Wire mesh for mouse cages... - Experts Forum at VenomousReptiles.org

Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by LarryDFishel on May 5, 2014	Mail this to a friend!
As long as I'm back here after a long hiatus (from the groups, not from hots), it occurs to me that there might be some people here who have dealt with one of my long-running issues... I breed mice for some of my smaller snakes, and I find that the simplest and most secure (usually) enclosure to maintain is a low plastic box (maybe 20"Lx16"Wx4"H" with a wood and steel mesh top, with a trough in the mesh at one end for food. (I'll try to remember to take some pictures tomorrow if this is not clear). This works wonderfully, most of the time (keeps the mice from crapping in a food dish or giving them a way to climb out). But, I have one problem: 1/4" mesh is too small for adults to get at the food easily (Mazuri rodent ovals) and thin enough that they can chew through it after a while. 1/2" is ALMOST perfect, BUT: There is a certain age range, where the mice are big enough to reach the bottom of the "trough", but still small enough to crawl through the mesh. This results in the occasional runner (I keep the cages elevated, which usually discourages jumping) and a fair amount of peeing on the mesh, causing it to corrode. My kingdom for some 3/8" wire mesh! I think I remember finding some for sale years ago, but I would have had to order a huge roll, straight from China. Has anyone seen any, or have a better alternative? (I haven't searched recently.)

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by Ptk on May 8, 2014	Mail this to a friend!
If I understand your design correctly have you thought of making the top out of the square wire 1/4" and mold your trough out of two pieces of square 1/2" mesh ever so slightly off set. The result should look like a row of small squares followed by a row of rectangles. The squares will be similar to the 1/4" and probably not allow food to pass easily but thats ok b/c they are there to prevent the "runners". The rectangle should be plenty large enough to allow food to pass without escapees. or Take the square 1/4" mesh and push a pen or penceil through every other square. The penceil will widen the mesh making it more of a hexagon hole, big enough for food but not escape. Good luck PTK

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by LarryDFishel on May 8, 2014	Mail this to a friend!
Thanks. Yes, I did think of the double 1/2" offset idea, but that makes constructing the things significantly less simple than it currently is (did I mention that I'm lazy?). Widening the holes in the 1/4" is an interesting idea, but as I said (maybe not clearly), what I find locally is made of thinner wire, that adult mice are able to chew through. In fact, what I REALLY want is 1/4x1/2" mesh, with thick wire... Welded stainless and cheap would be nice. :) Not holding my breath though... I've been using this not-quite-perfect design for years and have put a fair amount of (meaning WAY too much)thought into them... And yes, I can buy lab cages that have a "perfect" design (parallel bars rather than mesh), but I would need 4 or five of those expensive cages to replace each of my $9 cages (did I mention that I'm also cheap?). Then multiply the cleaning feeding and watering time by 2 or 3... If I could even find some cheap BBQ grill tops with the right dimensions for these boxes (or vice versa), that would be pretty sweet too...

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by Ptk on May 9, 2014	Mail this to a friend!
"Cheap" and "lazy", you're killing me Larry. Have you considered taking the covers off a metal box fan (wire bars) and cutting them down to fit? Bars are small enough a pair of hand wire cutters easily do the job (or go power tool, your choice). You can buy one for around $10 bucks and end up with two covers (a front and a back). If you didnt want to butcher a new one your local salvage yard will have them by the 100's and "cheapier" too. Bars are thicker than previous mentioned wire mesh and food should be easily obtained. heres link to one http://wanelo.com/p/2573235/1950-s-aqua-country-aire-metal-box-fan-with-2-speeds-and-tilting-feature Good Luck PTK

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by LarryDFishel on May 9, 2014	Mail this to a friend!
Interesting thought... I can't say that I remember ever seeing a box fan with METAL guards (since it actually WAS the '70s), except for big monster shop fans (usually, but not always round). Certainly worth keeping in mind though. I appreciate all the input I've gotten already, but maybe I should fill in a few blanks. (I was trying to keep the original question brief.) Along with trying to save MYSELF money and effort, half the point of this quest is to perfect an easily reproducible design that I can share with the net, so I'm trying to avoid "scrounging scrap yards" as one of the steps. (Plus, at least in my neck of the woods (Miami, FL), "dumps" tend to be guarded (so people don't hurt themselves and sue the city) and recycling metal tends to be a source of income for enough people that scrounging any can be another quest.)

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by sierra on June 13, 2014	Mail this to a friend!
Larry, there is 1/3" wire mesh that can be purchased online. It comes in a roll just like the 1/4" or 1/2" and is around the same price. It is absolutely the perfect size. Also, for the feeding hopper/bin we used a large vegetable or coffee can with both ends removed by a can opener. Drill four small holes on the very end of the lower side and wire it down tighly to the center of your wire mesh lid. It can easily hold two weeks or longer worth of food.

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by Floridapanther on April 2, 2016	Mail this to a friend!
Do you have a good source for the 1/2" and 1/4" mesh you mention here? From what I have done in my research, it looks like they are calling this stuff a 2x2 and 4x4 mesh, which means 2 or 4 openings per inch respectively.... I spoke to www.bwire.com about the mesh, and they offered to send me a sample. They have the mesh in stock.

RE: Wire mesh for mouse cages...	Reply
by LarryDFishel on September 23, 2016	Mail this to a friend!
Wow, thanks James. I've been through multiple computers (lost my bookmarks) and haven't been on this site in at least a year, so I missed this reply and just saw it this morning. Bwire.com does show exactly what I wanted (as 3x3, which is probably why I couldn't find it when sierra mentionrd it). At this point, I only have one snake small enough to eat mice, and a six month supply in the freezer, but if I ever need this again, I know where to look. Thanks. Off to back up the URL in 4 place...

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