DIY Rat / mice caging.

Hey guys and gals! I figured I would post the most amazing rat/ mouse cage. This cage is for people who don't want the big wood rack but still want the amazingness of a rack.

Here it is.
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/89bf8257.jpg
First I cut two holes up near the front using my router.
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/62ab417e.jpg
Then using a drill I drilled some holes around the outside of the hole about 2 inches apart and atached 1/4 inch hardware cloth on the inside with 16 gauge wire. And burned a hole in the side with my soldering iron for the water bottle.
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/66e628da.jpg
then I drilled some holes around one end for the feed hopper. This style of bin can make two hoppers. So I put dog food and mazuri on each side with some millet for a little snack.
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/1efd33b2.jpg
this bins for my asfs and I have another for my mice. I like this setup because it's small and stackable.
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/e1aa2e84.jpg
I'll post more pics if anyone has any questions :).
Thanks for looking!

Hi,

Couple of Q's / suggestions from an uninformed person. :oops:

Can they eat through that small a mesh ok?

Wouldn't they be able to get a tooth hold on the handle indentations at the other then from the food? I would have been tempted to mesh that off as well and use metal washers around the spout of the water bottle.

Did you put mesh panels in the lid as well?


dr del

I haven't had a problem with chew outs on these bins. I usually toss a scrap piece of wood in there and don't have a problem with chewing. The water bottle is usally pretty good because the hole is burnt to within like .001.
The 1/4 is fine for them. I've been using 1/4 for my past two racks and it's not a problem.

Sorry there is no ventilation in the lid.

You should replace that mesh holding the food with some mesh that has wider openings. It will probably be really hard for the rat/mouse to get a good bite of the food through those small openings.

Everything else looks good though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

You should replace that mesh holding the food with some mesh that has wider openings. It will probably be really hard for the rat/mouse to get a good bite of the food through those small openings.

Everything else looks good though.

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Thanks! Yeah I haven't really had a problem with the 1/4. All my mice and rats are super fat. I barely ever see them chillin at the food for long amounts of time. I think if they were starving they would constantly be at the food chewing right?
Yeah I really like these. I've made three of em so far. Also the plastic on these bins is very thick and hard. I would imagine the mice and rats would have a lotta trouble chewing out.

Looks very well! I'll tray it out!
And I think that the 1/4 mash is better, specially for dog food, with the 1/2 there's a lot of wast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

T Also the plastic on these bins is very thick and hard. I would imagine the mice and rats would have a lotta trouble chewing out.

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Famous last words. :D We've only had it happen once in the past few years, and none of the asf's in that particular tub were brave enough to jump so no one got out, but it DID happen.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

Thanks! Yeah I haven't really had a problem with the 1/4. All my mice and rats are super fat. I barely ever see them chillin at the food for long amounts of time. I think if they were starving they would constantly be at the food chewing right?
Yeah I really like these. I've made three of em so far. Also the plastic on these bins is very thick and hard. I would imagine the mice and rats would have a lotta trouble chewing out.

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Yeah, I wish I would have went with tubs like yours from the start. I am using like big sterrilite storage bins. I wish I would have got tubs like yours so I could easily stack mine. I will probably switch to something like what your doing in the neer future.

Have you had any troubles with spacing at all? As far as the mice feeling crammed or anything?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Wouldn't they be able to get a tooth hold on the handle indentations at the other then from the food? I would have been tempted to mesh that off as well and use metal washers around the spout of the water bottle.
dr del

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Notice the second picture from the top. It already shows signs of chew out at the handle. So, yeah the design looks good and gives me some ideas for the future but I would definitely wire the other end.

good idea, but with some flaws.....

that hole on the other end is from what i would assume where the locking handle attaches to the tub......any holes is a no go in a tub. once the rodent finds a hole, they will gnaw at it....it's in their DNA to chew. and once one learns how to chew through tubs, the others quickly follow and then you will be forced to either dump the colony or continue buying tubs to replace the chewed up ones.

that mesh is to small, i would say 1/8th inch? it would be better to change it to 1/4inch. they can probably still eat it fine, but why would you want to make it hard for them to eat?

the hole where the water tube is at needs to be fortified minimum with at least some wire mesh.

those recessed areas where the handle portion of the tub comes into the tub is also a no go, those areas make it easier for them to chew.

just speaking from my knowledge of breeding feeders....

Pitoon