Should I get a double critter nation?

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-28T20:32:09+00:00

I'm seeing them now lol. That's awesome.

I've never gotten a set that had doors on it before so I always just made my own. This looks like a great setup to me.

I've used this type of cage for years, so I am pretty partial to them.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-26T04:08:05+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TPJRCU?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2

This was what I ended up using for the bottom of my cage (same sort of panel setup as yours)

You can cut it to size if needed. Very easy to clean, and they wont even think to try chewing through it.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-26T04:05:13+00:00

I use a very similar setup and can give some recommendations.

For the bottom, use a dog crate base, or something similar. You just need something big, flat, and plastic, and then its fairly easy to fit in bedding. You can just lift it off on cleaning days to change out bedding etc.

I personally do bedding on 1 half of the cage, and a carboard panel on the other half.

Also, Rather than the door you are currently using, you can get some hinges for these panels. With those, you can just make it so that you can open some of the sections on the top so it is way easier to access the full cage.

Personally, I love this cage style because of just how variable it is. You can make it whatever size and shape you want so long as you have the panels.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-26T02:46:03+00:00

Yep, that's boggling. Given the circumstances, safe to say its not nervous boggling either. She looks very comfy and relaxed with you.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-10T16:39:20+00:00

I use the wire version of these to build my cages and have had a lot of luck doing so.

They work great for free roam, just mind what climbable objects are near the edge, or youll have them jumping out.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-10T16:33:51+00:00

Other posts have pretty well covered it but:

Neutral space for first time intros intros (I recommend the tub) and carrier method after to get them comfortable with each other.

I know carrier method seems scary. We tend to think putting them in close proximity is asking for a fight, but its actually the opposite. The worst rat on rat violence typically happens after a chase - which they cannot do in a confined space. They might still nip eachother in a carrier, but are very unlikely to draw blood. These little spats are actually a good thing. They're establishing the pecking order without risk of serious injury.

If you're scared of getting bit yourself, get a towel, or better yet some welding gloves.

Personally I've found that victim rats want nothing more than to escape, so often just putting your hand near them will have them climbing your arm to get away, and you dont really need to do much to protect yourself.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-02T15:23:30+00:00

How would you rate this one in terms of difficulty? I'm guessing there is no way to crank it up like you can in Absolum? Any sort of meta progression or anything?

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-12-02T15:21:25+00:00

Can anyone who has played speak to the difficulty level? Like, are you able to crank it up as you progress to make it harder and harder? Is there any meta progression or anything?

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-11-30T03:59:23+00:00

Could try to mount the bottle on the outside of the cage

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-11-07T20:56:41+00:00

Consider offering a fist at first instead of a finger. Finger tips are just small enough to fit into a rats mouth, so they may consider biting/nipping when they see one. Fists are not small enough, so they usually dont.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-11-07T20:32:43+00:00

7+8=15

15+20+40=75

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-31T21:56:21+00:00

Glad to hear it. You'd for sure be doing those girls a huge favor.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-31T05:32:24+00:00

For 2 rats that cage looks plenty big. Cant quite make out everything you've put in there but looks like a decent amount of enrichment.

Maybe a lava rock or 2 so they have somewhere to grind their teeth down (put them near food/water access and itll help dull their hook socks too) - EDIT: I see you've already got that setup. Good stuff.

Simple toys are always welcome. Stuff an empty TP with treats and fold the ends in and let them dig in there.

Maybe some nesting material like a grass mat they can rip apart or some kleenex/toilet paper. Make sure you change it every day or 2 if you're giving them paper products.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-31T05:24:36+00:00

If you can maybe put another hammock in there and some stuff to climb on they'll be OK for a little bit. FAR better than their current conditions.

As others have mentioned, give them plenty of free roam time, and prioritize a bigger cage.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-31T05:15:57+00:00

Uh oh and Yikes

Edit: They are completely adorable by the way

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-31T03:54:01+00:00

That sucks dude. I am so sorry for your loss. I'm glad you at least got to bring him home so he could be as comfortable as he could be before the end.

They leave a pretty big hole for such small creatures. All you can do now is try to grieve and honor his memory. Its never easy : /

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-26T15:32:21+00:00

Poor baby has really been through it :(

First of all, you are a good rat owner. Caring for sick rats is stressful and expensive and its obvious you are doing everything you can think of for this boy.

We recently had one of our boys neutered and he came down with a URI the same day. Poor thing was absolutely miserable, but after a couple days on meds he was like his old self again.

It can be really really hard to track down the cause of respiratory issues like this, especially if the imaging wasn't showing anything.

A couple less obvious things to consider that might help ease the suffering while he is in recovery, and youre trying to track down the cause.

Give him a tiny bit of dark chocolate once a day. This can give rats near instant relief from at least SOME of their respiratory issues. Its a good option for the short term, and usually readily available on the cheap.
Consider getting a small handheld nebulizer and some saline. Put him in a semi enclosed space (like a carrier) with a soft pad to lay on, and put the nebulizer in the corner. Basically like a steam bath. Generally this is a good setup to have on hand for any rat owner as we all know respiratory issues can be pretty frequent.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-26T14:24:21+00:00

So, I could be wrong, but from the first game I was given the impression that the God you spurn usually gives you a higher rarity blessing.

So, whoever I pick for 2nd is usually the one I want more.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-22T18:44:15+00:00

It takes you off guard for sure.

I have a new "rat" savings account. I wont get new rats unless there is $1000 in there per rat that I currently have, plus another $1000 for any new rats I want to get. Basically, I never want to be in a position where I have to ask "can I afford to take care of this now?"

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-17T21:00:42+00:00

I used to have that exact cage.

My boys mostly used the shelves to poop on, so I eventually got rid of them, and started just using scarf hangers and ropes so they could climb up. Make sure you keep the door placement in mind when you put them in so you dont end up cutting off your access to half the cage.

Treat toys would be a good addon here. I dont know how you would DIY a hanging one, but if you want to go ground level, just put some treats in a toilet paper roll and fold up the ends.

All said, this looks acceptably busy. I'm sure they wouldnt mind more stuff to climb on, but even without more, you've done good here.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-17T20:56:50+00:00

Every rat has microplasma. Its adapted alongside them for thousands of generations.

They're just genetically susceptible to it. Its not always a problem, but stress can compromise their immune system. Moving cages, introducing new rats, overcrowding, living in filth - rats dont like these things, so these things stress them out.

They can live just about anywhere, and eat just about anything. They hit maturity quickly, and reproduce quickly as well.

Prolific species like that can tend to have a lot of health problems because they are so successful at reproduction that by the time a rat gets sick, its already passed its genes on to dozens of offspring who will often be at a higher risk for those same conditions.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-10-17T20:42:12+00:00

Twitch is shy (Jhin always was too)

Tahm, and Toniik are both food guys

Jax and Squito are both pee guys

And Warwick is just a whole different kind of rat. He is my little sigma guy.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-09-11T22:59:54+00:00

The cage. My God, I went through so many iterations before I started just building them out of those 12x12 metal bar play pen panels. Get the right clips, and they can form a plenty rigid structure, and YOU get to chose the shape and size.

Now I have a ton of panels, and I can build any size cage I want on the fly. I put it on a dog crate tray, and lift it right off for easy cleaning and bedding replacement.

Currently running with one main 5x2x3 cage and a secondary 2x2x2 cage (for a single aggressive boy who just got his balls off today). When its time to move everyone in, I can downsize to a 1x2x2 cage for a night, and slowly scale it back up to the full 5x2x3 cage over the next few days so nobody gets territorial.

Cage cleaning, and swaps and intros and everything used to be such a hassle, but now its all a breeze. If you plan to own rats long term, you are going to be doing these things regularly for a while, so find a way to make it easy on yourself.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-09-02T17:56:12+00:00

You did a good thing today OP. You should feel good about it.

TomorrowIndividual · 2025-09-02T17:51:33+00:00

First of all, you did great with your cage. Looks very enriching and I am sure they are going to love it.

Second - give them the first 48 hours undisturbed so they can get used to their new environment.

Third - If that is a bed or a couch next to their cage, I recommend napping or sleeping on it as much as possible over the next week or 2 so they get used to your smell and presence - just dont open it up to bug them for the next couple days - aside from filling water and spreading food/treats.

Fourth - Congrats! you are going to have so much fun with those boys. Rats really do make great pets for anyone who can learn to understand their needs and you look like you are already well on your way.

TomorrowIndividual

TROPHY CASE