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Memorials Policies and Contract | The Setup The FlyingDuster Rattery The Setup With over two dozen rats at times, it can be hectic here! That is including litters though; normally there aren't more than 20 permanent residents. Any more than that and I can't really give them all the love they need! The rat cages are 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 the highest quality food I can get in NZ, which is a lab block produced locally and a home-made dry mix, as well as fresh foods. The lab blocks probably aren't the best block, but it is the only one I can easily get within NZ at this stage! These are the details of the lab block:
The dry mix I make up myself is somewhat like this (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 sometimes miss out on the mix if I've run out!) 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! Cages The cages are in the living room, so they are right among the normal life and routine of the rest of our family. That way even if there are alot of rats, or 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!  That is the boys' big cage on the left, and the girls' on the right. At times (like in the photo) I have a smaller cage or two next to the girls cage, containing any ratties needing more individual attention away from the others. In general though I will spend however long as it takes to get any new ratties integrated into the large social cages. I will get a photo of the maternity cage as well sometime! The boys' cage (Its layout and levels have changed since then; I will update the picture at some stage, but it's still the same cage!)  It is a bird aviary with levels made from ply that has been painted in a water based enamel (the levels are different to those in the photo) that is ok if they chew! There are hooks in the ends of the levels that hook to the cage. With all 10 levels in it can hold up to 14 rats (less levels=less floor space=less # of rats!). I hate being at the maximum though, I don't like overcrowding! The most I have had permenantly living in this cage was 13 boys at once. The Girls' Cage   This is another, smaller, bird aviary converted to the rat cage. The levels are made from hardboard and covered in self-adhesive flooring tiles. They are held up by dowels rather than hooks like the boys cage. This cage at its maximum can hold 10 rats, though I have only had 8 in it, and that is quite enough! It is looking rather bare at the moment, but that will change. I use aspen shavings 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. 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 - 05 May 2006] | ||||||||||