Many cages come with plastic or wooden shelves and ladders, but they don’t add much for the rats beyond looking tidy to us. Rats don’t need ladders. They’re great climbers and benefit more from having branches, ropes, and perches to move around. Plastic shelves mostly just become pee spots, which makes the cage smell worse and increases the risk of infection if rats walk through it with small cuts or scratches. If you chose to keep the shelves and ramps until you get more enriching climbing devices, remember that they need to be wiped daily with vinegar water. If covered in fleece they need to be washed with unscented detergent and vinegar every 2-3 days.
Instead of shelves, a litter tray with absorbent bedding works much better for cleanliness and litter training. You can attach litter trays to any point on the cage, it doesn’t have to be on a flat surface. Many litter trays have the option to be fixed on the cage and can be “floating”. Another great option if you want to keep a shelf is to measure the dimensions of the shelf and find a plastic bin or cat litter box that will fit, and filling the bin with a few inches of substrate for a “dig box”.
I recommend removing any shelves that have free space on them and aren’t holding a litter or dig box as mentioned above, large platforms, main dividing level in a Critter Nation if you’re using it for one group, and ladders. They limit your ability to create an active cage layout and can promote boredom and obesity.
An active cage setup encourages natural behaviors like climbing, jumping, stretching, running, digging, foraging, hiding, nesting, balancing, and chewing. To support this, use a mix of branches, ropes, wooden toys, and other enrichment items. I love the dog toy ropes from dollar tree. They are made of cotton and can be zip tied together across the cage. You can also make your own with cotton or jute. Baskets from dollar tree can also be zip tied to fill the space. Remember rats prefer clutter, fill every open space with items. Lava ledges and wooden ledges made for chinchillas (check the type of wood if it’s safe first) are helpful to aid rats in moving between items and promote exercise. Without all those shelves and ramps you will now have space for a 14-18 inch wheel (14+ for females, 16+ for males) which will also promote long term health.
Another common mistake is using too many hammocks. While hammocks are great, overloading the cage with them can make rats lazy and contribute to odor buildup. A good cage layout doesn’t need to be expensive or perfectly color-coordinated. Cheap plastic baskets with bedding or scrap fleece, IKEA scarf hangers, and even branches from safe trees foraged and cleaned can be great additions. Remember that hammocks should be washed every 2-4 days.
If your rats are old, it’s common for them to become clumsy and you’ll feel inclined to add the shelves and ramps back. But having an active layout actually keeps rats more active for longer and delays things like hind leg degeneration (HLD). If you are concerned that your rat might fall, then add a few extra fall breakers into the cage e.g., scarf hangers, long wood bridges, long hammocks, or look up rat cage fall breakers on Etsy.
If you enjoy decorating your cage, go for it! Just prioritize your rats’ needs over aesthetics. They prefer a busier, more cluttered setup than what looks neat to us. Their health will improve long-term, their enrichment needs will be satisfied, and you will be less likely to visit the vet for abscesses or respiratory infections.
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