To let you know a little bit more about our rats -- I've included this page to show you where the rats live and play. Our main cages are two double Critter-Nations. One CN is for our females and one for our males. Our dwarfs are separated and each gender live in their own Martin's Skyscraper. Each home includes many toys, hammocks, wheels, water bottles and feeders for constant entertainment and accessible nourishment.
For supervised time out of the cage, we have a circular playpen that gives the rats ample space for chasing through ferret tubes, running on wheels, climbing on wooden structures, hiding in igloos, or eating from the "rat buffet" which is a rubbermaid container with a ladder leading into it that is full of healthy treats such as whole-wheat pastas, total cereal, rolled oats, dried fruit, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Each group comes out for at least 45 minutes a day. While playing, they each are handled and cuddled.
We have special areas set-up for pregnant and nursing females -- I have found that a large plastic bin topped with wire grating and filled with soft bedding can be a very roomy place for a nesting mother.
We alternate bedding in the CN's: sometimes we use fleece, sometimes aspen, sometimes both!
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Their playpen! It's actually too large to fit into one picture, so this is just one side of it -- but here you can see the ferret tube, a wheel, part of their wooden house, and the beginning of the ladder that goes to the "rat buffet".
