Cages
A hamster cage or Habitrail is not a suitable home for a rat like they sometimes try to tell you in the stores or as seen on tv...rats need much more space than that, a minimum of 2 cubic feet per rat, and preferably more. The bigger, the better. Tanks are also not suitable for rats due to the bad air circulation.
Here is a basic calculator that will help you decide on the right sized cage for the number of rats you have:
http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml
Another major thing that needs to be taken into consideration besides the size of the cage is the bar spacing. A lot of the cages out there are a good size but unfortunately the bars are too far apart, especially for babies, females and smaller males.
We find it's very had to find good cages here in BC so we are generally ordering cages online.
Here is the link to Martin's cages, which are the preferred cages of most of our volunteers.
We have had personal experience with the Martin’s R-670, R-680, R-685, R-690, R-695 and R-699 though we all have our own preferences as to which model we like best.
If you go with a Martin's cage, you will need to get the powder coated kind, as rat urine tends to have an unfortunate chemical reaction when it hits plain galvanized metal that I'm told results in an extremely unpleasant smell. It is also well worthwhile to spend the extra $10 for a flip top lid as this makes the cages much easier to clean, among other obvious advantages. Note that even with the high cost of shipping, these cages still work out cheaper than anything comparable that you can find in local stores, if you can even find anything comparable.
MidWest makes a Ferret Nation cage which can be a great choice as well unfortunately the bar spacing is on the large side so definitely not suitable for babies and small rats as they will escape or worse injure themselves while trying to escape.
One of our volunteers recently met the folks from MidWest at a pet expo in Germany and they told us that there is a Rat Nation in the works which would be wonderful!
The Quality Cage Company also offers a great variety of rat cages. They are sturdier than the Martin's Cages which makes them more expensive and heavier to ship but they are also well worth the money. Just like with the Martin's cages, make sure that you get the powder coated version!
Rats generally really enjoy having many levels to romp around however one thing to consider is that sometimes they get injured or as they get older sometimes don't have proper control anymore over their legs so it's always good to have a single level hospital cage on hand.
Another great thing to have on hand is a little carrier for those vet trips but also in case there is a fire and you need to quickly get out of the house.
