DEAR SUN SPOTS: A young family member of mine is getting a pet rat as a support animal so I am helping her by searching for a cage. I’m hoping someone has one they are not using and are willing to part with for a reasonable price.

We’ve looked at local big-box pet stores and they are very expensive. Are there other places where they can be purchased?

If you have a cage you are no longer using, please call me at 784-4214 and be sure to leave a message if I don’t pick up.

Sun Spots, thank you for your help and for all the great work you do. I also appreciate all the readers who reply to the column with their recommendations, tips, and offers to help. — No name, Lewiston

ANSWER: I have heard that rats make excellent support animals and are very social, so I hope all goes well with the new pet and that you find just the right accommodation for it.

Rats need a large cage, ideally with measurements of 20 inches long by 14 inches wide by 24 inches high. The bar spacing should be no more than one inch apart and if your rats are very young, select a cage with narrower spacing. It’s best for them to have multiple levels with ramps and tunnels so they have ways to keep occupied when you can’t be right there to play with them.

I looked up rat cages online and they are priced between $50 and $150. I found some of the less expensive models on Walmart.com, amazon.com, chewy.com, and wayfair.com. Rats don’t do well in aquariums or DIY housing made of plastic or cardboard.

It would be fantastic though if a fellow Sun Spotter has a cage for you or if readers are on the lookout at yard sales and would let you know if they see one! Keep us informed as you know how I like to hear the end of the story.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I read recently in one of those women’s magazines that can be found at the checkout counter that freezing bread lowers its glycemic index. Is that true, and if so, why aren’t physicians, etc. sharing that information? — Lou, Lewiston

ANSWER: I’m not sure why your health care provider isn’t letting you know this — maybe because you haven’t asked? It’s true though. Freezing the bread turns the starch into resistant starch. This means the once-frozen bread is digested more slowly by the body, causing a gentler blood sugar spike than fresh bread.

I freeze bread all the time since I don’t eat a lot of it at once and keeping it in the freezer is better than storing it in the refrigerator where it dehydrates and gets moldy faster.

To use bread from the freezer easily, take it out of its original wrapper and fan it out (like dominoes). Wrap in plastic wrap then in foil. No prying it apart with a knife necessary!

A loaf of sliced bread will keep in the freezer for four to six months. With the cost of all groceries these days, it’s worth the time and effort.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name. We won’t use it if you ask us not to. Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.