The Modified BC-7

**This is being provided for shelters to review as we are getting rid of these cages as we close down the rescue.  We are moving to be a pet only home.**

A great shelter cage, it is 36" wide, 20" deep and 20" tall.  It is dividable with both a solid or wired divider.

This cage is manufactured by Quality Cages now Quality Cage Crafters.  (It is no longer on their website.)

It has large doors, that is the modification.  This cage is actually sold as a bird breeder cage with small doors.  It does have a small slide gravity door on the end, I used them to connect two cages together.

The trays slide out for cleaning.

This cage can handle rats, adult Syrian hamsters and adult gerbils.  It has been used by other shelters to house guinea pigs and chinchillas.

It has a flat bottom.

They fit on a 42" wide wire shelving.

You can fit 3 cages on a single shelf OR 2 cages and put a smaller cage or storage on the lower shelf.  We've had them set up both ways.

We have 1 white one and 1 black one. The black one has non-powder coated doors as it was a conversion.  They are in excellent shape, no rust. (They will need to be rinsed off as they are dusty from being in the storage unit.)  The image below is of two of the cages before this set was donated to Bonnie L. Hayes Animal Shelter of Washington County, Oregon.

BC-6

Was able to pick up 2 BC-6 cages for cheap on Craigslist.  These are temporary cages to use until we can afford to replace with 2 BC-7 cages in a year or so.  We've tapped our caging budget for this year.  I will probably be selling off 3 more cage parts, RT-24, but I'm not sure yet so I'm hanging on to them.  I do need to get 4 more mouse cages.

Anyway, I wrote Morton Jones to see if they can help me make a better connector and door system.  I'll post back when I hear what they can do for me!

Cage Set-up Changes

As you may notice, I'm a big fan of Quality Cages, www.qualitycage.com.  They have made every cage and carrier in use at Vermin Village except the mice bin style cages and that is because the wire is a real pain to work with.  I have several designs of cages that I use but at this moment I'm in the process of converting to temporarily retiring my multi-level cages and going with single level cages.  The reason I didn't do it before was because of the size limitation, how do you make side-by-side cages bigger but still fairly easy to clean.  I finally found a way to do that.  This set up makes introductions easier and are definitely easier to clean.

• Honey-Can-Do 5-Shelf 42 in. W x 72 in. H x 18 in. D Black Shelving Unit Model # SHF-01440 Internet # 202493261 from Home Depot as the shelving units.  You could opt to have them make stands for you and then stack the cages but I like the extra storage these provide.  I actually purchased wheels for these shelves from Ace Hardware Outlet [www.acehardwareoutlet.com].  Ace Trading SHF-01939 Casters 4-Set, ACE# 5603923 MFR# SHF-01939.  Please note, 36" wide shelves will NOT work for these cages as the cage itself is 36" wide.

• 2 BC-7 or FC-7 cages from Quality Cages (I prefer the BC-7 cages but the FC-7 cages will work too).  Also, get powder coated, it is well worth the money.  The center divider in the BC-7 slides out.  Each cage comes with a solid and wire divider so introductions work well too!

 Have the cages customized in the following manner:

• Make the doors as large as possible to fit items like wheels, igloos, et cetera through the door. (Measurements to follow.)
• Make sure the cut a hole in one side of the cage (measurements and placement to follow) on each cage.  Make sure that each pair of cages has the hole cut in the center facing of each cage (so one cut is on the right side of one cage and the left side of the second cage).  Pictures of cuts to follow.
• Put the door over the hole.  The door should be 10" x 12"  with the latch on the 10" side.
• 2 ceiling collars (sold in the vent section at Home Depot)

• Machine screws and nuts, and washers. (sizes to follow)

Currently, for the tube I use a 12" long 4" PVC pipe and two 3" to 4" reducers.

I'm going to be working on a metal tube solution with Quality Cages because the PVC ones are kind of a pain to clean and if I have them make it, the tube will be 4" through the entire tube.

Anyway, when the tube is in use, the doors are open (they should be set to open down.  When the tubes aren't needed, the doors can be closed.  Perfect for cleaning.  To clean the tube, I recommend purchasing a toilet bowl brush just for cleaning the tubes.

I use 4 pairs of BC-7 cages for the rats.

New Stow N Gos & New Collapsibles

I picked up my Stow N Go yesterday. The problem with the detachable ladder was the incorrect wire size was used. I opted not to take that. The builder made a mistake on my balcony and after thinking about it, I'm going to remove it and put it in another cage I need. The other balcony, I'll give it to my friend to use in her cages as she is always getting new ones put together. :D

I'll reorder my balconies. I may ask if they can make something out of wire instead, that is removable.

I also need to order 6 to 8 new size collapsible cages. The BC-7 I have I absolutely love, but they are quite heavy. I'm going to keep them, but put them in storage until we move to a new house, which won't be for quite some time. But the idea will be that I can roll them out to clean them.

The new collapsible cages will be the same as the hospital cages I ordered but bigger. The hospital cages I ordered are 16" deep x 16" tall x 32 " deep. The new collapsible cages will be 20" deep x 16" tall x 44" wide. These cages will be galvanized with powder coated trays.

New Quality Cages Again!

Placed an order for 6 collapsible hospital cages from Quality Cages. This is an expansion on the collapsible carriers. They are 30" long x 16" deep x 16" tall. They are galvanized with a 3" tall powder coated pan and an 11" x 10" door. I'm so happy to be getting rid of the current hospital cages!

Eventually I will be ordering Stow N Go cage with some modifications. These modifications include a solid balcony, a detachable ladder, the door raised up 2 inches so the pan can be increased from 2 to 3 inches tall. The cage itself will be galvanized, but the pan, balcony and ladder will be silver veined powder coated. If I like these well enough, I'll order at least 4 more, but would actually like 9 more.

Cages and Carriers

Picked up the last 6 remaining carriers that I had on order. Also placed an order for new hospital cages. The SuperPet cages I have been reduced to using are CRAP. I won't even sell them. If someone in rescue needs them they are theirs. If no rescue wants them, they're fair game.

Versatile Large Deluxe Rat Cage

Why the Large Deluxe Rat Cage from Quality Cages (www.qualitycage.com)?

Please note:  They do carry fully powder coated versions of these collapsible cages in both black and white.

I use the Large Deluxe Rat Cage from Quality Cages because they are the most versatile cage. I use the powder coated ones for rats, I use the collapsible one with a powder coated shelf, ramp and tray for hamsters, gerbils and with some modification dwarf hamsters and mice, and of course rats.

This cage also has extension pieces that you can purchase to make it bigger. I suggest no more than 3 extension pieces unless you are exceptionally tall. :) For a pair of rats, you can just use the top piece as that does meet the size requirements for a pair of rats. If you are indeed worried about the initial cost, you can purchase one piece at a time.

You've seen how many people decorate their cage for rats. For these cages, I put a Wobust Wodent Wheel to the left of the cage. I then put a hammock up and put cardboard tunnels and hides all over.

When I set it up for other animals, I do it completely different. For any other animals I might house in this cage at different times, gerbils, a Syrian hamster, mice or a dwarf hamster. I pretty much set it up the same way.

As the base pan on this particular Large Deluxe Rat Cage is 3" deep, I put Good Mews in the base of the pan. This draws the moisture out of the paper AND it controls odors. Then I use Eco Bedding (or in my case 1/4" strip shredded newspaper since I have a commercial shredder)

I use this cage for my Syrian hamsters hamsters (they each have their own of coures. The base pan is 3 inches deep. I use eco bedding (which is great for burrowing) or strip shredded newspaper (1/4" strips). I put Good Mews (paper pelleted litter) on the bottom, cover with folded newspaper and then put the hides and cardboard tunnels (you can get tubes free from fabric stores that sell home decorating fabric). Then I cover all of that with shredded paper or eco bedding. On the balcony, I put their food, access to water bottles and their wheel. They love the cage and it is easy for me to clean. I put a chinchilla dust container in every week or so for them to "bathe."

The cage wire is galvanized (the pan balcony and ramp is powder coated), so they don't chip the powder coating off the wire. Since the cage is bigger than what they've been in before (I adopted all of my hammies and/or gerbil) they don't chew on it so much but still.

I had purchased a 6 1/2" silent spinner for my Syrian hamsters and gerbils, but for 4 of the hamsters, I had to change it to the 8 1/2" comfort wheel because the hammies were too big. :)

As for the plastic tubes sold with most cages, I've got 3 Syrians that are too big to fit through them. :) My vet said that sometimes people aren't paying attention, the hammie gets stuck in a tube and they died due to stress. :*( I've adopted gerbils that were degloved because of the crappy plastic cages. I also find them a pain to clean and kind of a waste of money. Those plastic cages can only be used for some animals.

The upside with this cage is that if you later decide you'd like gerbils, or rats, this cage works for them as well. And you don't ever have to worry about your hammie escaping--unless you leave the door open. :) My cages I can use for gerbils, large species of hamsters and rats. If I line the cage with 1/4" x 1/4" wire, I can also use them for dwarf hamsters and mice--so the cage is an "investment" and has a higher resale value.

This cage also exceeds the minimum requirements for a hammie cage http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters/bb/hamstercage.htm

It ships flat and the only assembly needed is using a Phillips head screw driver to attach the balcony.

Good luck!

Collapsible Carriers Are Here

The news on here has been sooooooo bad that I needed to place a positive post! The new collapsible carriers by Quality Cages are HERE. I bought my first one. It has a 3 inch high pan, and is 10" high x 10" wide x 18" long. It has a full flip top and handles on each side. The best part, is that it folds into the tray for storage. Yeah! I'll be bringing some to the RatsPacNW Fall Show to sell. They have several in stock now! I hope they get it on the web soon but if it sounds like something you want, give the folks a call. Their website is www.qualitycage.com. Additional contact information can be found there.

As far as I'm concerned they make the best quality of cage. The coating lasts a LONG time, longer than others, and they like to have their cage be of a certain strength so they don't bend. They are really good about custom jobs and they are a manufacturer here in the US so quality control is great.

Oreo Makes the Move to Vermin Village

Oreo is an old girlie mouse. She is of course, black and white. She lived in a classroom and now that school is over she needed a retirement home. Vermin Village has empty mouse cages so I contacted her current guardian about bringing her here.

She is a delightful little girl. I went to the storage unit to pull out the cage and will be moving her in it when the new water bottle hardware is attached.

I met the person at Quality Cages and spoke to QC about making me some custom mice cages. I have a good idea of what I would like and I want it as easy as possible to make. :)

I ended up taking Oreo to Home Depot with me because I couldn't find my staple gun staples. What a dork! lol But my husband needed stuff to smoke some brisket--hickory chips, mesquite chips and charcoal. Yum...brisket. People kept doing double takes on seeing a little white and black thing moving around the carrier I placed her in. Hey--she had places to go and people to see!

Welcome home Oreo!

Ratties Move....New Cage Purchase

Libby has been moved to the downstairs BC-6. She is living next store to Bella. Bella has been moved from the home with the 5 girls. They do ok, but Bella has 4 tumors and Libby needed a friend. Bella was ok with the other group of girls but she was not so bonded that she didn't like the change. She seems to love having a part of a cage to herself and still be able to visit with Libby.

Libby also has a small tumor and she is also pretty old. :( So they are two little old ladies that hang out side-by-side in their hammocks.

Mimi and Junior were moved back downstairs into a BC-6. Junior still gets a bit nervous around a lot of noise but he so enjoys hamming it up when he knows you're looking at him. These are the 2 I hope to put the 2 spayed girls with. Mimi is also spayed of course.

Sherman and Luke are in the lower BC-6. They have lots of fun. I've thrown in lots of newspaper in all of the cages and they've gone to town with making nests. It cracks me up to see the 2 boys in their hammocks with newspaper all around them. They have blankets too but it must be something about the paper. lol

Upstairs, the BC-7s are waiting to be cleaned. Remi is currently hanging out downstairs while this is happening. Remi will be moving into a split BC-7 with Cricket on the other side. Hopefully they will get used to each other so the divider can come out. Potter and Joey are also in a carrier waiting for the BC-7 (they used to live in a BC-6). I've downsized the room to 2 stacks of BC-7 and moved all of the BC-6 downstairs. Of course the 4 custom multi-leveled cages are still up there.

Trixie, Pixie and Boo have moved into Tickle Tower! (Remember Boo is neutered.) So far so good. Since Libby has moved downstairs, she was living in the upper level of the Tower, there was more room to move the 3 in. Boo doesn't know quite what to do. The tower has lots of stuff for them to play in and hammocks to sack out in. Sadly, the matriarch, Shäst, has really slowed down. I'm hesitent to move her though. I put everthing she needs on the level she stays on. Although water is available on all levels. She spends most of the time in the hammock. I don't want to move her out because her friends Lucy and Nona are good company for her and take care of their old friend.


I did purchase a used Quality Cage, BC-11 1/2 cage from a private party. I went to Quality Cages and purchased a stand, as shown in the picture. I also had extra doors made for easier cleaning. I also need to purchase 2 more doors to cover the nest box holes, but that is not a problem! Turns out they made a new product for the chinchilla cages. It is a powder coated metal shelf. So I got 3 of those to try out in this cage. I'll see how they work and might order more, maybe even wider shelves. It's so exciting. The cage is very big, but if I keep it downstairs, which is where it will eventually end up, I can just roll it out the front door to clean. Currently, this cage is in storage.

Anyway, it has been very busy at the village.

Precious Passes

My only little lovey hairless girl, Precious, passed sometime today. The girls in Tickle Tower covered her with all of the blankets in the cage except the one she was laying on. I'm glad she got to spend the last couple of days of her life in the brand new cage surrounded by her friends. I was thinking of moving her, Shäst, and Starsky into a single level cage as they have all slowed down a bit. But now I don't think that is a good idea because one would be alone. Their lives are just too short. I have to say I'm glad she lived as long as she did, she was one of the ratties affected by whatever had swept through Vermin Village in the spring of 2008. I am guessing she was around 22 months, but she could be a bit older. She was adopted from Craigslist from a little girl that bred her to sell the babies back to the pet store. Of course that never pans out well so she rehomed her. Precious was a great girl and she and Shäst hit it off really well. They were soon joined by many other girls in Tickle Tower. It was for Precious and Shäst that I got the idea for the original design of my Quality Cage cages. So while Tickle and Mr. Chuckles get credit for founding Vermin Village, the girls get credit for my quest for the best cage.

Rest in peace little one.

Trixie Joins Us

A co-worker had adopted 2 little girls. 1 of the girls was cage aggressive and with children, she could not keep Trixie. So Trixie has come home with me. Right now her carrier is next to Pixie's carrier (their cage is drying). Pixie and Trixie will be joined by a neutered boy Boo in a PC-1822. This cage is a little smaller than I like to keep 3 rats in but they are smallish rats and it is temporary while I can monitor them downstairs. When the 3 cages are done at Quality Cages, they'll move upstairs in the rat room and live in a BC-6 or BC-7, depends on which is available.

Multi-Level Cage Status

Well, the cage pans on the multi-level cages have been fixed and they will be on their way to powder coating when they have enough to send an order of white cages. So hopefully soon the girls will be moved to the new cages and the rest of my "older" cages will then be fully retired. Yeah!

We can't wait!

Cages and Vet Care News

Ok. I couldn't wait to post, but I am charging the camera. The new cages are UP and they are freaking awesome! I'm still missing 3 cages so I have 3 old ones still in use but the rest are up and OMG. Pull out trays, lots of space, removable ramps, full floors on each level, ability to separate levels, each level pulls apart with a spring clip for easy cleaning. There are no balconies with wire to worry about. It is just so awesome.

As for vet care, a well qualified rat vet will be coming to my home to provide general health care from now on. I'm so excited. For advanced care, they'll continue to go to the vet's office (surgeries, et cetera). This is such an awesome option. I'm so glad! Less stressful for the little guys for the general health checks.

So all in all, it has been a fruitful week.

Cage Update

Well, went to pick up my new cages yesterday. Turns out that my stackables have a snafu so those will be a bit more. It is a relatively small issue so it will be fixed shortly. BUT BOY ARE THEY AWESOME! I know I will be more than pleased when I do get them.

I haven't paid for the full order yet so I am picking up the other cages that are ready. I have two here now. These are BC-6 with large doors. I ordered 3 of these cages to use and when I start taking in more, these will be the quarantine cages used as they are super easy to clean and they fit in my car easily. Right now I'm using them as hospital cages so they are downstairs.

Sprite, my 190 gram girl, is on medication and I'm still trying to pull her out of her respiratory slump. Pixie, she is separated from Sprite (the cage has both a solid or wire removable dividers). If I get Sprite well enough, I was going to try to introduce these two girls. Pixie is the late Pinkie's sister. So right now I'm giving Sprite medication. She'll have to be on it the rest of her life, but I want her to also put on some weight.

Now Joey - - he was neutered the Friday before Thanksgiving. They also found an abscess on him after they shaved him. He went in to have that removed today. But I noticed that the incision site had an issue. They aspirated it and it was infection. So he is now on two antibiotics and will be going in Monday for a surgery when both Dr. B and Dr. S can work on him together. Poor little guy. But he is a trooper and hopefully this will clear up his little problem. I'm keeping Potter, his cage mate, separate from him so that he leaves his wound alone. They are in one of the new divided cages.

Pinkie's Trial and Peace

Pinkie was put to sleep today. I had intended to bring her in last night but they refused to follow the procedures I set out. As long as the rats in my care meet the criteria, which Pixie did, I want them in my arms when they pass. Most of the rats in my care were "throw away" pets, some don't even like to be held. They deserve to be loved, even if they are cranky. Pinkie was such a girl. She loved her sister Pixie, but not much else.

When they first to came to Vermin Village, they were frightened little girls. They were both adopted from the Oregon Humane Society. They were 1 years old at the time. Thankfully, they had taken them in. They originally had a huge cage to start with, but Pinkie bit me and Pixie was terrified. So I got them an aquarium and they felt safer. Eventually I went to Quality Cages and got a topper for the aquarium and eventually they graduated to the cages. Both were avid wheel runners.

As time passed, they took food from my hands and didn't run in terror when I opened the cages but they still needed a blanket to pick them up because they did NOT like being held. They also were terrified during free range attempts so I always made sure their cages were BIG and full of stuff for them to mess around with. It must have been good because as of this month they turned 26 months old.

Pinkie is survived by her sister Pixie. I held Pinkie while they administered the sedative and after she was completely relaxed, they injected the medication into her abdomen, and I held her then too. She peacefully went to sleep. She is awaiting transport to OHS tomorrow for private cremation.

The whole trial of the situation was I had arranged an appointment last night with Rock Creek Veterinary Hospital. Every time I have been in previously they performed the procedure exactly as I wanted. This time, they refused. (Different doctor.) I left. They said it was too traumatic to watch. Um, if you don't know what you're doing, just say so. What really irritated me was that I specifically asked for the procedure to be performed in the specific manner when I made the appointment. To add insult to injury, when I called Dove Lewis, the attitude was, we don't give sedatives to rats. Well, we won't be going there either. It is all very disappointing. I wish there was a way to get the communities that should respect all animals to read up on taking care of animals that are pets. Rats do deserve respect, even if you don't like them. In Columbia, the same species of rats we have as pets, they use for clearing land mine fields. (The ones in Africa are a different animal, but they do the same.) And for the sacrifice of their lives for humans for research, they damn well deserve to be treated humanely.

Rest in peace little one. Now you don't have to put up with crappy people any more. I'll look after your sister for you, and when it is time for her, you will be reunited again with your playmate.

Cage Condensing

Well, I'm going to be condensing cages today. They won't have the extreme spaciousness they have now as all of the 3 level cages will become 2 level and all of the 2 levels will become one level and the 4 level will become a 3 level. This is in preparation for the new cages to arrive. I need to sell some of the current cages off to make room otherwise the new cages will have nowhere to go. 5 extensions and up to 2 top portions are being donated to Little Mischief Rescue. These will allow them a 3 level, and 2 2 levels (expanding a Large Deluxe Rat cage already sent up). The new cages should arrive at QC this or next week so the next cleaning I do of my current cages will be to retire them.

These are wonderful cages that I have now, but due to the shear number of ratties I have, while they cut down cage cleaning time HUGELY, the newer ones will cut down even more. They should, they were quite a bit more...and will be worth EVERY penny.

Peace!

Cages

Well, I ordered my new cages a few weeks ago. I'll be selling all of my current cages. I'm so excited because the new room design will give me more room and make in-between cage cleaning a lot easier. I'll be posting pics as soon as the room is done. Finally. Right now I've really thinned out the room and will be sorting through stuff later tonight. I have a bit more cage cleaning to do now as I will be in Canada next week at Madonna's concert. I'll also, hopefully, get to meet the folks at LMR. Yeah!

Transport, Cages and Ratties Oh My!

Today was a rat filled day. I had to drop one of my boys, Mando with his brother Alex at the vet today. (Alex went for moral support.) And who should I see? Debbie! :-) She was so nice and was going to give up some of her appointment time since my appointment was not on the schedule but it all worked out with the "drop off" as my boy got seen and that was what was important. Turns out he has two heart problems and I brought him in for his EYE. So he has to take eye drops and medicine and get rechecked in another week or so for his eye. And I got to meet two of Debbie's lovely ratties.

I had to meet someone else in a few hours and needed to be rat free....so I could transport a little rattie boy from Woodburn to Portland where I was met by a friend that was adopting him but could not get to Woodburn. So off I went. Don't you all kind of feel like the people running organs to get to the patient on time or if it is dark and stormy...a drug runner? lol Shhhh! The rat is in the cage. Here's his stuff. Ugh. The young man that had Popcorn was very nice and he himself had rescued Popcorn.

Popcorn. I have to say, Popcorn is an absolutely amazing rat. He was the one I was transporting. He is going to a great home too! 4 mamas (mother and 3 daughters) and a very understanding dad, that love ratties and have 2 boys. They bought my 3-level cage too. So 3 rats have a HUGE cage to run around in.

I got to Quality Cages and their showroom was empty. I about had a heart attack! Then they told me that they were shampooing the carpet because of the bird festival. Phew. A lady came in and turns out she has rattie kids that are grandkids of ratties from 13 Moons Rattery. :-)

Well, the family got there and Popcorn took to them immediately. I'm sure it is a perfect match and I was happy to help Popcorn find a new, loving home. Good luck to the person that originally rescued Popcorn.

After running all over looking at the cages, Mr Cage Designer extraordinaire, Guy, patiently listened to me describe my new design. God Bless him, he is so patient. People, I'm telling you, support our local manufacturers! There is nothing quite like going in and seeing the process. Besides, it supports our LOCAL economy.

Vermin Village Update

Well, the room is FINALLY coming together. I have to clean some more cages and do some more shifting and it will be DONE. I will be so happy when I can say it is DONE. But it won't really be done.

The set up will be done, but then I want to add some plastic coverings to the walls because the cages rest up the walls and well, the little guys pee. I know some ratteries use shower curtains. I am going to see if something at JoAnn fabrics has something I might like.

Water bottles. Well, I ordered 2 cases of the water bottle kits to use with Snapple glass bottles. They were $8 per kit. I could have gotten a glass water bottle set for $2 less, but to order replacement bottles, it would have been too much to get the bottles so I'd end up buying a whole new set up. This way if I break the bottle, I go to the store (or the recycle bin at work in our lunchroom) and grab a new Snapple bottle. Today I hit pay dirt at work and got 26 bottles. So I will sterilize them and they will be ready to go.

Cages...I ordered 6 more custom parts and 3 modified Large Deluxe Rat cages. The modification for the Large Deluxe Rat cages will have no balcony and no ramp. This is for my senior ratties that can't have multiple stories. BUT it will still mesh with the rest of the cages when I don't have senior ratties. It will probably be ready sometime in May. (Great timing since our tax refund should be back by then.)

I'm looking to sell 3 of my custom cages of a different style, all of my Critter Trail stuff, a long 20 gallon aquarium (not manufactured for water worthiness), and a 10 gallon cage with topper, and a small cage that works as a carrier ( I would never house any animal in it for long term). I hope to put this towards my new purchases.

The 2 boys that live downstairs will be placed in the "senior" cages. Sherman will also move to a senior cage.

Temporarily, I will connect two of the large carriers together, one set for Popeetka and one set for Mr. Snuggles. They will move to the senior deluxe cages when they get here. Popeetka's current cage will go to Sherman to use.

The 6 custom extensions will be divided. The Rico Act will get an extension, Dumbo and Eddie will get an extension, Diego and Hades will get a section, Pip, Patches and Spot will also get an extension, as will Ruthie, Tweek, Zelda and Sprite. The last section will probably go for the girls Shäst, Precious, Lucy, Nona and the three new girls Isabella, Starlight, and Mocha. Eventually, they will be joined by Smudge. But as Smudge needs more socialization, she will remain in the bathroom cage until she is very socialized.

That is all the news for now. :-)