Alright guys, which cage should I get?

[mousie]

I've decided to buy a new cage for my rattie girls, and have narrowed it down to two. I've looked at Martin's and a few other companies, but I think I'm going to stick with Super Pet. Right now they have a guinea pig/rabbit cage (not the one they were in when I posted a picture awhile back) but I want a cage that's tall, as I'm not really liking the horizontal style. I also kind of want to get another rat so I would need a bigger cage. Here are the two cages:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+6332&pcatid=6332
and
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+14097&pcatid=14097

And, here are the pros and cons of the two cages:
First cage-
pro: Huge, absolutely giant
pro: Good bar spacing
pro: Matches my room decor
pro: Has cool tube that I know the girls would like
con: I'm only 4'2" (I have leg problems, and am very very short) so I might have problems reaching some parts of the cage.
con: Could be hard to clean
con: Kind of awkwardly huge
con: Pretty expensive
con: I've heard the plastic clips that hold it together break easily
Second cage-
pro: Pretty big still
pro: I could definately reach all the levels
pro: Looks easy to clean
pro: Good bar spacing
pro: More economically priced
con: Could be hard to fit a whole bunch of toys in
con: I've heard the slide breaks easily
con: Doesn't match my room decor (not a big con though)

Wow, this is a hard decision! I have enough money for both, but I'd still probably buy them around Christmas. Please let me know which one you think I should buy!

[xVelvet_FuzzButtx]

both will be a PITA to clean, the have tiny doors and while I've made sure to avoid rats I think they are smaller then ferrets and friends fuzzies have escaped from super pet cages. I'd look into a Ferret Nation- you'd just need to make some coroplast boxes for the floors then the cleaning would be a breeze and the space would be great.

whatever you decide i'd look into pricing on another site.
cage 1 - $142.49
cage 2 - $78.99
and www.ferret.com has $6.99 shipping on anything

[IRescue452]

The ferret nation cages look much nicer in all aspects. I'm still awaiting the day when my girls don't fit through a 1" space.

[Uabassoon]

I'm not a huge fan of those cages, a fews years ago back when Alexa and I had some ratties we decided to buy them a huge super pet cage. It was great until they figured out that they could squeeze out of the bars! All the ramps were also a HUGE pain to clean. We switched to a Martins cage and loved it a million times more.

[Miss Z]

Flossie's cage is like this (http://www.petcentreonline.co.uk/ecommerce/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=150) and I wouldn't say it's a pain to clean, taking me the best part of 15 minutes on average. I must stress to watch out for cages with plastic shelves in place as many can so easily break whilst you're scrubbing them (saw you mentioned that as a con for the second cage - that would mean BIG no-no for me). Make sure the shelving is thick and sturdy, as if your rat pees on them, they do need to be scrubbed quite hard to get clean, and there's nothing worse than having them break on you!

Good luck in your decision.

[Christmas_Hamster]

Rats do good in wire cages. In tanks they become more prone to respiratory problems.

Ferret Nations are highly reccomended but also very expensive and the bar spacing is apparently easy for young rats/small females to get out of.

The first SP cage you posted can hold ten rats. It is the cage that I wanted but the store hadn't carried it when I went to buy a cage. I instead got the second one that you posted. It can hold 6 rats. If you have young rats then they can slip out. I find it easy to clean and I like it alot. My rats also like it. On a scale from 1-10 I would say 9.5!

Good luck!

[inlovewithanimals]

i think you should get number 2

[Christmas_Hamster]

Oh and I forgot to say I think number one would be fun because you move around the shelves and do lots of different things with them. But the second one has more room for wider toys then the first one does. ;)

[mousie]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I've looked at Martin's but didn't really know if I wanted a cage from there, as I want solid floors. Right now their cage bar spacing is 7/8" so I know the two cages I narrowed it down to would work. I also looked at ferret nation, but I kind of want to stick with super pet as their brand has worked for me so far. I kind of wonder if the first cage is almost too much space, but I like how I could fit so many toys in. I like the second too, but don't really like how there's not that much floor space. I don't know, this is a hard decision!

Christmas Hamster: Would a 12" wheel look awkward in the second cage, the one you have? And also how many doors are there?

[Christmas_Hamster]

Oh no the wheel would fit just fine! I personally think so at least. There are three doors. One closer to the bottom, one closer to the top and a big one right on top. I think the first one looks fuller but my rats love their's and so do I. ;)

If you really nated to spend the money on Ferret Nations I heard they were great but they are very expensive IMO. There may possibly be a Rat Nation if the company decides to go forward with the idea.

[IRescue452]

The ferret nation is a little cheaper, but they don't mention bar spacing. I don't think there is such a thing as "too big" when it comes to animal cages. Do your rats use a wheel? Mine just tip it over and climb on it.

[mousie]

Yup, they love their wheel! They've always had safe, solid-bottomed wheels and right now they have a 12" comfort wheel. It's rather noisy, but I don't care. And yeah, I agree that there isn't a cage that is "too big" I just thought that the first one would be pretty darn giant for two rats. I think I kind of want to go with cage number two, but I also really want to go with cage number one! I'll just go with both, jk! Grrrr such a HARD decision!

[Christmas_Hamster]

Well I was techinically going to have cage #1 for only one rat! But they didn't have it and later my mom let me get Milly <3

Just choose what ever you like best your rats will happy either way!