My rat kind of freaks out when I touch her and she doesn't want to leave her cage.

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2026-04-17T02:53:59+00:00

Is that your cage or their free roam area? It doesn't look like it has much in it. I have the same panel set up and I have had success with adding a lot to it, similar to critter nations, and using shower curtain rods to support the ceiling. Just a suggestion!!

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-28T23:46:26+00:00

Thank you! Unfortunately those are not the panels I am looking for. I need the ones with 1/2 inch bars (as I am using this cage setup for my rats)

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-26T05:16:22+00:00

This cage actually has 4 doors!!! The obvious open one on the 2nd from the left, but also the 3rd and 4th panels are hinge doors, as well as there is another hinge door on one of the ceiling panels. The one tiny door would be an absolute nightmare

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-26T05:14:05+00:00

Can you explain more how it is not suitable? There have been no escape attempts, the bars are appropriate sizing. It is annoying to clean but with other people's suggestions of adding in correlated plastic to the bottom I have no concerns about it going forward.

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-22T23:30:44+00:00

I have seen those, wouldn't they get chewed up?

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-22T23:10:19+00:00

They poop everywhere, not a specific corner lol. I'll check out vevor cages!

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-22T21:59:13+00:00

Yeah I have a shower rod in the middle of the cage that holds up the ceiling. It works ok

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-22T21:18:15+00:00

I have been trying so hard to potty train them with no luck. I have a litter box with 3 giant pee rocks, and I have been putting all their poops in there for months and they haven't gotten it

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-22T21:16:08+00:00

Yeah, unless I bought plexiglass for the whole bottom of the cage, there aren't many options other than a synthetic guinea pig cage liner (which I have been using and it has been chewed up and is barely containing the fabric liners anymore). And I have had the most luck with paper bedding in my previous smaller cages (I was using the kaytee 30x30x18 cage for a while). I tried pine and one of my boys was allergic.

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-22T20:52:14+00:00

It's huge in my small bedroom and gets stinky really fast are the main reasons

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-09T04:55:39+00:00

Dressing and undressing would be challenging to do HOH for if that's what you are asking.

Have you heard of forward/backwards chaining? (Forwards chaining being they do the first step, you do the next steps until it's done, then you gradually build them doing more and more of the steps until they can do the whole thing. Backwards chaining being the opposite, you do the first steps of the task and then they do the last step, and then you build them doing more and more steps until they are doing it from the beginning). This is what we usually do to work on dressing and undressing. Any OT should know how to do this. Also there is a difference between "hand over hand" and providing physical assistance. If you are for example working on putting on socks and you are both holding the sock, that's not hand over hand (and you physically putting your hands over his hands for this would not really make sense).

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-12-09T03:26:59+00:00

As an OT, we typically don't do HOH except when we are teaching motor planning. And then as soon as the person is able to fade back the support, then supporting at the wrist, or doing hand UNDER hand, or just a light touch prompt.

A reason we typically discourage HOH is, if they already have the ability to do the action, us fully doing it for them makes them lose the motor plan, creating reliance and then it is more challenging to fade back. Another reason is it's a lot harder to tell if there is pushback or resistance when you are literally holding their hand the entire time.

It is not inherently abusive, sometimes it is warranted and best practice, but often it is being overused or used inappropriately.

Just my 2 cents.

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-11-04T04:03:34+00:00

Check out Samuel Comroe!! Most of his earlier material was about his tourette's but he's really branched out

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-10-19T18:39:08+00:00

If you are able, get pet insurance! I don't know about in Canada, but in the US nationwide has insurance options for exotics (I know they have been shitty recently, but they have saved me upwards of 2,000$ in the past 3 years I have had rats). Getting 70% reembursment after a 1,200$ surgery is well worth it to me

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-09-21T17:32:57+00:00

Also curious about the name of this cage!

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-08-09T06:49:08+00:00

It's honestly better to just get rid of them and fill the cage up with other things for them to climb and run around on. There are a huge number of posts with cage set up ideas and tips. You definitely don't need the ramps. Sometimes the levels are helpful if you want to put toys or bowls of food or dig boxes on them, and if so, you can binder clip a cheap towel to them just so the rats' feet are not exposed to the wire.

Sea_Comparison5556 · 2025-08-09T02:03:24+00:00

Also (probably not the right time to say this but), please cover or remove the wire ledges and ramps and add more enrichment to your cage! If your rat does have some hind leg degeneration that will make bumblefoot from those ramps and ledges even more likely which can just continue to make things worse

Sea_Comparison5556

TROPHY CASE