# Best environment



## nicola1 (Apr 19, 2011)

I am hopefully getting 2-4 girlies quite soon. Which do you think is better, a barred cage or a tank? Bearing in mind they will be babies when I get them.

I am looking at the Freddy 2 cage or http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ferret-Rat-Degu-C ... 2454984220 this cage, which has 1.7cm bar spacing.

If I went for a tank I would probably go for a fish tank.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

If you have a barred cage you'll need bar spacing less than 1cm, preferably less than 8mm.

It's very much down to personal preference. I find that larger cages make the mice timid and more wild, as if they feel vulnerable and over-exposed. When I just kept one group of pet mice at a time, I'd keep four girls in a two-foot long fish tank. But, as I said, it's down to personal preference. There are owners that wouldn't dream of keeping their mice in anything smaller than a Freddy.

Sarah xxx


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

A barred cage (for pet mice) is definately preferrable to a tank, but as SarahY said, your looking at 1cm bar spacing or less. Anything wider than this is`nt suitable. Freddy cages (the normal Savic Freddy with the yellow base) is fine for young to adult mice, but not baby mice to be honest. They would need to stay in a smaller cage and move up to the Freddy once they were a bit bigger.

Tanks have only one real advantage and that`s being able to see through it. Otherwise, ventilation is compromised and climbing opportunities and the fact that you approach your mice from above, rather than from the side, which can make them panic.

A Freddy cage is very large, so needs to have full shelves across it with good solid ramps leading from the shelves. Wide open spaces can make them more aloof, so it`s a good idea to make full use of a cage this size and have plenty of hidey holes!  It`s worth the effort though as it gives the mice room to explore and run around, expressing their natural climbing abilities.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

All mine are in tanks and the largest size faunariums


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## nicola1 (Apr 19, 2011)

Thanks very much, I will make sure they have plenty of places to hide so they feel safe


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Tanks are fine for mice as long as you make sure the lid is well ventilated. When I kept pet mice only I had a huge homemade 4ft tank with 10-12 does in. The lid was a wooden frame made by my long suffering other half to which I stapled 5mm mesh (from B&Q). There was no ammonia build up because the tank was not overstocked and was well ventilated due to the mesh. It also prevented bedding going all over my floor and there was less chance of draughts. It's up to you really...


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

ours are all in modified plastic staples containers or RUBS.........


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

You will always get two opinions about which housing is best nicola, but for pet mice, you would be far better with the barred cage. RUBS and tanks are usually better for breeding purposes. With the really warm weather coming in, a barred cage won`t get as warm and mice can die from heat, so if you do choose a tank over a cage, make sure the room is well aired and not allowed to get stuffy and hot. I keep my large cage and smaller Pennine cage in my room upstairs and the house holds the heat more up here, so I have to keep windows open and run a fan when the weather is very warm. So it`s not just a case of which cage, it`s also a matter of looking at air flow and ease of use.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

racingmouse said:


> for pet mice, you would be far better with the barred cage.


I disagree. As I stated above, tanks can be great for pet mice if well ventilated and not overcrowded (this goes for any cage though). They do have advantages over barred cages such as: less chance of draughts, easier to clean, bedding does not get thrown all over your floor, the mice can build nests up against the sides, no chance of escapees. They are also cheap to create as your local tip/freecycle or eBay often has very reasonably priced or free tanks on offer that fishkeepers no longer want. All you then have to do is make a wooden frame, staple some mesh onto it et voila.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I've got some of just about every cage going.Traditional wooden boxes,rubs ,fauna boxes,mickey max barred cages and perfecto tanks.If I was just having a few pets I would choose the perfecto,fitted with glass shelves,a wire lid and air vents built in the lower sides .In the barred range I like the mickey max and it would be my next choice after the perfecto.I noticed in [email protected] a new cage that has a sort of plastic maze attached which looked quite interesting(from a mouse point of view)


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

I personally have always gone for tanks. And a Freddy Savic bar spacing would be far too big even for an adult pet mouse. If you are going to go for a barred cage, go for ones specifically for mice or dwarf hamsters.

And I agree about the space thing, too much space for mice can more often than not be a bad thing, especially if you are wanting nice tame pets that you can hold and interact with.

W xx


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

My biggest complaint about wire/barred cages is the mice climb all over the walls and urinate on them. Same with solid shelves, they get very dirty very quickly.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Yes a Mouse prefers a smaller space it feelss scared and vunerable in a container too large,5mm =0.5cm is ideal for bar spacings in cages .Tanks are much easier too clean out and with well ventilated lids no need for over heating.The Duna hamster tank with the cage lid is ideal or mice.


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

Well I won`t disagree with that! Tank `style` caging is definately more user friendly and easier to access. The Zoozone plastic tanks and the Gabber Rex are good hamster caging, but mice also enjoy them. They would also be wider than your average glass aquarium as these are normally 12" inches wide max.

You will definately have `friendlier` mice if you restrict their space, but it`s a toss up between having very tame mice and having mice that are still able to be handled, but have a larger, taller environment.

Personally, I can see the benefits of using plastic tanks because I myself have a painful neck issue and struggle to cope with the small doors on my rat cage and lifting off the heavy barred section whenever I do a full cage clean. But I suffer the pain so that the mice can live in a bigger cage! :roll:


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## nicola1 (Apr 19, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice everyone it's very helpful  I think that I will definitely start out with a tank cage when they are babies and see how it goes. I always keep my pets in massive cages, I have Syrian hamsters in rat and chinchilla cages, so I wouldn't restrict their space although I can understand the reasons that people are giving for doing so


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

That`s great nicola, your making a good start. It`s a good idea to look around on ebay and free-ads for second hand Zoozones and hamster tanks.  They always come in handy.


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