[nanette37]

or "RUB" as you crazy people call them ( jk of course!). a few weeks ago i was lookinf for the perfect storage bin to make into cages. and i found a great one at walmart! here is a link so you may look:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-12. ... 6/11014790

ignore the price on there. its $4 for one (no sets). so i got 2 (ive only made one a cage for now). they also had 8 oz water bottles there for around $2 which was great! i just thought i'd post this for anyone who is by a walmart and looking for something like this . here are pictures of mine (and yes i know the wheel is dangerous. its all i have at the moment). i used very small mesh so it was easy to attach with hot glue. the whole thing was very easy to make! (and i love how the handles snap the lid on)

 

[Matt Haslam]

looks good

 

[nanette37]

thanks

 

[Autumn2005]

How is the mesh attached to the plastic? Is it hot glue? Is it on the inside or the outside? Won't the mice chew through the hot glue and escape?

 

[nanette37]

its hot glued on the outside. they have been in it for almost 2 months and havent even really chewed on it. so it hasnt been a problem. i dont think they could chew their way out anyway

 

[Autumn2005]

Thanks! You've given me some ideas about what to do. How do you know if there's adequate ventilation in your cages?

 

[nanette37]

well i have mesh on both sides so that allows airflow. for maximum airflow in a cage you should have more than one area cut out for mesh

 

[Erica]

Same thing i did for all my mice, minus the mesh! and for right now, I bought 2 big (about 3 feet long, by 2 feet wide, by 1 foot deep) totes like that for around $9.00 each (also from walmart) to put my weaners in. I pulled 9 from their mommy last night, next week will be 9 more, 2 weeks later will be 10 more, and a week after that will be 10 more. And within the next week or 2, I will have another litter of pinks.

How long is a good amount of time to wait before females are rebred? I bought one female from a pet store, and I don't know how old she is, but I was hoping to get at least one more litter from her, as she makes BEAUTIFUL babies.... but I also want to make sure she gets a break, and doesn't have too much stress on her body.

 

[Lizzle]

I have bin-style cages too. Mine are also from Walmart - cheap, clear, and they even come in very large sizes (which are the ones I bought!). Your meeses are adorable.

Do you keep them on the floor, though? It might be better if they were kept on a table for better airflow.

 

[nanette37]

i keep them on the floor. i dont see how it makes a difference if they were on a table. the cool air flows on the floor anyway

 

[Lizzle]

True, but I might be a little worried about the dust in the air (which tends to sink down towards the floor, and mice have tiny respiratory systems that are prone to illness). Then again, most bedding has at least some amount of dust in it, so I might just be paranoid.

 

[Autumn2005]

I keep my mice in an old china hutch. They have their cages, and then all the cages are in the china hutch, and I close the doors. They're not air tight, but could there be a ventilation problem with that?

 

[windyhill]

Looks good!
What do you use to cut the holes out?

 

[nanette37]

Looks good!
What do you use to cut the holes out?

i use a soldering iron . its very tedious! i need to get a new one that can get hotter. also the smell is terrible

 

[Autumn2005]

I used a drill when I made mine, didn't smell, but still tedious.

 

[windyhill]

I use a drill for small air holes and an ultilty knife for the big area(where I put the wire at) but was trying to see if there was a better way.

 

[Autumn2005]

For the big area, I heated up a knife heated up on the stove. Actually worked well, but I got plastic everywhere, and accidently burnt myself on the heated plastic.