Review by Justin Smith
Breeding rodents on any scale is time consuming. Having my own colony of mice meant that I was finding ways to make cleaning days and rotation of breeders and grow outs more streamlined. I have two racks for mice and up until recently had a single, large tub for growing out younger mice until they hit the size I needed. After several weeks of wishing I could split the large group into two smaller groups, I stumbled across a Youtube video by Cloud Colubrids that showed some rodent caging sold by Reptile Basics. It was exactly what I was looking for so I quickly hopped onto their website and looked at their options. Now I spend a lot of time on the RBI site because they almost always have something I need but for some reason I never thought to check what their rodent caging options were. If you are breeding rodents on a smaller scale then these cages are worth looking into.
Obviously if you are breeding rats and mice on a larger scale then these caging options probably aren’t any cheaper or better than the racks made for large productions. However, if you’re dealing with smaller groups like myself then these are a great option! Currently RBI offers 3 size options: a mouse breeding cage, a rat breeding cage, and an extra large rat breeding cage. Since I was dealing with a large group of grow outs I opted for two of the XL cages which measure 21.5″ x 15.5″ x 8.5″. With these I also ordered two 500 ml water bottles. One of these XL bins will run you $39.99 and a water bottle is an additional $7.99.
These cages are outfitted with a wire stainless steel top with a deep V on one end where food and the water bottle sit. The tops are snug and attach via hooks on one end and a latch on the other. My mice are in an outdoor shed/barn which has been known to have some uninvited guests (ratsnakes, copperheads, etc. looking for a free meal) and it wasn’t until I had ordered my cages that I realized the wire lid might not keep these guests out of my groups! Fortunately the gap between these wires is only a ¼” with no room for just about any snake to get in. Since I’m using these with mice I did have to use a little more bedding than I normally would just to make sure they could reach food and water. The tub itself is made from a hard HDPE plastic that has little give and makes the product feel very sturdy.
One thing that I was a little confused about was the water bottles. Most rodent watering systems have some form of ball or seal that the mice push up on to allow water out. Upon unpacking these bottles I noticed there wasn’t anything in the nozzle of them. I dug around in the box a bit wondering if I had missed something but found nothing so I dropped RBI and email asking about it. As it turns out these water bottles operate via a vacuum there the nozzle needs to be touched to allow water to come out. They do drip a bit when you initially turn them upside down or when placing them into the slot where they rest on the cage but surprisingly they don’t leak everywhere. They have a heavy duty rubber stopper with the nozzle attached which makes refills easy and quick. I added some copper into the bottles to help keep the water fresher for longer which is completely optional and just a personal preference.
All in all, I’m very happy with these rodent cages! The price seems fair, the quality is great, and I don’t have a bunch of young mice all crammed into one larger bin. This product is a fantastic option for herpetoculturists who only want a handful of mice to breed or for someone like myself who just wants some bin to grow out younger mice.
