fertile. My (maybe a little weird) question is: Are rats able to "procreate" through the cage bars? Like are they able to "connect" even though there are bars between them? Or should i maybe try to put a sheet of acrylic glass in between or even get a whole other cage? I really want to avoid another disaster before I can rehome them. I really don't want to just shove them unto animal shelters or pet stores. I just want to take care as well as possible of the little kittens. I'm a first time rat owner and only have my rats for like 2 1/2 weeks so I hope you can help me, since I don't get any answer from my breeder (guess he bailed) or from my "local" rat rescue for tips....
Also: After researching a bit, some people say, don't seperate the pregnant lady from the other (also female) rats. Others say DO seperate her, so they don't bother her while giving birth etc. What the heck is the right thing to do..
Yes, rats absolutely CAN breed through the bars of a cage. I’ve seen it many, many times. I would personally get a second cage instead of taking away floor space from both sides of a regular cage, but I also don’t really know what your definition of a “large” cage is.
Sorry to hear about your predicament. Glad you’re willing to do what is necessary though! Hopefully you can adopt out the babies quickly!
@@LunatheMoonDragon thank you so much for your answer this really helps a Lot! I actually got Home from Work 4 hours ago and they were already there. Its a little unfortunate, since I wanted to prepare a seperate birthing Cage for her or at least try to "rehome" her Nest to a lower Level. But everything is done already.. at least they seem to be healthy and Mitsuha (the Mom) is taking good Care of them. I got a seperate cage as you advised. If you have any Other secret Tips, please let me know. Thank you so much and have a great day!
@@LunatheMoonDragon oh also my Cage is LxWxH 1.50m x 0.55m x 1.50m large.
Any tips on how to clean that calcification on the pans? I have tried soap and water, as well as vinegar to no avail. I got my cage second-hand and despite paying quite a bit for it was filthy!
Is this the add on cage...if so this answers all my questions. Thank you for a wonderful video...I truly enjoy your videos.
No, this is a single unit assembled without the wheels. The add-on unit doesn’t come with the roof, as it assumes you will be adding it vertically to a full unit (which would already have a roof). The add on also comes with the cutout pan and grate, not the full one seen here.
Your video was a lot of help, unfortunately for me I have a wonky ass cage. Some parts are way too big for where they need to be and way to small for to their places. I had trouble getting the bottom panel in (still isn’t in securely) and the one of the sides is too short😭 Nearly brought me to tears. Are there any other cages you’d reccomend?
Did you buy it new? If so try contacting the company who sold it, they may ship you a new one. Amazon in particular is notorious for sending an entire new cage if anything is wrong with the one you were sent, and you don't have to send back to original so you end up with spare parts!
Otherwise if you take a mallet to the wonky bits of the cage you may be able to fix it - sounds a bit crazy lol but my first CN had a piece was bent all out of shape so I used a mallet to push it into the correct shape lol. Now I've had it for years and have assembled and taken it apart so much that its just as easy as my units that didn't have that issue, but the mallet was really needed to assemble it originally.
If the cage just isn't usable you could look for a used CN that is already assembled and so works well - its really hard to find an equivalent cage in terms of ease of access, ease of cleaning, escape proofness, good bar spacing, etc., so its worth giving finding a working unit a shot.
But if you want a different cage entirely Petsmart has a slightly smaller but still pretty good cage under their full cheeks brand, exotic nutrition sells a similar one (same size and everything) but with only one door side that opens, there are some flight cages for large birds that can work well (check the bar spacing, it needs to be 1/2 inch) - some of these have small doors, but many have fairly sizable ones that make cleaning ok. Prevue has a rat and chinchilla cage about the size of a single CN as well, again the door is a bit small but it works well and has good bar spacing.
@@ShadowTheRat Thanks so much for replying! I got it up but one of the sides is still a little wonky so I’ll try that mallet if I must! I notified Amazon about it because I did purchase it from there and hopefully they can send me a new one. The problem is one side of the wonky part will slide right into one of the sockets but won’t slide in for the other, one of the corks is too short on the end that’s giving me trouble too.😅 Thankfully it hasn’t fallen apart and is sturdy enough for my boys so I’m sure it’ll hold up until I get a new one.
You didnt mention the top clips that keep the top on. Doesnt that one have them?
There aren't any top clips to my knowledge - it just slots into place with the pegs. Maybe you have an older unit? Or maybe the new ones come with top clips? The older units used to use screws, and the newer ones have the plastic ramps (idk if they have other changes though).
@@ShadowTheRat I can see the clip on the right hand side, second bar from the back. Its there 6:59. It flips up and over the bar on each side. It holds the top by something more than just the weight. There is one on each side. They are dangling down, just flip them up and over and lock the top on.
first
Ok