Builders and Handypeople!!! Please help!!! What type of building material would you suggest?

Question

I want to build a play pen for my 4 pet rats that I can set up in my living room easily and take down easily to store. Here are the problems/requirements:

-The rats can climb, so wire or sturdy mesh won't work

-They can jump surprisingly high, so I think it will need to be at least 30-36" tall. I suppose it could be 20" or something but I would need to make some sort of lid (ideas?)

-They chew, so cardboard has been my temporary solution but they have made little holes. They can also chew through thin plastic so I am looking for something pretty strong.

-I would like it to be at at least 10 square feet, doesn't matter what shape. It can be round, square, rectangle, triangle!

-It can fold or roll up to store, I don't mind some drilling, nailing, or s******g, attaching hinges etc, just nothing too complicated please. I just don't know what to buy or how to design it.

Thank you so much for you thoughts, time, and help! I appreciate it!

Answer 1

I think that the answer to your problem would be a nice sized fish tank. The glass will prevent them from chewing and resist any climbing attempts.

The clear glass will provide you with a nice view of your pets from any angle without obstruction and you can even put some bedding at the bottom for them to rest on. You would have to rig a water supply via bowl or likewise.

Anything else and they will chomp their way thru, good luck!

Answer 2

You could try a roll of aluminum  flashing. Then buy a door cut the corners off to round them. Wrap the flashing around the door and over lap the ends. Then use bungee cords to hold the flashing in place. Or in place of bungee cords ratchet tie downs.

Also a small swimming pool could be modified, they are usually made of aluminum with a liner, just don’t use the liner.

Answer 3

Get 50 feet of 4 foot wide by 1/2 hardware cloth. It is a metal mesh that is too small for them to go through, but you will need to build a top and a bottom for it.

Answer 4

You're very limited with your building materials because rats can chew through every material on the planet except for 2 that I know of: glass and steel wool.  They can chew through metal, plastic (by the way I think that thing on ebay is plastic), concrete, wood, etc.  The glass shavings cuts them up and the steel wool apparently just rips up their mouths.  So basically it looks like something out of glass is your best bet.  Rats also can climb straight up walls and if needed their claws actually allow them latch on and climb upside down (on the underside of ceiling joists).

Answer 5

Go to a pet store or Wal~Mart and but a medium size all wire cage. Make sure it has a tray in the bottom.

Answer 6

Go to a farm supply store, Agway etc. They sell large galvonized  tubs in varying sizes for watering livestock. These tubs usually measure aprox. 20" to 24" deep,  30" to 36" wide and lengths 4' to 9'.  The best part is it's water proof so is easy to keep clean. Use a 1/2" square wire for the top with a wooden frame for stability. The rats will have ball hanging on it.