I read on the mouse forums that mice like their tank jam-packed with clutter. In fact, the biggest uncluttered space needs to be able to fit all the mice curled up together.

I got a 10 gallon tank from Craigslist for free.

But how to jam it full? A lot of people on the forums create furniture and platforms from popsicle sticks (you can buy a big bag from Jo-Ann’s Fabrics and Crafts) and white glue (like Elmer’s).

But I feel funny about having glue in there that they can chew. They claim it’s non-toxic, but I don’t think that applies to eating it.

I wanted to be able to suspend things easily from the ceiling. Then when I clean the cage, I can just lift out the ceiling and dump the litter.

My answer to how to do this came from the turtle forums. They all build ramps and basking platforms from something called egg crate, a/k/a light diffuser.

It’s sold in a 2 x 4 foot section at Home Depot (I don’t think Lowe’s has it). It costs about 12 dollars. It’s a white plastic grid and cuts really easily.

So I bought a sheet and brought it home. Normally you cut it by smashing it between columns with something heavy like a file. But I wanted it to fit exactly in the lip of my tank, so instead I cut it with the metal cuter part of my needle nose pliers.

It works great! It fit right into the lip of the tank.

The I got a screen lid from Petco. This is the one I got, which reviews seem to indicate is the best made. It fit right over the egg crate:
Zilla Tank Lid

Note: don’t get the one with the additional door; the reviews say the door doesn’t line up properly and mice could escape. Also don’t bother getting the clips to hold it in place; reviews say they don’t work. I just put a 2 x 4 with a heavy rock on each end.

The fun part was getting creative about decorating the tank. I used metal shower hooks to suspend things from the grid like a critter roost, a tube, a big fluffy fleece ball, and an exercise wheel (I had to unscrew the stand from the back, thread it through the grid, and screw it back on).

On the bottom level, I had more tubes, a couple of igloos, and flying saucer wheel, and a food dish. (I’ve read that the flying saucer really should be the medium and not the small, but an upgrade will have to wait until I get a bigger tank).

The grid ceiling worked really well. It’s sturdy enough to suspend all these things from it.

The only thing I changed a day later was the food dish. Originally I had a ceramic dish on the bottom level. But I found that there’s always at least one mouse hanging out on the top level. So to lift up the grid in order to fill the food dish would disturb them.

I’m also going away for a weekend and I wanted to make it easier for the person coming over to take care of them.

So I made a hanging dish. You can buy some really cheap containers in the supermarker made by Glad. They are called mini rounds and they’re pretty small.

I poked three shower hooks through and suspended the container right next to the opening for the water bottle.

It can be filled through the opening with a scoop. Or I could also just rain down food through the grid into it.

I also poked holes in it so that if they decide to use it for a bathroom, the food won’t sit in pee. I have a set of small jewelry tools and used the awl. The holes are too small for food to fall through, but hopefully big enough to drain liquid.

So far, so good. They have been sitting in the dish, eating.

My gosh, mice are cute to watch!

Here’s a video that shows me making it: