Bedding & Housing

Bedding: Rats should have litter available on the bottom of the cage to absorb smells from urine.

Back 2 Nature Paper litter is our first choice followed by Lucerne pellets (Natty Cat), Heat Treated Pine Pellets (Woody Pet), Rice Husk Pellets (Max's) or wood shavings all are a practical choice. Try and choose a litter that does not have excessive dust as this can cause respiratory problems.

Bedding depth should be 2-5cms (1"-2") and will need to be changed at least once a week (preferably twice). Rats enjoy nesting boxes - these can be simply old tissue boxes or plastic houses available from a pet shop. Always supply some clean paper towels or cloth for nesting materials (these may be chewed).

Wooden Cages: Wooden cages are often recommended in older books, particularly for mice. These were once used by breeders and as show cages. These days they are not usually recommended. This is due to their main disadvantage which is that urine soaks into the wood and goes smelly very quickly. This can lead to rotting or the wood forming splinters. The built-up ammonia can cause problems with respiratory disease. Wood, of course, makes good chewing for rats and mice. If you choose to have wooden cages they are best with a glass/plastic or wire front. Wire fronts allow some climbing and increase ventilation. Both types allow easy viewing of your pets. Some advantages are they are dark which animals like, and they also protect from drafts. Another advantage to these style cages is that they are fairly cheap. In fact the cost of one wire cage may buy you 3 to 4 wooden cages. It may then be more economical to buy wooden cages and dispose of them more regularly as they get smelly. An example of a good wooden cage are the bird breeder cages.

Glass & Plastic Cages: Glass Cages are usually fish tanks/aquariums. These can be bought pretty cheaply ~$50 for a 10gallon tank. In fact, if you can get a leaking tank, it will be even cheaper and leaking is not a problem for a rat or mouse cage. Avoid cracks however as they may be dangerous to both you and your animals. You can buy plastic lids for some glass tanks which are ventilated (these look like the top of a Show cage).

You can also make your own wire lid by making up a wooden frame to go around the top of the tank and putting wire across it. Wire by itself can be folded to make a lid. It is often sensible to place a weight (e.g. half a brick) on the lid to prevent escapes.

Glass cages are best cleaned by using a dustpan to shovel out bedding. The glass should than be washed with detergent. As no climbing is available you should provide plenty of toys for entertainment and exercise.

The main problem with glass cages are they have poor ventilation even with a wire lid and so allow ammonia and other smells to build up. This is bad for your pets health. For this reason they must be cleaned regularly - at least once a week. They are also heavy and difficult to handle and clean. Mice and rats really do like climbing and they miss out on this in a glass tank as it is difficult even to make levels for them to climb on. It is also difficult to hang hammocks and so on in a tank.

The good points about glass tanks are that they are not easy to escape from (with a good lid). Bedding can be made deep, mice particularly like burrowing in bedding. The bedding does not get thrown out of the cage. Glass allows you easily see your pets frolicking, playing and sleeping. Glass also protects from drafts.

There are many types of plastic cages available. They vary from large rectangular tanks to complicated HabitrailTM modular systems for mice. They are similar in most respects to glass cages.

Plastic cages have the same disadvantages as glass cages except they are not heavy to handle and they are more resistant to breakage. The modular types can be extremely fiddly to dismantle and clean. Rats and mice may chew the plastic cages also. Rectangular shapes are easier to clean.

On the bright side, modular systems for mice provide lots of entertainment. Otherwise they have similar advantages to glass cages.