I am selling my rodent rack. I made this after trying the mass produced racking systems as I just didn't rate them.
The boxes for the mice are too small in my opinion so I did lots of research on the net and made my own. This system works really well, it is so easy and quick to maintain and the mice seem to thrive in it. I have never had any problems with the mice not breeding.
I decided to buy the expensive self watering system as keep filling the bottles was a time consuming job. I have fitted a small header tank for a number of reasons >
if the mice cause a leak by pushing something against the automatic valve (very rare) there is only enough water to soak the bedding, yes the mice will get wet but they are only sat on wet bedding, they don't drown!
The water isn't in the header long enough to go stale/off - it only needs a couple of jugs a water around twice a week, so is really nice and simple
* if you wanted to fit a larger tank it would be a five minute job. Just cut a hole in the container and attach the valve, job done! You could also drill a small hole in each cage to let water escape in the event of a flood so the mice will be safe, but will need a metal washer gluing over hole to stop the mice gnawing it
The sytem has a on/off valve at the top where it attaches to the water container which is great when you need to do any maintenance. It also has a screw drain valve at the bottom on the tubing so you can drain it down.
All the sytem was brought new and is professional stuff imported from america ( on/off valve, drain valve, drinking valves, water tubing )
As you can see there are 14 cages all with their own drinking valve obviously. I put food directly into the tubs, but I also put food/treats on top of the cage wire. This serves 2 purposes - they like to hang up side down and nibble the food through the mesh so it gives them something to do and also if they eat all the food inside the cage they will always have access to this food. I also put treats/bread etc on there.
I have kept my mice as close to pets as possible hence the bigger cages, you can easily keep 4 females per tub without them being overcrowded. I then put 1 male in and cycle him through each cage leaving him in for a few days. This system has worked brilliantly for me, I haven't got a male atm. I have just kept all the females on their own for the past 4 months or so as pets as I don't need any mice atm. The mice are given bedding and a toilet roll chew which they love to chew up, each time they are cleaned out
This setup really is great, it can be cleaned out in 1.5 hours and takes no real cleaning as the tubs are bigger you don't really get any wet patches in the corners
It holds 56 mice without them being cramped
price may seem high but after you add up whats involved it is reasonable really. the water systems cost £80 PER RACK. the roll of mesh cost me £60, the tubs cost just over £50 PER RACK as there are some spare aswell. then there is the wood, have a quick work out how many lengths there are used in it wheels and the time involved putting it all together
the only time i have had an escape was when the dog went in to eat the bread off the top of the tanks and accidently pushed the cages out the back slightly allowing the mice to get out ! this has been sorted now and the tank push up to a wooden stop
the pictures are of the rack that is for sale, but, i have another that is exactly the same, if you wanted 2 i will also sell the other aswell giving you 28 cages !
i also have 4 females in each tank of the 2nd rack, they can come with the racks for additional cost ? also food and bedding so you could actually be up and running straight away, all you would need is 1 male mouse !
they are actually a pleasure to keep now in this rack, as its so simple to keep/clean them
actual rack measures 38.5 wide, 17 deep, 67 high plus water container (my container is 7 high but that could be altered easily down to say 2)
and for anyone interested the tub sizes are 18 x 14.75x 4.58 (nice and big)
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