Last Updated on 06/29/2021 by Veronica Jones
A common misconception that people have is that mice are gross or creepy. The truth is that they are very cute, and very intelligent as well.
They are capable of experiencing complex emotions like love.
Basically, they make surprisingly great pets if you are willing to give them a chance!
Taking care of mice is not that complicated either.
Finding the right cage is important, of course, as are regular vet visits. Generally, though, these low maintenance animals don’t bother you that much and can take care of themselves.
Here are some great cages you can look into.
Top 5 Best Mouse Cages
1. Savic Hamster Heaven Metro Cage
Features
- Plastic build
- Interconnected tubes
- Colorful design
- Comes with water bottle
This cage offers a lot of areas to hide and play. There are multiple ledges and tunnels as well as tiny covered areas that can help your mice sleep in privacy.
A stimulating environment is necessary if you want your mice to be happy, and you can give it to them with this cage.
You might think that this cage is rather compact after looking at a few pictures. However, it is actually a lot bigger than it seems.
It has enough room for at least two mice. That too, two mice can live here with plenty of room to roam around and have their own private areas.
Finding the right balance for bar spacing can be tough. The bars need to be narrow enough to prevent escape. They also need to be wide enough to provide proper ventilation.
This cage manages to strike the right balance and give your rat a comfortable experience while keeping it safe from harm.
Mice are social creatures but they need space as well. Instead of giving a separate second floor, the manufacturer decided to provide two ledges.
These ledges are fairly far from each other. This lets your mice sleep in their own space.
They can then use the rest of the cage as a sort of communal area for playtime and other social activities.
This one is actually made for hamsters but it’s a perfect fit for mice too, if you also have pet hamster, then head over to our guide to syrian hamster cages.
This cage comes with a tube that protrudes upwards out of the wire mesh. This is meant to give your mice a fun way to get around. However, this tubing can’t support much weight.
If your mice are heavier than normal the tube might collapse and injure your mice. A better alternative would have been if the tube extended stayed inside the cage instead of jutting outside.
What We Liked
- Stimulating environment
- Surprisingly spacious
- Bar spacing
- Two separate ledges
What We Didn’t Like
- Precarious tube
2. Ware Manufacturing Chew Proof High Rise Pet Cage for Small Pets
Features
- Powder coated chew wire
- Three floors
- Mesh ramps and shelves
- Food dish and water bottle included
Mice love climbing, and wire mesh is perfect for that. However, the cage you buy needs to be vertically large as well.
This cage will give your mice three stories to climb. Each story is easily accessible and can give your mice a place to rest.
The multi story design gives your mice a wide variety of places to play.
A food bowl and water bottle are essential for your mice. This is where they will get all of their sustenance from.
This cage has these accessories included. This is great for the price that you are paying, as it boosts the value for money.
This cage comes with chew proof wire. However, chewing is not just bad for the cage.
It can be toxic for your mice. This product comes with powder coated wire.
This makes the process of chewing unpleasant for the mice because it has a bitter taste.
Your mice might chew on the wire at first, but after a little while they will learn not to do so.
This product is much cheaper than the Lixit Metro Cage.
While it also doesn’t provide as many cool features, it is still more than satisfactory for budget conscious shoppers.
Cheaper alternatives are never as good as their more expensive counterparts. However, this product show that cheap doesn’t always mean bad.
This cage comes with a grate floor. This grate is composed of a wire mesh.
In fact, there is no solid, flat surface in any part of the cage.
This can give your mice bumblefoot, which is an infection that induces swelling when your mice walk on wire mesh for too long.
You will have to use bedding to prevent this from happening.
What We Liked
- Multi-story design
- Accessories included
- Powder coated wire
- Price
What We Didn’t Like
- Grate floor might cause bumblefoot
3. Ware Chew Proof 25 inch Critter Cage
Features
- Powder coated wire mesh
- Half inch wire spacing
- All metal design
The first thing we noticed about the design was how airy it was. The wire mesh lets plenty of cross breeze in.
In fact, it is designed to maximize cross breeze and keep the temperature inside the cage as cool as possible.
It should be noted that this is better for hot areas, and not so much for cold areas.
A good cage keeps mice from escaping. This cage manages to do that. This is because of the half inch wire spacing.
This is not wide enough for your mice to squeeze through.
The manufacturer has done a lot to prevent your mice from getting hurt. The metal base is solid and flat.
It is quite comfortable for your mice, although you might have to add bedding to keep them comfy.
The only thing that prevents this cage from being higher up on this list is that it is prone to rust.
This is a problem frequently encountered with all metal cages.
What We Liked
- Good ventilation
- Secure wire spacing
- Solid metal base
What We Didn’t Like
- Prone to rust
4. Prevue Pet Products Three Story Hamster/Gerbil Cage
Features
- Exercise wheel
- Pink design
- Roof top door
Roof top doors are often a nuisance. This is because they make it easier for mice to escape. However, this cage’s door is too high up for mice to access.
You can open the cage up without worrying about your mice escaping.
Mice are cute pets that are easy to take care of. This makes them perfect for little girls. Your daughter would want a pretty cage to put her pet in.
This cage is pink, which is just the right shade to make your daughter to be happy!
This product is dangerous because it might cause bumblefoot.
You can prevent this from happening with bedding and plastic sheets but it is something that makes this product less enticing.
You will have to keep an eye on your mice while they are in this cage. The bars are a little pliable, so stubborn mice might be able to squeeze through.
As you can see from the list above, hamsters and mice often use the same kinds of cages.
They are both rodents after all, and they both have the same basic requirements. However, you should be careful about cages with wire floors.
A lot of them provide other benefits which make them worthy of the price, but you should still add precautions like a plastic sheet on the bottom.
Try to make your mice as comfortable as possible by adding soft linen that they can sleep on.
As long as you take these precautions, you will never have to worry about your little critter’s safety ever again.
What We Liked
- Narrow door
- Pink color
What We Didn’t Like
- Dangers of bumble foot
- Pliable bars
5. Little Giant Wire Pet Crate
Features
- Removable plastic tray
- Latches for door
- Shipping weight: 23.8lbs
The removable plastic tray means that cleanup will be very easy. You will just have to extract the tray and wash it.
Plastic is the easiest material to clean. This gives the product some solid value for money.
Sharp corners are a hazard, especially if you have kids. This product has rounded corners which are perfectly safe to be around.
If your kids are rough housing and bump into this cage, they probably won’t get injured.
You will get this cage in its collapsed, portable form. Setting it up is easy and should take less than a minute.
The Ware Manufacturing Cage at number 2 is cheaper than this product and provides more benefits.
The same goes for the Ware Chew Proof cage at number 3.
This cage is good for people that travel a lot, but apart from this the price is difficult to justify.
It is still cheaper than the Lixit cage, though, so it remains somewhat suitable for budget conscious shoppers.
This cage is fairly roomy. However, it does not have multiple floors. It doesn’t even have ledges.
You will have to add some accessories otherwise this cage might become boring for your mice.
What We Liked
- Easy to clean
- Rounded corners
- Easy setup
What We Didn’t Like
- Price
- Single floor
How to Choose Right Pet Mouse Cage?
In this article, we will highlight all the major factors that you need to consider before buying your pet mouse a cage.
We will elaborate cage safety; basic habitat needs and presents you with some of the best cages that you may get for your mouse.
Cage Size
Mice are beautiful little creatures. Experts are of the opinion that each mouse needs 1 cubic foot space and .5 cubic feet space for every additional mouse in the same habitat.
Please note that if you have only male mouse population, you will need to get them neutered in order to make it easy for them to co-exist.
Female mice generally get along very well even in less space.
If the cage is not of a proper size, you may face some problems. A small sized cage will get dirty very soon and will cause ammonia build-up, which is not healthy for mice.
Tiny cages do not provide enough space for mice to play and have some private space at the same time.
Lesser space also causes mice to become nervous and they might start chewing the cage and show disturbed behaviors like circling and pacing swiftly along the cage.
Security
A cage might look safe and secure for you in the first place but you need to make sure that it really is a sturdy one.
Mice are naughty and can pass through very small spaces or chew the bars of the cage in order to escape.
You can consider the following points to ensure the safety of your pet mouse.
- The bars and base of the cage should be made of good strong material.
- For adult mice, a cage with bar spacing of ½ inch or less would be perfect. For baby mouse, you should get a cage with plastic or glass walls.
- The places where the cage folds, doors, lids and areas where the bars are turned or twisted should also be checked. This ensures that your mouse will not escape from such places.
- For added security in the first couple of weeks of a new cage, you can place it in a big bin or an empty bathtub. This will keep your mouse in the bin or tub and it will not get lost in the house.
The base of the Cage
Both the wired and solid base cages have their advantages. The wired base can provide you with an easy way out for the waste materials.
It is also possible that your mouse can slip or trip on the wired base and damage their feet.
Do not take the guilt of hurting your mouse for your ease. A cage with the solid base will ensure that your pet does not hurt its feet. It is also easy for them to move around.
We recommend that you cover your current wired base cage for an increased well-being of your pet.
Materials
Getting a durable case is very important for the safety of your pet.
A high-quality cage will last for the entire lifetime of your pet and may well be a habitat for your next pet mouse.
Either you are buying steel or a plastic cage; it should be strong and sturdy.
Plastic cages should be made of materials that can withstand washing and scrubbing.
The metal cages should be coated with high standard PVC as it protects metal from rusting.
Cages with a lot of plastic tubes or connectors are likely to break while they are being dissembled for cleaning purposes.
You can also use an aquarium or plastic bin as cages. They usually go a long way if they are cleaned on regular basis.
Accessibility
Accessibility is also an important feature of the cages. The door and lids of the cage should have large openings so that you can reach out for your mouse or clean the cage easily.
All the parts of the cage should also be easily reachable to your mouse as well.
The cage should disassemble without much of a hassle for cleaning purposes.
You can check the door locks by giving firm taps at the center of the door bars, if they do not open up, they are secure. This reduces the chances of escape of your mouse.
Modifications
Crittertrail, Habitrail or Critter Universe can give you a lot of options to modify in the cage.
These cages are exceptional when it comes to designing a unique and fun living place for your pet.
They are also great when it comes to expansion of the cage.
Cleaning of tube cages is a regular affair and needs a lot of time. You can end up breaking tube connectors while cleaning the cage. I
t is better to get some spare tubes and bubble caps in case of any mishap.
Weak Spots
You need to get a cage that has the minimum number of weak spots.
Weak spots are the areas where the bars are not smoothly shaped. Mice have tiny faces and can start chewing at such places.
If you already have a cage with weak spots, then you need to check how often and at what cost you need to repair the chewed cage.
If you are planning to buy a new cage, then you can reduce the cage-chewing by getting your mouse a cage with large horizontal space.
Small spaces start to bore the mice and they start chewing the cage fanatically.
You can also deal with this problem by providing your mouse chew toys or by keeping them in an aquarium.
