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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 1/19/2009 7:30:24 PM
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I live in a house with 4 cats, and though I'd like to get another pet, I worry about the cats reaching through the bars and injuring the animals inside. I'd like to get an aquarium, if I can find one big enough, but I cant find any accessories that would make a tank an interesting place to be. Most pet accessories come with hooks to hang on cage walls or ceilings, but they can't attach to the glass or mesh of aquariums.
Does anyone know of typical enrichment items that can be placed without wire walls, like a water bottle with a suction cup, or a shelf that could be set-up inside the aquarium to provide another level?
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Community Moderator
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Last Login: Today @ 9:03:24 AM
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/22/2009 7:47:08 PM
Posts: 35,
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Aquariums, unfortunately, are not adequate housing for rats. The lack of good ventilation in aquariums, and because of the poor ventilation the ammonia from an aquarium can irritate a rats sensitive respiratory track and cause illness. Such illnesses are an upper respiratory infection and pneumonia. Aquariums are also a pain to clean (personal experience). Rats poo can be smeared along the glass and is a huge pain to clean. This happens all the time at the pet store I work for, along with countless respiratory problems because they are kept in aquariums.
You really shouldn't have a problem with the cats bothering the rats (they will learn soon enough to sit about a foot away from the cage as rats had teeth  ) My cats learned this quick and the three (out of 5) that liked to watch the rats, did so from about a foot away. One cat can care less about the rats, and the other is terrified of them (caught him being chased a couple times )
Wire provide the proper amount of space for rats, climbing opportunities, and you do not have to worry about ammonia being trapped in your rats breathing/ living area.
Remember, rats ned 2 cubic square feet per rat, and should be kept in pairs, because they are extremely social animals. Lone rats will get bored and depressed.
If you insist on a critter in a a tank, then maybe a hamster is a better choice, because they do not have as sensitive respiratory tracks, and the ammonia in their urine is not as strong as rats.
A dwarf hamster can live happily in a 10 gall, and a syrian OR pair of dwarfs can live happily in a 15 or 20 gall LONG. 
For more info on Rats and Hamsters you can look at the link below
http://freewebs.com/dreamchaser023/
Good luck
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