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Memorials Policies and Contract | The Setup The FlyingDuster Rattery The Setup Having had over two dozen rats at times, it can be hectic here! That is including litters though; at the moment I only have 4 rats in total! The rat cage is in the living room and their diet is the best I can give them. This page is dedicated to showing you how it all works around here! Food They are all fed high quality food, which is a lab block produced locally and a home-made dry mix, as well as fresh foods. The lab blocks are bought through the New Zealand Rat Club shop online and I make up the dry mix myself. The dry mix usually contains the following (note that it varies from one batch to the next, but in general it is like this!)
The rats have a bowl kept full of lab blocks in their cages at all times. They are given a scoop or two of the dry mix once a day on most days. They never ever run out of lab blocks, and they are their main source of food during the day. Most evenings they get fresh foods, which include pasta, vegges, potatoes, chicken, bones, sometimes a little icecream or pie, basically anything that we have for dinner and dessert, they get a little of too! All in moderation though!! Also every week they get bits of bread that have been soaked in olive oil to nibble on and help their coats. At times they often get a bowl of human babyfood or complan (a human energy drink mixed up with milk) or something, though that's not a common or regular food source for them all. A pregnant/lactating girl and her bubs have a bowl of babyfood/kitten food/complan in their cages most of the time. Any unwell rats also have the babyfood/complan in their cage as much as possible to help "recharge" them. The staple diet of lab blocks and the dry mix never changes, and would be a suitable diet on its own if need be. The extras all vary from one day to the next; variety is the spice of life! The Cage The cage is in the living room, so they are right among the normal life and routine of the rest of our family. That way even if I am busier than normal and they don't get as much individual attention, they are always at least in the thick of our lives and aren't hidden away in another room!  This is my cage at the moment! At times I have a smaller cage next to it, containing any ratties needing more individual attention away from the others. I also use that space when I have a new rattie still doing inrtos into my main cage, and for my maternity cage when I breed a litter and the mum and bubs need their own space. It is a small bird aviary, known as a "604" cage, converted to the rat cage. It is only large enough for up to 6 rats, but as my numbers are low at the moment it suits us perfectly! I have previously had cages large enough for nearly 20 rats at a time! The levels are made from hardboard and covered in self-adhesive flooring tiles. They are held up by hooks attached to the ends of the levels, to hook onto the cross bars in the cage. There are obviously plenty of hammocks and stuff as well to fill up the cage and give lots of sleeping choices, yet still giving room to run and climb! All my rats, male and female, also love their big wheel, known as a "wobust wodent wheel" and will regularly go for a run in it, often arguing over who has the next turn! There are ladders and tunnels as well as a litter tray or two that they are all good at using. The layout of the cage changes, especially the hammocks and toys, but this is an idea of what my guys generally have to live in:  My cage is sitting on a piece of "coreflute" (the stuff real-estate signs are made from!) to protect the carpet from flying food, as well as the walls have clear plastic on the two sides around the cage, making them very easy to wipe down (rat food, especially soft baby food, stains wallpaper rather well sometimes!) You can see the plastic sheets due to the 'shine' behind the cage in places, but otherwise they are almost invisible. I use a paper based cat litter in my cages for the litter, and paper towels/newspaper as bedding sometimes. All the cages are wiped out daily or every second day. The litter boxes are changed and any wet patches from the bottom tray are replaced. I use undiluted white vinegar in a spray bottle in the day-to-day wipe ups to help disinfect and clean. Every weekend I clean out the whole cage, removing all the shavings and bedding and changing most of the hammocks. The levels are all cleaned both with the vinegar and also hydrogen peroxide (proven to be 10X more effective than vinegar alone, and a very effective disinfectant that is safe for the ratties!) The layout of their toys and hammocks and stuff tends to change every week too, so they aren't in the same boring cage all the time! Visits to the FlyingDuster Rattery are welcomed by anyone in the area or passing through Dunedin. I am proud of my setup and routine and am more than happy to show it off!! There are always willing ratties to smother attention on, just email me; I'm happy to chat. 
email me [Updated - 10 April 2009] | ||||