Does anyone know of a good rubber or something with solid surface to use to cover wire shelves in a rat cage?

Question

I have a great rat cage, but the shelves are wire, and in order to prevent bumblefoot I would like to line them with something solid.

Answer 1

Use wood.  Yea, they'll chew on it, but they will chew on everything else too, at least wood won't hurt them.  Just cut it in the sizes you need.  I had four pet rats for about 4 years, and it seemed to work for them.  When they chew through, just cut a new piece.

Answer 2

newspaper! its cheap and easy!

Answer 3

There are a few options:

1) Plastic placemats: These work pretty well if you tie them down really well.

2) Fleece: Makes for harder clean-up if your ratties aren't litter trained.

Good luck!

P.S) Bumblefoot is only possible if the rats live in dirty bedding. Bumblefoot is a staph infection, so as long as you keep the cage clean then the chances of bumblefoot are very very slim. However, covering the wires is still a good idea to help keep the rats' feet comfortable =)

Answer 4

You could maybe pack each shelf into a contraceptive.  Depending on how wide the mesh is, it could have the effect of making your rat think he has been given a trampoline to play on.

Answer 5

garbage bag