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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2013 22:05:26 GMT -5
I'd like to breed my own mice when I decide to get my ferrets on whole prey. (I won't start till this December when I have most of my time)
Anyway, I like the rack idea, but I have no idea how to make them.
I like the aquariums to.
What are your thoughts on mice breeding cages, and what are you using?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2013 8:54:26 GMT -5
I looked at some rack designs and built my own with storage containers as the "tank". They are lighter than glass tanks, can hold saucer wheels, and the verticle design was great for space.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2013 10:08:46 GMT -5
Do you have a picture of your cages?
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Post by goingpostal on Oct 12, 2013 12:57:23 GMT -5
I used glass tanks for a long time and still use a few but they are heavy and hard to clean safely, however they do offer a lot of space and not allow any outside mess or escapes. I managed to find someone selling off a rat rack (although I would never put a rat in this size setup). It has 5 bins, one was broke and is really nice as far as ease of cleaning. I do use some plastic tubs as well but don't get the super thin cheap ones as they will chew right out.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2013 13:20:06 GMT -5
Thanks. Do you have a picture of your rack cages? I like that the aquariums let you see threw them to monitor them good. I'm on the stronger side for being a girl sk I don't think weight would be an issue.
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Post by goingpostal on Oct 13, 2013 21:00:29 GMT -5
The glass tanks in the pic are 5.5 gallons and what I keep my males in when they aren't needed. Big green tub holds wood pellets, the large rubbermaid is grow out. This is an old pic when they were upstairs-we put shelves in to hold the tanks, I had gerbils at the time too.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2013 21:10:29 GMT -5
I love your set up! Where did you buy your plastic containers (the cream ones) I really like your set up.How much was it to make?
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Post by goingpostal on Oct 14, 2013 9:24:41 GMT -5
That's the rodent rack and those are $$$, but a lady I sell mice to sometimes was trying to get rid of it so I traded some mice and cash for it. It's a freedom breeder rodent rack but the old style. A lot of reptile people make their own racks with plastic tubs and wood that slid in and out like that which would be the cheaper way to go. rodentracks.com/
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Post by katt on Oct 15, 2013 16:36:56 GMT -5
This was one of my old set ups. I have gone through multiple breeding set ups, the glass tanks were my least favorite as they were far too heavy, making them a pain in the butt to clean. These bins have holes drilled along the edges of the lids AND the top of the bin. Unstacking them every time was a pain, so I created a new rack. I wish I had a picture but I can't seem to find any. I bought these shelves: www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-4-Shelf-Storage-Unit-Dark-Grey-917701/825182058Q Rubbermaid/Serlite bins: And I modified the lids of the bins for even better air flow as shown below. (Duct tape lol) You can see the air holes drilled around the edges of the lid and tub in this picture. The air holes on the sides are good for hanging water bottles:
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Post by katt on Oct 15, 2013 16:45:32 GMT -5
I set up the inside of each bin in a similar fashion. I NEVER include wheels in breeding cages for a variety of reasons. Wheels can be addictive, preventing them from breeding and distracting them from caring for their babies. I do give the feeders a wheel though while they are growing to eating size. Hides, food, water. They love ripping up cardboard so paper towel or toilet paper tubes are great to toss in. I also like using old tea and snack boxes as hides. They get the fun of shredding them and I can just toss and replace. I kept one glass tank, and one small critter keeper to use for quarrantine tanks and to separate males when needed. If you have multiple breeding groups though you can rotate the male from group to group. This allows the females a break in between litters while still giving you a consistent incoming supply of feeders. This was actually my hamster's home, but you can see what my set up looked like for the feeder bins. They were allowed a wheel. Plastic wheels like the one in this picture are safest, and easiest to clean. Wire wheels can cause injury, are hard to clean, and rust. I have used them but I probably will not use them again.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2013 18:41:26 GMT -5
I love your set up! I'm most likely going to do the same thing. Thanks for e great idea about how much did this set up per bin cost you?
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Post by katt on Oct 15, 2013 20:08:40 GMT -5
I love your set up! I'm most likely going to do the same thing. Thanks for e great idea about how much did this set up per bin cost you? I don't remember. I want to say the bins were $7-11 each, and the plastic screen stuff was super cheap - I think maybe $5ish for a pretty big roll of it. The duct tape I think I already had. Overall it was relatively inexpensive and super easy to do. Super easy for cleaning too and with the hope drilled in the lids and bins you can stack them if needed, but the shelves worked a lot better for me. The only thing you have to watch for is chewing but if you don't have anything I there talll enough for them to reach the lid (best chew spot) you should have too much of an issue. If they do chew, it's inexpensive and easy to replace. I really loved this set up, it was perfect for what I needed.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2013 21:20:42 GMT -5
Awesome! Do you remember where you got your bins & mesh? I don't want to use wire as I heard some types are bad for them.
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Post by goingpostal on Oct 15, 2013 21:22:41 GMT -5
Gutter guard, good idea, I'll have to go pick some of that up, better than chicken wire for sure. I got rid of all my wheels, didn't have any problems with breeding they just got super nasty all the time and I couldn't deal with the noise of all those wheels clanking and spinning around. I need some of those itty bitty dishes too.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2013 21:31:44 GMT -5
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