# Glass or Plastic Tank?



## Hexagram (Jul 6, 2013)

I'm planning on purchasing four fancy mice very soon, so I'm trying to organize myself beforehand. While researching housing options, I decided a medium tank would suffice for two does and smaller tanks for each of my bucks. But I'm not sure whether or not I should buy/make a plastic or glass tank. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of both?


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## visitor (Jan 8, 2011)

I have glass tanks for my harvest mice, and plastic tubs for the fancy mice. The plastic tubs are far easier to clean as being lightweight they can be picked up and washed in the sink. The glass tanks are very heavy, and therefore not really portable.
I would therefore choose plastic over glass.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

I started off with 10 gallon aquariums, and found that they were heavy, fragile, cost about $20ish for the tank & lid new, and the mice stripped out the sealant as well as the plastic edging on the tops. If you want to modify them, like drilling a hole to attach a water bottle on the outside, then you will need special tools. The pros are that they are easy to set up, and mice can't chew glass.

I then switched to sterilite bins that I modified. They are cheap, $13 for what is close to a 30 gallon bin, then $5 for enough hardware cloth to do about 4 bins. They are flexible, durable, and I have barely any problem with the mice chewing them past some superficial edges. I absolutely love them! The only negative thing I have to say about them is that they need to be put together, but I did it all with a knife, so it doesn't need any special tools.


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## athiena14 (Jun 20, 2013)

I use glass 10g for my pregnant mice (helps me keep a close eye when the babies are born without going in and touching them) And use sterile plastic bins for the rest. I used to use 10g for the rest but they kept finding ways out. There are water bottles that have suction cups for fish tanks so you don't have to drill holes.


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## bonsai (Oct 14, 2012)

Hello
If you want to use a tank instead of a cage,I would use one for reptiles because the ventilation is much better.
Mice are vulnerable to respiratory infects which can be caused by urinary ammoniac connected with less ventilation.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

bonsai said:


> Hello
> If you want to use a tank instead of a cage,I would use one for reptiles because the ventilation is much better.
> Mice are vulnerable to respiratory infects which can be caused by urinary ammoniac connected with less ventilation.


Oh yeah, this is another pro to the sterilite bins, aquariums like to build high (unless you get the 40 gallon breeder tanks) but sterilite bins have a lot of long & short options.


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## Hexagram (Jul 6, 2013)

Thanks guys. Now I'm thinking I'll steal my brother's old terrarium for the does and buy plastic for the boys.


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## YuukikoOgawa (Jul 26, 2013)

I have a plexiglass 10-gallon terrarium from Zilla for my three does.

They usually come with a chew-proof mesh screen lid with a locking mechanism (it slides in and out, so they can't push it up to escape), a recessed little area for the water bottle, and some little thingies to hold accessories that were intended for wire cages.

They're a little on the pricey side, about $30 for a 5.5 gallon, but I've found them to be much lighter than regular glass aquariums and easy to handle.

They have sizes all the way up to 40 gallons, sometimes in multiple different dimensions.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Nov 19, 2012)

Glass Tanks- 
Pros: They look nice and the mice are easily visible within the tank. They take no work to put together; just buy a lid for it and you're set.
Cons: They can be pricey unless you find them on sale. They are heavy (larger sized tanks) and difficult to move and clean.

Plastic Bin Cages-
Pros: They are cheap; no matter what size you get. You can modify them any way you want; add a window to the side or stack them to make more levels. Easy to pick up and clean since they are light weight.
Cons: They can be chewed up if they have grooves... or even if they don't have grooves if the little critter is determined. They don't look as appealing as tanks; you can't see the mice as easily. It takes work to drill holes or add mess to the top and/or sides for ventilation.


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