A rat’s cage is it’s home and safe place. Even if they get lots of free roam time, that’s where they’ll be spending the rest of their time sleeping, grooming each other and hanging out in hammocks.
Ideally, a good habitat will give rats lots of chances to practice their natural behaviors, like chewing, burrowing, climbing, and balancing too.
In this article we’ll cover the things you need to consider when picking out a rat cage, finding the right size for the number of rats you have, and some recommendations for great cages you can use.
Considerations when picking out a cage
When you pick out your rats’ cage, you might want to consider if:
- It’s big enough for the number of rats you have. (See sizing recommendations below.) They have enough room to run around, play, dig, and climb, while keeping their substrate from flying out the sides. Sadly a lot of cages that are sold “for rats” are actually too small.
- Bars are spaced less than 0.5″ apart for females and 1″ for males.
- It has room for toys and accessories, and they’re easy to attach.
- The door is rat proof. Some rats are little escape artists and can easily unlatch drawbridge-style cage doors! You can keep them secure with binder clips or ties if this is your rats.
- It’s easy to clean. I’m a big fan of cages with big barn doors, because they’re so easy to clean and rearrange toys. Bigger cages might be more of a pain to clean, but can be cleaned less often because you can fit more substrate in them.
- It’s chew proof. Rats are non-stop chewers so they will slowly demolish anything made of wood or thin plastic over time. I kept my rats in cages with a thicker plastic base (meant for ferrets) and they left it alone.
What size cage does a rat need?
Rats need a lot more space than you might think. While they can exist in smaller cages, they really thrive when they have enough room to run around, play fight, climb, jump, and dig through their bedding.
A base of at least 18″ x 24″ (~45 x 60cm) is recommended to give one adult rat enough space. Keep in mind that rats should always have company, so bigger is even better.
Rats also need enough vertical space to climb, so at least 24″ (60cm) in height is also on their wish list.
Cages meant for hamsters are definitely way too small! Ferret or chinchilla cages sometimes work – just check the bar spacing. Some larger bird cages work well for pet rats too. They can climb vertical bars as well as horizontal, but it can be harder to fix items like perches to vertical bars.
Bar spacing for rat cages: an adult male can squeeze through 1″ (2.5 cm) of bar space, whereas small females can get through spaces as narrow as 0.5″ (1.3 cm).
Rat cage suggestions
Here are some cage options depending on the number of rats you plan to keep. I like these because they’re easy to clean and always well recommended in different rat keeping communities.
These options are all very flexible too. You can buy add-ons for the smaller cages if you decide to add more rats in the future. (Rats are very addictive.)
The larger ones can be used by all of your rats or separated into sections to keep two different groups. This works well for keeping males and females separate, or two groups of rats if they don’t all get along with each other.
| Number of Rats | Cage Suggestions |
| 2 – 5 | Exotic Nutrition 2-Level Mansion |
| 6 – 8 | Exotic Nutrition 4-Level Mansion Critter Nation 161 – One Storey |
| Up to 12 | Critter Nation 162 – Two Storey |
| Up to 14 | Exotic Nutrition 6-Level Mansion Little Zoo Venturer |
The company that makes Critter Nations makes Ferret Nations as well. The bars in their ferret cages are generally too far apart for pet rats.
I made this mistake buying the Ferret Nation and kept my boys in it. Fortunately none of them ever tried squeezing through the bars! They spent a lot of time outside of their cage though – I think this makes a difference in whether they try to escape or not. But every rat is a little different.
Rat cage calculator
If you’d like to check if a cage has enough space for your rats, you can enter the dimensions below to estimate. The rule of thumb is about 2 – 2.5 cubic feet per adult rat. You can use a little common sense here as well.
Oh no – I already bought a small cage!
Some pet stores promote “rat cages” that are way too small for an adult. If you’re kicking yourself right now because you already took your rats home in one, don’t worry! There are still lots of uses for a smaller cage:
- Transporting rats to the vet
- Traveling with rats in the car
- Letting one rat heal after surgery
- Introducing rats to each other in neutral territory
- Quarantining a new rat away from the rest of the group
- Keeping your rats out of trouble while you clean their bigger cage
- Keeping new babies for the first few weeks. (Sometimes the bars of a larger cage are too far apart for them.)
So don’t throw your little cage away if you already bought one! Having a backup cage around is super handy for rats.
Types of cages
Are wire cages recommended for pet rats?
Wire cages are the most ideal type of cage for rats. They can climb the bars and make full use of the vertical space of the cage.
Watch for coated bars as uncoated ones can get rusty from regular cleaning.
A note on wire floors and shelves
Many cages designed for small animals have bars along the bottom to keep your rats separate from their waste. When they poop or pee, it falls through the bars into a tray that you can easily slide out. It seems like a great idea, but rats actually show a strong preference for solid surfaces they can rest their feet on!
Gridded floors (particularly on the bottom of the cage) also prevent rats from digging through their substrate, one of their natural behaviors and a simple form of enrichment.
How to make wire floors better for rats
If your cage has bars on the bottom, you have lots of options. You can sit the tray on top of the bars if it fits, buy a deeper plastic tray to sit on top, or make one yourself out of acrylic sheets. Just make sure there’s no space at the edges for your rats to slip through and again, potentially injure a limb.
You could also cover shelves and ramps with fleece, towels, plastic, etc. or just remove them altogether. Many rat fanciers just take the shelves out and replace them with rat-safe branches or wooden bird perches to give their rats more of a challenge.
Do aquariums make good habitats for pet rats?
Pet rats should never be kept in aquariums or any cage with glass walls.
Aquariums don’t make good habitats for pet rats because they don’t have adequate ventilation. Rats are very prone to respiratory problems and these can show up within a couple of weeks. A cage with bars is a must for rats as it allows for more air flow. It also lets you attach toys and accessories to the bars for rats to play with!
Plastic bins for pet rats
Like aquariums, plastic bins don’t allow for enough ventilation, and rats can’t climb the sides. Most plastic bins are also too small to use as a rat enclosure. You may have seen some breeders use plastic bins to take pictures of their rats, or for transportation. But they aren’t meant to be used as a main habitat.
Are wood cages good for rats?
For awhile it was very popular to create DIY rat cages out of book cases. These definitely look beautiful and interesting. Personally I’m not sure they’re the most suitable habitats for rats though. It doesn’t give them any opportunity to dig or burrow, and the horizontal shelves don’t actually let rats practice their balancing and climbing skills.
Wood itself is also problematic as an enclosure. Because it’s more porous than plastic, their pee soaks into it, and they will probably chew the wood to smithereens over time! Many types of wood aren’t great for rats to chew on, and if the wood has been coated with paint or varnish it’s even worse.
It’s okay to use any non-toxic wooden cage decorations. They’re quite a lot easier than a whole bookcase to rinse off or just replace after they’ve been chewed.
Can pet rats live outdoors?
Pet rats are susceptible to draft, heat and cold. They can also suffer from parasites if they eat bugs and dig in the soil. Rats are an easy target for predators like foxes, weasels, and hawks. They are also prone to wandering off if they escape their outdoor enclosure.
I know their wild ancestors live outside, but it would be a little like dumping you or me in the middle of the woods and expecting us to survive 😉
Ideally, rats should live indoors. They can visit the outdoors under your careful supervision if you don’t think they’re likely to dart off.
Conclusion
Your rats’ cage is probably the biggest investment you’ll make for your rats. It’s nice to know you made the right decision that’ll serve your fur babies for years to come. I hope this article helped you pick out a rat cage!
Featured image from barbara b via Wikimedia Commons (CC license).
