Rat cage

[Nikki]

I can't seem to find a critter cage to put the rats in!! I am building the quarry next weekend and I am having trouble find the wire cage to put the rats in? any one know where I can get one?

[bradl]

I assume you mean for temporary use in a den quarry end. I've typically fabricated them as needed, out of hardware cloth (a wire mesh) and zip ties. A club member once made a couple out of stainless steel hardware cloth; very nice. Probably expensive and hard to work with, though.

I don't have any plans for them -- I usually just wing it. You can disassemble a cardboard box of approximately the correct dimensions to get a sense of what sort of pattern will fold into the right shape.

[kintra]

I believe a Bedlington friend of mine said she had found one on Ebay at some point.

[Nikki]

yes that's what I meant! I looked at several stores yesterday to see if they had any wire cages. but the closest I found had a plastic bottom and I really don't want it to break. That could be a recipe for disaster!!! I went and looked at terrierman's website to see if had anything about the cage and he did. (this guy thinks of everything) So I think I am going to build it they way he built his except I am not going to catch any squirrels!!! probably just buy a few rats (though not the white ones with the red eyes they creep me out) from the pet store.

[Autumn & Lola]

I know nothing about rats and not sure why you are trying to catch them (since this is under "Sporting Cairn", are they used in some sort of competition? Please forgive my ignorance!)

Anyway, I don't know if a cage trap is the same as a regular cage, but I've seen them at seed supply or farmer supply stores.

[josie&holly]

I am wondering too why or what you use rats that are alive for! I just could not handle those at all! A friend's son used to keep rats and would me shiver when I went round there and he had them in the living room................ ugh

On thinking about it I suppose it is for earthdog competition but it had not struck me that meant the rats were alive! and that you had to have them for training too......................

Here in England as I said, rats are kept as pets so my local pet shop has small special strong cages for them!

[bradl]

Rats are used as "substitute quarry" in an AKC stylized simulation of a hunting environment. Two rats are placed in a sturdy cage, with the cage itself behind very thick wooden bars, all within a 9x9 inch tunnel end. The cage is a temporary, specialized one as it must fit within the quarry den.

For anyone concerned, AKC rules require the judge to look after the safety of the rats. Most quarry rats die of old age. They are frequently observed sleeping, eating, and occasionally "getting lucky" while at their duty post.

[Autumn & Lola]

Ah! Thanks for the info. I was wondering what the rats were for.

[josie&holly]

Thanks Bradl for explaining that.

Don't think we have earthdog over here.

[Sam I Am]

lmaomao, why are you posting this on a Cairn site????? :

[Greg P]

lmaomao, why are you posting this on a Cairn site????? :

It's what terriers do! We simulate natural underground hunts for prey, keeping the rats safe. Every sporting activity that an owner does with a dog (cairn) is a good thing. That being said, true "sport" for a terrier is going after vermin of some kind. It's what they were bred to do.

Here is a link to get a sense of it: Cairn Terrier History

We love our cairns. So did the crofters who developed them. The crofters, however, made their cairns earn their keep, keeping their crofts free of livestock killing vermin.

Earthdog is all about allowing the terrier to exercise their heritage.

[Murphy's Mom]

I used to have a flying squirrel. He was a wonderful pet for 6 1/2 yrs and a fascinating creature.

Anyway, his cage came from www.martinscages.com. You will need a galvanized cage, no coating since rats chew and the coating wouldn't be good for them. For my flyer, which was the size of a chipmunk, a cage with galvanized 1/2" X 1" wire opening was optimal. It's probably the same for rats unless they are very large.

[Sam I Am]

Was I hallucinating .... wasnt there about 5 postings from lmaomao rambling on about political state of the union, gay rights etc???

Greg P my questions was not directed at the rat cage thing as I know all about that, but it was Imaomao postings (which must have been removed) which were totally inappropriate on this forum.

Jock would be fabulous at going after vermin.. heck he does his best to keep anything that moves out of our yard

[bradl]

Sorry Terrier Lover - you weren't hallucinating. I was tired after getting home from our Specialty yesterday and just checked in to see if there had been any mischief while I was away. I saw one spam in another subforum, banned the user and used the admin panel to seek-and-destroy anything else he/she/it had posted. I didn't even look to see if any had been responded to.

[Sam I Am]

Thank goodness bradl! Thought I was seeing things!