rat cages

Question
Im planning on getting a rat and dont know how big a rat cage should be i will be going to school most of the day and want to make sure it is happy until i can get home and take it out to play.
                Thanks,
                   Teddy


Answer
Dear Ted,
thank you for your question.
Since rats are nocturnal, they won't mind that you are not there during the day. Most rats adapt to the daily schedule of their owner and will be awake in the morning so that you can spend a little time with for before you go to school and then will wake up in the early evening.

Rats need a lot of room, even if you let them run around outside the cage, which is an absolute must do for rats. I recommend getting or building a cage no smaller than 32x32x60 inches long, wide and high for a group of two or three rats with some second storeys. One rat will be lonely, they are highly social and need at least one friend of their own species. Don't get a pair or you will end up with a lot more rats than you ever wanted in a few weeks. Males get along with males and females with females, males tend to be less active than females, but that's also a question of the rat's personality.

Here are some pictures of good rat cages (measurements in centimeter):
http://www.diebrain.de/ra-patengehege.html
http://www.diebrain.de/pix/ra/Rattenpalast.jpg
http://www.diebrain.de/ra-gehegeclaudia.html

If you want to build one yourself: you can either convert a wardrobe/cupboard into a cage or you can build one from OSB panels, which can be bought in hardware stores. You will need to varnish the wood with acryllic paint to make it pee-proof, the acryllic paint that's safe for toys is also safe for rats. Those cages have a big advantage over storebougt wire cages: big doors, which make cleaning easier and you can reach the rats a lot better. It's also often impossible to find a wire cage big enough, many pet stores just don't sell them.
I hope I ws of some help to you
Jennifer