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The Explorer

So far this cage seems almost perfect. The cage is large enough for twelve rats, and in theory the access can be blocked in the middle so that the cage can be split into two cages suitable for 6 rats each. There are plenty of options for hammock hanging, as the small shelves have places to attach the hammocks underneath, and both the upper and lower levels have mesh ceilings. The only downside really are the vertical bars - harder to climb than horizontal, so some older rats will struggle.

This cage has dark grey hammered effect paint, which makes it easy to see into the cage to watch the rats. The two base trays are black plastic with raised edges about 2.5cm high; a little low to keep litter in. Most of my rats are happy using a cat litter tray, so I've lined the cage trays with fleece. The trays aren't a fantastic fit into the base of the cage, having a gap around the edges. I put a layer of cushion flooring underneath to stop them rattling and to cover the bare bars around the edge of the tray.

The cage moves easily around on castors, which are lockable. The stand seems nice and sturdy, though the storage space underneath is hard to use as the stand bar goes across the front.

The assembly instructions could be more explicit; I had to stop and figure out which bits should be going where. I found it simplest to assemble the lower half of the cage, then assemble the stand and mount the cage on it. The top half of the cage was then assembled onto the lower half.

Tips:

• The runners that the horizontal panels slide into should look like a letter G, with the flat bit at the top.
• The front to back bars on the horizontal panels go underneath, the side to side bars go on top.
• The back panel for the base level does not have little feet; the upper level does.
• The back panel for the base level should have a pair of holes in the top right corner for the ladder to slot into.
• The sides for the base level have two sets of runners; top and bottom. The sides for the top level just have one set at the top.
• The right hand side for the base level has two runner guides at the top, all the other levels have three.
• The doors need to be the right way up, or they try to fall off the hinge.
• Stick thin magnets/magnetic sheet to the D shaped door stop to stop the doors rattling, or if you buy metal trays put a strip of magnet along the bottom of the front.

I used a crosshead screwdriver (couldn't tell you which sort) and a 10mm spanner, but the spanner was slightly loose so possibly I should have had an imperial one rather than metric.

My cage was bought second hand, but the new ones are currently £125 from Pet World Direct.

Update

I now have three Explorer cages, and feel they are the best cages I've ever had. I'm using each one split into two cages, because I'm settling on groups of five at the moment and that fits nicely into one half. The shelves have gone - I just couldn't stand the mess they made on them,but having hung a chain down the front of each cage I can now clip one corner of hammocks to that and use the whole of the space. I love the bendy ropes you can get too; I've found some four foot wide ones that will go from corner to corner across the cage.

I have had metal trays made for all of my cages. The dimensions I used were 600mm x 900mm x80mm. Some people I believe have gone for 595mm x 895mm to allow more clearance, but I like the fit of mine. I have painted them, but the edges are getting chipped due to chewers.

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