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Jackie - 20 Oct 2006 20:16 GMT

Hi Ya,
How do you get on with your Ferplast Aviary? I have one just the same but in
blue and red.
They are lovely and big, and crickey you have a lot of stuff in yours.

How do you get on with cleaning it? Do your boys piddle on everything
including the bedding and hammocks? My piddle everywhere and it makes
everything rusty under the tray, all the side cage bars are sticky with wee
which then in turn dribbles down the legs and onto the floor. Oh God I could
go on for ever.
Sorry! so many questions.

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Jackie - <:_)~ and the Boys, Ronald, Scratch, Rupert and Wilbur, Toffee,
Bonker and Chewy.

http://community.webshots.com/user/mullins9

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Tale - 21 Oct 2006 00:03 GMT

> How do you get on with your Ferplast Aviary? I have one just the same but
> in blue and red.

I love it, mainly because the rats love it.

> They are lovely and big, and crickey you have a lot of stuff in yours.

Yeah, I always try to put all sorts of different stuff in it, so the rats
won't get bored. It has happened more than once that, while redecorating the
cage, I want to add an extra tube or hammock or whatever, and there simply
isn't any room available in the cage anymore. :-p

> How do you get on with cleaning it?

I had a Ferplast Jenny wirecage before I got the Ferplast Mito aviary, and I
had to take it apart to clean it, carry the wiring upstairs to the shower
etc. Also, the wiring of that cage was very hard to clean and even corroded
in a few spots. Now, the aviary has wheels under it, which is soooo much
easier than carrying or pushing it around. The doors are so big that it
doesn't need to be disassembled to clean it. The wiring is coated, which
makes it easy to clean and it doesn't corrode.

In spite of all these pros, cleaning the aviary is hard work. Taking out
everything except the platforms, throroughly cleaning all sides inside and
outside, and then redecorating etc. can take me up to 5 hours. I can also
clean it in 2 hours by leaving the tubes in place and only cleaning the
outside, but I've only done it this way a couple of times. I clean the
aviary once a week, so most Saturdays I spent my afternoon cleaning. And
twice every day I clean the platforms using a wet cloth.

> Do your boys piddle on everything including the bedding and hammocks? My
> piddle everywhere and it makes everything rusty under the tray, all the
> side cage bars are sticky with wee which then in turn dribbles down the
> legs and onto the floor

Well, my boys are a bit lazy. Only two of them climb the wiring now and
then, but most of the time they use the tubes and ladders to get aroud.
Also, they are about 50% toilet trained. So the bars hardly ever get sticky,
and I certainly don't have wee dribbling down the legs of the cage.
(Although I do have to clean the carpet around the cage about every 3
months, because by then it does get just a tiny little greasy.) I guess it
all depends on the habits of your rats, and of course on how many rats you
have; I have only four.

> Oh God I could go on for ever.
> Sorry! so many questions.

Oh well, that's what communities like this one are for, right? :-)

So... *grin* How many rats are living in your avriary, 7 or... ? What are
your cleaning habits? Do you have a favourite attribute in your cage? (The
favourite attribute of my boys is the hammock high up in the cage; my
personal
favourite attribute is my hanging log bridge.) Any pictures of your cage?

- Tale

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"Oh, Rats!"
http://www.taletn.com/rats/

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Jackie - 23 Oct 2006 18:57 GMT

I love the size, it is an easy cage for them as there are only my four big
boys in the cage.
Mine have a ferret pooh tray in the corner which they use for poohs but not
much in the way of wees. I must admit though I have only had this cage for
about 2 months and it is starting to rust in the far corners, this seems to
be a trait with them as they are made of the same material as my Speedy
Chinchilla cage that I have my other three boys in. I did notice in yours
that you have the corner shelves with lips on maybe that is where I am going
wrong because if they are lazy little buggers and just pee anywhere at least
the lips keep the wee in the shelf and it doesn't dribble down the sides of
the cage.
I haven't done much photography lately but I will so you can see how I am
getting on filling the cage.
I do have a lot of other critters to clean as well so it is difficult to
spend a vast amount of time on full taking apart cleaning so I do mine in
situe and clean it with a soft brush a diluted bleach and then push it
outside in the yard to rinse it all, but it still seems to smell of boys. Oh
well I love them whether they stink or not.
My Chipmunks are as stinky they are in a smaller aviary. Then I have Molly
the blood thirsty Cockatiel and then 2 kids 6 years old and 12. And a very
senile 12 year old Retriever.

Signature

Jackie - <:_)~ and the Boys, Ronald, Scratch, Rupert and Wilbur, Toffee,
Bonker and Chewy.

http://community.webshots.com/user/mullins9

>> How do you get on with your Ferplast Aviary? I have one just the same but
>> in blue and red.
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
>
> - Tale

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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / October 2006

Question for Tale!!