Is the Prevue 528 good for mice?

by Oreoandfriends Thu 19 Nov 2020, 8:30 am

Hello,
I’ve been wanting to get my male mouse a taller cage than his current bin cage because he loves climbing and seems to be getting a little bored. I want to get him an affordable barred cage but there aren’t too many options in the US.
I found the Prevue 528 which is 32Lx19Wx17H inches (about 600 square inches). It has about the same amount of floor space as is current cage (a little more) but I think he’d enjoy being able to climb the bars and have more hanging toys.
The only thing I’m concerned about is the bar spacing. It’s 3/8 inch and I’m not sure if that’s small enough.
Any input is appreciated, thanks!

by PeachesandPepper92918 Thu 19 Nov 2020, 6:47 pm

That is definitely the best option in the US and I do know a couple people on Instagram that use this for their mice. It’s a cage I’ve been looking into as well. I don’t think he should be able to slip out unless he’s a smaller dude, but I would like someone else to weigh in on that for me.

by disastervibe Fri 20 Nov 2020, 12:31 am

I have that cage for the mice I just brought home today, and I think only a smaller mouse or an exceptionally determined one could get out. I had the same concern, but went with it anyway because I needed a bar cage due to the climate I live in, and the Prevue 528 was basically the only suitable cage I was able to get my hands on and could actually afford.

If you're open to a little DIY you could consider creating a sort of security frame using wood and hardware cloth which is what I plan to do just to be safe (I've purchased some with .5cm spacing and am just waiting on my tools to arrive). I haven't made it yet, but my thinking is to create a rectangular wooden frame using 1x3s and stapling the hardware cloth onto each side, leaving the bottom open, to create a sort of mesh box I can slide over the cage to decrease the bar spacing but keep all the ventilation. I'd have to cut out sections to leave space for the water bottles and such, and as I've said I've not actually done it so I can't guarantee it's a good move, but it's an idea. Honestly, depending on the size of your mice (and your anxiety), the bar spacing may not even be a problem.

by chiroptera Fri 20 Nov 2020, 1:28 am

@disastervibe It may be easier to just zip-tie the hardware cloth onto the bars than to make a wood frame? Just a suggestion Smile

Edit to add that I'd think it would be pretty tough for an adult mouse to get through 3/8". I have seen a mouse escape through 1/2", but it was pretty tight - the mouse actually got stuck and had to be cut out. (This happened at my breeder's - I was impressed to see her jump to action to get the little guy out of there.) Not to say it's entirely impossible, but I would think it's safe unless you really see him trying to squeeze out.

by disastervibe Fri 20 Nov 2020, 1:49 am

chiroptera wrote:@disastervibe It may be easier to just zip-tie the hardware cloth onto the bars than to make a wood frame? Just a suggestion

Edit to add that I'd think it would be pretty tough for an adult mouse to get through 3/8". I have seen a mouse escape through 1/2", but it was pretty tight - the mouse actually got stuck and had to be cut out. (This happened at my breeder's - I was impressed to see her jump to action to get the little guy out of there.) Not to say it's entirely impossible, but I would think it's safe unless you really see him trying to squeeze out.

That was actually my original plan, but the hardware cloth is so sharp when cut to size that I needed something to protect against the edges (not only for the mice, but for me too lol). To be honest, I'm not in a rush to get it done because as you said, it seems really unlikely, but I'm reassured to hear it's even less likely than I thought (although that must've been pretty scary for that poor mouse and your breeder)!

by Mir’s Many Mice Fri 20 Nov 2020, 2:31 am

I have the Prevue cage mentioned & used it for my last group of 4 female (feeder) mice and a male mouse before that. Here is my input.

The bar spacing is good, but the design of the cage leaves inconsistencies in the bars spacing. The sides are curved in a way that leaves slightly wider gaps. The bars between the roof of the cage and the walls are also slightly wider.
I found that my mice would often escape from the cage. Once I was done fixing one escape rout one of them would inevitably find a new one a month later.

My male mouse Merlin didn’t escape (Much) at all from the cage (he was the first one to live in it) but he was larger than the females and already 8months old by the time he was in the Prevue cage. (Merlin escaped a few time but I used needle-nosed pliers to bend the bars slightly closer together in those places so he couldn’t anymore and that worked. The issues were the corners and larger gaps between the wall bars and roof Bars of the cage.)

The girls however were introduced to the cage at around 2 months old.
For the girls, I had to fix the problem by covering the cage bars in 1/4” mesh wire. But you don’t necessarily need to buy the Prevue cage to do this. You could buy a cheaper large cage with 1” Or even 2” bar spacing & cover it in 1/4” mesh & achieve the same results. (And adding the mesh may be easier to add to a cage with larger bar spacing.)
(You would usually add the mesh with zip ties.)

I love the cage & I’m saving it to use in the future (the mesh has all been removed. & my current mice are in a larger DIY cage,) but I only plan to use it strictly for large fancy mice & maybe a hamster in the future.

And ya, the mesh can be really sharp. And while I made sure it it was facing away from the mice, that means I nicked myself on it a bunch Crying or Very sad

by Oreoandfriends Fri 20 Nov 2020, 7:28 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions!
I’ve made quite a few bin cages at this point so I’m pretty used to working with mesh, I might line the slightly larger gaps with it! I’m not too concerned about him escaping because the room he’s in is closed 24/7, I do have rats in a critter nation and I wouldn’t want them to hurt him though.
I might make a different diy cage for him but I’ll see how it goes! Thanks Smile

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