RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:16 pm

hey post some pics of ur mouse palace. Im interested to see the different sorts of houses.

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i have a Jackrussel Dog, A white and black Budgerigar, A mean Catfish and 10 beautiful Tadpoles. I am hoping to add two rats to the family.

Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:33 pm

Actually, all of my mice live in tanks with mesh lids or Rubbermaid-type containers. Sizes range from 10gal to 20gal long (in the tanks).

I do have some new pics hiding out somewhere on this computer, but right now I can't find them! So, here are some old ones:

The 20gal long (Girls Tank):

A Rubbermaid-type mouse house:

Those two are the only ones I can find. Rolling Eyes

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Shanna
~ Serendipity Rodentry ~

Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:23 pm

I recently moved all of my mice into rubbermaid containers also. They're only about 7 inches tall, but they're long and wide and have plenty of floorspace. I prefer them to most other caging for mice...they're light, easy to clean, stackable, escape proof, etc, and I was able to buy enough to house up to 50 mice for about 35 bucks. hyper

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Thu Sep 29, 2005 3:32 am

Good to see we are not the only ones using converted containers! I have 6 boy mice living in an under bed type one, and my mouse litters are raised in small ones. They are great for breeding rats too- plenty of room for mum and dad, then mum and bubs til thye are weaned;-)

Most of my boys are housed seperately, due to fighting. They are in a big wooden box divided into 6 sections. The show girls live in a huge 4 foot tank- currently only 5 in there and they are having a ball. The pet and non show girls live in a smaller wooded cage. I will add pics as soon as we get a computer that will run both the internet and the camera.

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You gotta be good at something in life!

Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:43 am

The kind I use are a pretty good size for up to 5 females. I get the containers at Wal-Mart for $5 each. The hardware cloth is extra from the rat cages I build, so there is usually some laying around. The tops are really easy to cut - I just use a box cutter, and a hanging water bottle fits right under the lid.

The total cost to me per cage = about $8 (including the piece of hardware cloth).

Cost for a 10 gallon tank = $10
Cost for a lid = $6
So, $16 total for a 10 gallon tank....for that price, I can make 2 Rubbermaid container homes - not to mention house more mice!

Definitely the best choice.

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Shanna
~ Serendipity Rodentry ~

Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:49 am

So Rubbermaid containers are okay? They do not chew through them or anything?

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:24 pm

I have never had a problem with chewing - the containers are pretty thick, so it would take a lot of chewing to even make a dent in them.

They are also very lightweight, stackable if you have limited space (and as long as you drill lots of air holes in the sides!) and very easy to clean. I would keep all of my mice in them if I had the room.

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Shanna
~ Serendipity Rodentry ~

Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:09 pm

how did y'all secure the mesh to the lid? i'm actually thinking about doing something like that for travel cages when we move (and then they could be reused when we do get our meese!)

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i miss you dove, oz, briar and fern. liam, my love, i 'll never forget you.

Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:24 pm

I don't add mesh lids to mine. It would probably be much better for ventilation, but I just add TONS of airholes to the top and sides and clean them often so amonia doesn't build up, and I haven't had a problem. I'm not nearly handy enough to figure out lid making. Bashful

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:29 pm

	Ratsicles wrote:
	I'm not nearly handy enough to figure out lid making.

yea, me neither! that's why i need step by step directions, diagrams prefered! LOL

have you ever heard that old marine joke? when you need to explain something to a jarhead, you draw him a comic book! most of my family's airforce, but there is that one uncle in there..... guess i must take after him!!

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i miss you dove, oz, briar and fern. liam, my love, i 'll never forget you.

Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:14 pm

When I had a bin cage for my gerbils, all I did was cut out the middle of the top and rivet in the screen. I put it on the inside so they couldn't chew the plastic and folded the sharp ends down.

Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:52 am

Could you cut out the lid, exept for the sides (they clip onto the bin), and put wire mesh around that? You could also do that for some of the sides, for little windows and stuff.

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:29 am

	Ellie's_girl wrote:
	Could you cut out the lid, exept for the sides (they clip onto the bin), and put wire mesh around that? You could also do that for some of the sides, for little windows and stuff.

well that's pretty obvious..... what i was looking for was ways to secure the wire to the plastic and prevent little ratty teeth from gnawing at it! wink

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i miss you dove, oz, briar and fern. liam, my love, i 'll never forget you.

Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:36 am

Oh, I misunderstood you. Umm, maybe use cable ties to attach the wire. Would that work? I know that chewing is sometimes an issue, but most of the time it is okay.

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:40 am

I used rivets, but if you can't get thoseyou could try cable ties, wire, or zip ties.

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Rats:
The boys:
Chester (PEW hairless), Kye (Black mismarked hooded), Scout (agouti), Reminder (Beige)

Tapioca(Beige hooded) RIP my big squishy boy...Play hard at the Rainbow Bridge.

Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:32 pm

Yeah, rivets would work to, but cable ties are easier to attach.

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:52 pm

Well, to get the wire mesh in the lids is not too hard at all, and the attachments don't really get chewed on.

All you need is a sturdy box cutter, wire clippers, hardware mesh big enough for the top, and some wire or zip-ties to secure it all in. A small hand drill is also very handy, but not necessary.

Then, you just cut out a large piece of the top as straight as you can (which is probably the hardest part of the whole process), then measure the hole you cut out, and add one to two inches to the measurements (so if one side is 20 inches long, cut the hardware cloth 22 inches). Cut the hardware cloth with the wire clippers - making sure to get the edges as clean as you can so they are not sharp - and place it inside the top over the hole. Then, just poke holes (this is where the drill is handy) along the sides of the mesh and attach with the wire or zip ties. Viola - your top is done.

I actually build rat cages, so stuff like that is pretty easy to do. Here's a pic of the last rat cage I built - it was huge!

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Shanna
~ Serendipity Rodentry ~