Things to Consider When Choosing Veterinary Animal Flooring

Things to Consider When Choosing Veterinary Animal Flooring 

In a veterinary clinic, the type of cage flooring you use can have an impact on animals’ wellbeing. As you consider what type of flooring to invest in for your building, various factors may cross your mind that can influence your decision.

When choosing veterinary animal flooring, Ridglan Animal Care Systems (RACS) offers numerous options that are durable and meet hygienic standards for the care of numerous types of animals. When choosing a cage flooring type, do some careful measurements of your space and think through your clinic’s flooring needs.

Choosing raised animal flooring may seem like a challenging task, but it doesn’t have to be. RACS’ quality styles will allow you to find a fit for your veterinary cages. Keep reading to learn more about the different flooring options, as well as the benefits that high-quality flooring can have.

What Types of Cage Flooring Should a Veterinary Clinic Have? 

Veterinary clinics see various species of animals pass through in a typical day and need cage flooring that meets the following standards:

• Hygiene: Veterinary cage flooring must be easy to clean, allowing you to quickly and sanitarily get rid of waste, animal hair, and other debris.

• Durability: RACS cage floors are made of strong materials that allow them to be used for animals of varying sizes and species.

• Comfort: The polyvinyl surface on RACS cage flooring provides animals with a warm and comfortable surface as they recover from procedures.

• Slip-resistance: High-quality veterinary cage flooring, such as the options offered by RACS, should be made from a slip-resistant material to not only allow liquid to go through to the cage below, but also provide traction for the patient.

In your veterinary clinic, the type of cage flooring you choose is essential to providing a good experience for your animal patients.

The Benefits of RACS Cage Flooring 

RACS cage flooring has many advantages that make it a strong choice for raised animal flooring. All Cage RACS are autoclave safe, and will not be damaged by the high temperatures and cleaning procedures needed to keep your veterinary cage flooring sanitary.

Additionally, RACS cage floors’ high comfort features make them ideal for recovering animals and allow additional bedding to be an option, not a necessity.

There are three popular styles of RACS cage floors to suit a wide variety of needs, but no matter which style you choose, you can rest assured knowing that you are investing in a strong and durable cage racks that is easy to clean and provides optimal comfort for all animals.

Different Styles of RACS Cage Flooring 

The three main styles of RACS cage floorings are as follows:

• Comfort RACS have a smooth, perforated steel surface and a hunter green mildew-resistant polyvinyl coating. The perforated steel makes this option very comfortable for animals of all sizes.

• Original Cage RACS have sled-runner legs and the surface features diamond-shaped openings made from expanded metal and coated with a brown mildew-resistant polyvinyl coating. This style is ideal for those looking for a lower-cost option that still is durable and can be used in both small and large cages.

• RACS-Lite cage floors are of aluminum construction with brown mildew-resistant polyvinyl coating. They weigh approximately 35% less than a coated steel cage floor of the same size, making them a great fit for those looking for a lighter-weight cage flooring.

Before choosing a RACS veterinary cage flooring option, consider your own needs within your clinic and then choose the style that works best for you.

Design Features 

Each style of RACS veterinary cage flooring has specific design features; however, all styles also have some universal aspects that make them a great fit for any veterinary clinic.

• Weight capacity: All of the raised animal floors are designed to hold the weight of any animal that can fit on an appropriately sized cage floor. If you buy a cage floor with large animals in mind, you can rest assured knowing that the cage flooring will be able to handle the weight demands.

• Headroom: The raised animal floor feature is only about 2 inches from the surface of the cage. This allows for ample headroom within the cage while also still keeping the cleaning process easy and minimally disruptive to any animal patients you may have.

• Air circulation: If you are using a cage dryer for an animal after bathing, the cage floor design offers excellent air circulation to expedite the drying process.

• No exposed steel or sharp edges: Because the cage floors are completely coated with plastisol, there will be no sharp edges or exposed metal. Animals can be as comfortable as possible.

When looking at cage flooring for your veterinary clinic, you can rest assured that all RACS cage flooring styles will keep your animals comfortable and safe for the duration of their stay.

Preparing Your Veterinary Clinic for New Cage Flooring 

If you are hoping to add cage floors to your clinic or remodel what you currently have, you will need to take some steps to prepare your space for the flooring process.

Find the Correct Size 

RACS raised veterinary cage floors are widely used in veterinary hospitals and clinics.

Standard sizes are available to fit manufactured cages, such as:

• Shor-line

• Suburban Surgical

• VSSI

• Dirk

• Snyder

• … and more.

We can also make custom RACS cage floors for the fiberglass cages that have tapered sides. However, you must collect the right measurements to ensure that your custom cage floors fit properly.

Measure the Cages 

To find the size needed for your custom cage floors, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Measure side to side at the front, center, and right side of the cage

• Step 2: Measure from the back to the front of the cage from the left side, center, and right side

If you are worried that you will not be able to find cage flooring for your size requirements, rest assured that RACS has many standard sizes available and also the option for custom sizes if needed.

Determine Your Veterinary Clinic’s Additional Needs 

Beyond cages, think about other areas of your veterinary clinic, both indoors and outdoors. Do these need flooring as well? If so, there could be a RACS option that works for these needs, too.

Some other options that RACS has for your veterinary clinic besides cage flooring include:

• Tub Grates: The bottom floor tub grates and top tub grates allow for an easier time bathing animals. The open mesh allows the water, soap, and scum to flow through to the drain without touching the animal to keep them clean.

• Gutter Covers: Gutter covers reduce the probability of injury to animal patients. RACS has three different gutter covers to choose from; Type A, Type B, and Type C. This ensures that you have the best gutter solution possible for your run area.

• Run floors: Run covers eliminate the concern of animal patients walking or lying in their own waste or spilled food and water, creating a clean, warm, and dry environment for them to be in.

There are many health benefits of plastisol coated cage floors and other RACS flooring and cover options. They aid health and healing by keeping animals warm, dry, and comfortable. Another benefit is how easy they are to keep clean and sanitary, freeing up time for the care attendants to focus on their patients.

Conclusion 

In a veterinary clinic, the cage flooring that you use is essential to the comfort and well-being of your animals. With RACS veterinary cage flooring, your patients will always be on cage flooring that is easy to clean and comfortable for them at every stage of recovery.

Although finding the right raised animal flooring for your veterinary clinic may seem like a large task, RACS is determined to help you find what works best for you and support you at every stage of the cage flooring process. Each RACS style has distinctive features, but they all are the same in their reputation for quality and durability.

With some consideration of your needs and your clinic’s features, you will be able to choose a high-quality cage veterinary animal flooring option that keeps your clinic running smoothly and your patients happy.