I'm going to be asking for my rats. SOON. i've put a lot of time into this, and i've only got two problems left.
my mom will probably say - that mouse's (i have a mouse) tank smells so bad (it really doesn't) having rats in a open wire cage will smell even worse!
so, what can i tell her? does a wire cage smell less than an aquarium? i would imagine so, since the smell would be less concentrated. is that true?
also, what are some points i could mention that make wire cages better than aquariums?
2007-03-21 10:04:46 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
To properly accommodate two rats in an aquarium the tank would have to be a 20 gal or more size. This will make it too big and heavy to properly keep clean. Dragging it to the bathtub for a thorough once a week cleaning would be very awkward for you. It would turn you off of wanting to clean the cage.
Aquariums deprive rats of using all of their senses. Think about how you would feel living in a glass bubble. Glass feels like nothing to a rat, good smells and sounds are diminished behind a glass wall. Rats like to climb. Smooth glass walls deprive them of this joy. It's a boring life living in an aquarium, and rats are far too intelligent to enjoy this deprived life-style.
An aquarium is dangerous to rats in that ammonia from urine builds up so quickly, no matter how clean you keep your rats' home, and has no where to go but to mingle around in the cage. If you can't smell the rat, how do you know when his cage is too dirty?
Another danger for the rats is how quickly the temperature and humidity can build up inside of a glass aquarium. The same thing happens to rats as what happens to dogs and cats when they are left in cars on warm to hot days. You would have to be careful as to where you keep the cage in your house so this doesn't happen. Rats can tolerate cooler temperatures more then they can tolerate warm temperatures
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=keeping+rats+cool&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAqFmYLsucJ9Ju1A_wytuo5cazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjrR1DDgyctRMOV346dKZz4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=keeping+rats+cool
You can tell when your rats are suffering heat exhaustion because they "pancake", lay flat out.
A wire cage is the complete opposite to all the disadvantages of an aquarium. The openness allows your rats to interact with you and the world around them. They can climb the bars. If you choose to have a wheel you can attach the wheel to the bars of the cage. Water bottles can be attached to the outside of the cage, making them less likely to be chewed. Special dishes can be attached to the bars, making for less spillage and waste. Extra shelves can be attached to the bars for more floor space, therefore you can get away with a smaller cage which would be easier to handle and move around.
Heat exhaustion is far less likely to happen if the rats are kept in a wire cage.
Yes, the barred cage would smell less then the aquarium. For one thing if you can smell it then you can clean out the cage more frequently, so that it doesn't bother your mom.
Unlike mice, your rats can be litter trained
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=litter+training+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAqFmYLsucJ9Ju1A_wytuo5cazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjrR1DDgyctRMOV346dKZz4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=litter+training+rats and this would make your job of keeping the cage clean so much easier.
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
2007-03-21 20:11:06 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The wire cage will not smell much, because the open air ventilation will cirulate fresh air through and dissipate any "smells."
Also, rats barely smell in general, especially if you clean their cages regularly. That's part of what makes them great pets. They are the cleanest of all the domestic rodents and do not smell as much as mice do. They usually only poop in one section of their cage, and are constantly grooming and cleaning themselves.
Wire cages are better than aquariums because they are better for rats. It is now more commonly reccomended to use wire cages because the rats can fullfill their desire to climb, which also gives them more exercise. The better circulated air is also better for them. But, since you were probably hoping for some reasons that wire is better that your mom would appreciate, tell her that wire cages are easier to clean (which they are!), so you will be more apt to be good about cleaning it!
2007-03-21 17:14:35 · answer #2 · answered by Lansey 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Rats NEED wire cages. Better air ventilation (which yes, means less stink.), and they LOVE to climb.
Best to get a leveled wire cage, especially if you plan on having more than 1 rat in that cage.
I've found that corn cob bedding works rather well, to help with the odor, too.
Stay away from pine/cedar/wood beddings, as they don't absorb odor very well, and the dust can cause respiratory problems.
2007-03-21 17:10:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Just throwing this out there... might not be that helpfull, but... in terms of the smell... have you tried to litter train your pets? My gerbil has a habitrail cage, and he has decided that one of the attached rooms would be his "bathroom" therefore, there is never any smell! It's great! I only have to clean his cage every two weeks... and just to freshen it up.. they're usually all clean & dry. He does his business in the attachment, and I simply empty often and replace the shavings & litter in there! It's great! I'm not sure if Rats and Mice are the same... but it's worth researching! Rats, I hear, are very intelligent... I'm sure they'd catch on to such a set-up!
Good Luck!
Oh, and I agree with getting a cage over a tank... too hot in the tank....
2007-03-21 18:14:02 · answer #4 · answered by pambetteridge 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
i worked at superpet in the small animal department...DO NOT go for a tank over a wire cage!!!! believe me u will regret it! rats are very active creatures and work up quite a bit of heat, the tank will gather condensation and will smell like urine. a wire cage allows them to "breathe" and it results in less of a pugnant smell. plus, wire cages r better for their excercise also since they LOVE to climb. plus wire cages requires less cleaning because the bedding doesn't become damp due to restricted air.
2007-03-21 17:15:17 · answer #5 · answered by Kellie G 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes it does thats why i keep my gerbials in a aquiream.
2007-03-21 18:21:38 · answer #6 · answered by squirrelguys 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋