Homemade Rat Cages

Rat cages can be built at home using an old dresser, book shelf or cabinet and some chicken wire.

Rat lovers may decide they need a new cage to contain new rats or to give old rats more space to roam around. Rat cages, especially large ones, are expensive and may not even provide the proper layout for the rodents to live comfortably. You can build your own rat cage using an old cabinet, book shelf or desk and a number of inexpensive items.

Things You'll Need

• Old cabinet
• Vinyl tiles
• Shelf paper
• Wooden dowels
• Nails
• Hammer
• Chicken wire
• Staple gun
• Hinges
• Rat furniture
• Hooks

Instructions

1. Clean out an old cabinet to use as the rat cage. You can use a cabinet, book shelf, desk or even an old dresser.

2. Cut openings in each shelf so the rats can move from level to level inside of the cage.

3. Laminate the shelves with vinyl tiles and shelf paper to allow easier cleaning.

4. Nail together the wooden dowels to create the door frames for the rat cage, and attach them to the cabinet with hinges so they can easily swing open for handling the rats.

5. Stretch the chicken wire across the wooden frames and fasten it in place using a staple gun. Make sure any sharp edges are folded back on themselves to avoid injuring the rats.

6. Add rat bedding, food and water dishes, toys and treats, ropes, ramps and any other rat furniture you would like in the cage.

7. Attach hooks to the outside of the door frames to ensure that the cage locks and the rats cannot escape.

References

• Rat and Mouse Club: To Build or Not to Build