Building my mouse cage (oh help me please!?)

[candyraver]

I have this small dresser that I haven't used in years.It's not HUGE,it's just a small 3 drawer thing.I cleaned it out yesterday& it had nothing of importance in it,then I got a bright idea...my mice NEED a cage..since I accidentally broke the clip on theirs& well I sold the huge one I had from martin's cages (Chihiro tried to squeeze out even tho she didn't I got a bit worried& sold it to someone with dwarf hamsters..thats when they went back in their old cage& idiot me broke the door thingy ) So they live on my desk.Not something I mind but with talks of getting a cat& little cousins back& forth,they need a cage for when I can't be there to watch them.

*Ahem* enough rambling.

I need help (Oh lord don't I!)
It's a wooden dresser,i'm taking the three drawers out& I want it as a full hinged door.
Now how would I make it so it can be closed securely?
Then theres the problem of inside,it's wood.
How can I keep it sanitary?
I want something easy to wipe clean& disinfect that won't collect urine& smell or rot.I was told to laminate.Hmm.
I was conidering siliconing some nice tile on the bottom...again..feedback?

How can I hang toys?I'm thinking 1 full door being mesh& the top...if not the entire top the majority of it,but how can I hang toys from shelves?

I'm not that great with building,this will be my "project of the month" I intend on painting it etc.

I need lots of help though guys,so..help?
I'll also get pics of the cage in various stages& then the finished product with mouse toys& happy mice in the new cage

[Nikko]

Laminate flooring seems like a really good idea and it's not very expensive either. Do you have a pic of the dresser?

[mulder]

hehehe girl, you came to the right place....

-leave the bottom drawer in, line it with sticky tiles or something, now it's a drawer-out cage bottom
-go to the dollar store or anywhere and find some threaded eye things (they look like sour keys candy) lol and put those wherever you want to hang things
-twine string is your friend
-make a pile of old socks, a shirt or pants that don't fit/old that can be cut and sacrificed to them. hang socks randomly from ceiling of cage. use shirt or pant to make hammock
-a coathanger, wirecutters, and 2 pairs of pliers can make any hardware you need but can't buy
-at home depot or other, you can get a roll of caging for 5 or 10 bux, and staplegun (dream invention)
-you can make a door out of the whole front of the dresser using the parts from the two drawers and such. just cut the wood to the widths and lengths.....like 1-2 inches wide and what....a foot or two long? and make a door frame
-staplegun caging to frame
-attach hinges (cheap small hinges are fine, the only key is to have 2...one at top end and one at bottom end)
-you can make a door latch out of anything you want. the coathanger can come in here. i can attach a pic or two of coathanger i used when i didn't have the hardware

[mulder]

[APoetCalledAnya]

What Mulder said sounds like a very good idea. She even included pictures. (Very nice cage by the way Mulder!) I bet your mice will love it and have a lot of fun. Remember to post pictures!
(I leave all the building to my Dad. He is a licensed contractor so I am sure he can handle whatever I come up with. (Like Rat sleeping houses. Heehee.))

[candyraver]

Natalie - I love your cage!! & Really great ideas as well!!
With the bottom I was thinking about keeping the bottom drawer& adding one of those plastic bins since I found a small one that would fit perfectly! But then I realized I won't be able to see the mice @ all except for when they are on the top part,so I might go with the full door just with the bottom of the door raised a bit on the inside to keep bedding in (or a bit of wood on the bottom floor part of the dresser to keep the bedding in& use tile.Easy wipe down).
I love your ideas!! Now i'm looking forward to the project more since I won't be clueless Thanks muchly !

Riese- I'll try to get a picture of the dresser tonight or tommorrow morning & I'll list dimensions as well.That way people know the space i'm working with.

[mulder]

hehe thanks for liking my ideas. not having a drawer is also a good idea, so that you can see the meeces. you can use a drawer for parts and fix a piece of wood (from outside sides, into piece ends) then seal the inside seams with bathtub and tile caulk or quickdry silicon. i did this with my goo cage, works suuuuper

[candyraver]

Quote: Originally Posted by mulder hehe thanks for liking my ideas. not having a drawer is also a good idea, so that you can see the meeces. you can use a drawer for parts and fix a piece of wood (from outside sides, into piece ends) then seal the inside seams with bathtub and tile caulk or quickdry silicon. i did this with my goo cage, works suuuuper

What would I do without you??

[mulder]

lol thanks *blushes*.....really, i just live to be helpful in exactly this way. all i want is to help, i dunno what i'd do without it oh! and the quickdry silicon you can get for 5 bux or less in a hand squeezy tube, so you dont need the caulking and gun (a pain). you can also go to any flooring store and say "im working on a cat scratch post, may i look at you leftovers/ends" and they'll usually take you to the back room (oooooooh) and let you rifle through a box of cut carpet pieces. they either sell them at garagesale prices or give them away. every week i give timmy a fresh piece of carpet, peter now too, it helps with the litter training

[candyraver]

I'm so looking forward to starting this project! I havent yet,but lets see what tommorrow brings xD

[candyraver]

I signed online after supper& saw a website wrote on paper...& "hamster cage fabio" wrote down with a question mark beside it...I been wanting a new cage& I think a family member is considering getting me a cage for my birthday...I kinda think thats why mom said "don't take apart that dresser,it's still good!!" to me last night So I didn't...

If my hunch is right..this is the cage... Hamster Cage Fabio: Great Deals on Hamster Cages at zooplus

I'll have plenty of room to hang hammocks& such since it's higher than the cages like critter trail etc.
It does look nice...& SOLiD floors...I do really like solid flooring for everything.& the mice can safely climb those bars.& I can have that cage up off the floor so that if a mouse succeeds in climbing out,they aren't going to scurry away
I'm waiting till after my birthday to see if my hunch is right,if it isn't..i'll be making a cage

P.S. How many mice can humanely live in that cage without overcrowding?
I have two mice.Will I overcrowd if I get one more?

[mulder]

sweetness!!!!!

[candyraver]

Found yet another cage mentioned on a piece of paper hid behind my books This one: Great Deals on Small Animal Cages at Zooplus: Jenny Rat Cage it's even bigger than the first When I went upstairs I mentioned 'my mice still need a cage' & everyone hushed...& then my brother joked i'd probably end up getting something to house an elephant.

Hmm...I'm really think my mice are getting one of those two,unless I find more paper scribbles
Instead of a question mark next to that one it is circled.

[mulder]

wow that jenny rat cage is sweet!!!

[candyraver]

Just an update,not getting either cage now,was going to get one for my birthday,but then I said no,I prefer something else
(I was scared the mice would squeeze out thru the bars & the cats would consume them)...

& they'll be housed in a 25gal w/ screen lid soon
Very roomy