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Large cage - is it best to have only 3 females - or a bigger group

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Post by Salt Tue 30 May 2017, 2:59 am

Hi everyone,

I have a big terrarium, and have 3 young girls. As I have such a big cage, I would love to have a big group of females - perhaps 6 in total, so that they can interact with each other and be very social. What do you think? Is it better to only have 3 in a big cage, or a bigger group? I mean for the mice, not for me!

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Post by scaredymouse Tue 30 May 2017, 3:18 am

How big are we talking?

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Post by Salt Tue 30 May 2017, 3:26 am

100 cm x 50 cm. I'd like to attach a photo but can't see the option. It's one of the biggest Exo-Terra terrariums.

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Post by Salt Tue 30 May 2017, 3:32 am

http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2611_Natural_Terrarium.jpg

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Post by scaredymouse Tue 30 May 2017, 5:25 am

More mice would be better. Even still, it might be too much space if the mice aren't tame yet. Mice tend to get flighty with too much space. It might be fine, though. Just something to keep in mind.

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Lady mice: stormy, Dahlia, lily, Ella billie, coco, maggie
Gentleman mice: milo, jimmy
Other pets: Little Buddy, Kevin (cats) robert, lulu, Englebert, harold, Gerald, Zumi, nico, charlie, (hamsters), stella (gerbil), Gilly (hedgehog)
Rainbow Angel  Penny, Honeybun, Lucy, Annie, Gilly, Furgie, Tedward Wigglesworth, Olivia, Goose, Sweet Katie, Binky, Delilah, Bitsy, Boopers, Sprout, Splotchy, Eva, Slappy, Shuggie, Fancy Pants, Jellybean, Charlie, Murray, Sally, Maya, Gunther, Lil Smokey, Magnus, Norman, Winnie, Sally, George, Harriet, Spec, Erzulie, Lucille, Agatha and Clementine.
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Post by CallaLily Tue 30 May 2017, 6:47 am

The biggest exo terras are 36 x 18 inches, the same as a 40 breeder.  I had 3 in mine for a while with no problems but I did upgrade them slowly over time.  Not sure if yours are already in there or if you're still waiting to move them over?  Eventually I added 3 more after quarantine and a couple weeks of bonding in a minimum size for the group. It worked out for me, with only a few minor tiffs.  I say it really comes down to; Do you want more girls?  Do you have a backup plan if it doesn't work out?  According to the calculator this space can house up to 9 females, so it's plenty for 6.

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Post by Salt Tue 30 May 2017, 7:12 am

Hey, thanks, good points! I do want more girls, absolutely. Also, I do have back-up plans if it doesn't work out, no problem! Smile I have another exo-terra the same size that isn't used at the moment!

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Post by CallaLily Tue 30 May 2017, 7:43 am

Awesome. After quarantining the new mice, see if you can do intros and a bonding period in a bin/tank/cage that's minimum for the group size.  I used a sterilite bin cage with a floorspace of 27 x 16 inches that I happened to have on hand, but bins are pretty cheap anyway.  Or you could try blocking off an area in the big terrarium.  It just seems to work better to slowly build them up from the minimum when they're new and untamed or bonding, rather than just tossing them right into the bigger space.  Then once they were doing good and had time to bond, I tried them in the bigger space. There was a little squeaking now and then with the move, but they worked it out and did great. Now I'm down to 5 girls in there and they're still doing awesome.  Don't forget mice don't like wide open spaces, they like their tank packed full with a lot of hides and cover and things to do. Smile Good luck!

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Post by Salt Tue 30 May 2017, 7:52 am

Thanks so much for giving such good advice! How long would you recommend keeping them in the smaller tub? I actually have a plastic tub at that size, have it all set up so will introduce them in that! Yes, I have the cage packed and got more things coming, so they'll have loads to play with Smile

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Post by CallaLily Tue 30 May 2017, 8:30 am

It depends on how well they do. If all goes perfectly, then a week or two would probably be fine. If they're still working things out at that time, it will probably need longer.

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Post by Salt Thu 08 Jun 2017, 12:54 pm

Hi guys, so sorry I was sure I responded to this one! Thanks very much for the advice!

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