Cage and Bedding Recommendations?

by RYCBAR123 Mon 26 Jun 2017, 2:59 pm

Hi all,

I'm considering getting some pet mice, so I'm just looking for some information and recommendations before I make a firm decision on getting/not getting pets.

I've been looking online at cages, and decided I'd probably be most comfortable with a wire cage, as I have two for my hamsters and quite like the air flow. I was on Zooplus, and noticed they have the Savic Hamster Heaven Metro Cage under mouse homes. Would this be a suitable cage, with the bar spacing? I have the standard Hamster Heaven home for my dwarf hamster, but wasn't sure if the bars would be too wide. Also open to other cage/tank suggestions!

Also, what type of bedding and to what depth would you recommend? And what size wheel?

Thanks in advance!

Edit:

Just thought I'd add a little more info about me and my current pets. I'm from the UK, in the countryside. I have a 9 1/2 year old English Cocker Spaniel (Midnight), a 18 month old winter white hamster (Oswald), a 18 moth old one-eyed syrian hamster (Leo), three goldfish (Ocean Glitter, Tinker and Tiger) and three aquarium zebra snails (Thunder, Lightening and Flash). I'm also a registered small animal foster carer for a local shelter, and I run a small animal pet boarding business. I'm not limited by space, finances or resources, and aim to give my current and any future pets the best possible care. And I'm not opposed to simple DIY projects!

by PastelMouse Mon 26 Jun 2017, 4:56 pm

This isn't my own advice, but rather what I've learned form being on this forum for a few months. Sorry if this is already stuff you know!

Generally the best cage for a mouse/mice is an aquarium. For a solo male a 10 gallon works great, for a trio of females a 10 gallon or 20 long is perfect. (With a lid.) You can use a cage, but keep in mind you may have bar chewing. The general recommended size is 200 square inches for a solo male or 3 females. I'm not so sure about bar spacing, but mice can be good at escaping so it should be very small.

If you want to size your cage, PMF has a cage calculator you can use.

Bedding can be aspen or paper, most people use paper I would say. A good depth is 2-3 inches, more for mice who like to burrow or build nests.

A perfect wheel size is 8". However, the minimum recommended is about 6". You can use mesh wheels or solid plastic wheels.

I hope this helped you, if you have any more questions I'd love to try and answer them.

by RYCBAR123 Tue 27 Jun 2017, 3:07 pm

This is great, thank you! I tried the calculator and it came up with 61, so not sure what I did wrong. The cage is 80cm x 50cm, bar spacing 9.5mm. I might start looking for some nice sized aquariums - I don't really fancy any escape acts!

Paper was what I was thinking of using, I'm glad that I seem to be on the right track, and thank you for the recommended wheel size. I'll get at least 8" and see how they go. If they look like they need bigger, I'll go bigger.

PastelMouse wrote:This isn't my own advice, but rather what I've learned form being on this forum for a few months. Sorry if this is already stuff you know!

Generally the best cage for a mouse/mice is an aquarium. For a solo male a 10 gallon works great, for a trio of females a 10 gallon or 20 long is perfect. (With a lid.) You can use a cage, but keep in mind you may have bar chewing. The general recommended size is 200 square inches for a solo male or 3 females. I'm not so sure about bar spacing, but mice can be good at escaping so it should be very small.

If you want to size your cage, PMF has a cage calculator you can use.

Bedding can be aspen or paper, most people use paper I would say. A good depth is 2-3 inches, more for mice who like to burrow or build nests.

A perfect wheel size is 8". However, the minimum recommended is about 6". You can use mesh wheels or solid plastic wheels.

I hope this helped you, if you have any more questions I'd love to try and answer them.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Tue 27 Jun 2017, 6:15 pm

RYCBAR123 wrote:This is great, thank you! I tried the calculator and it came up with 61, so not sure what I did wrong. The cage is 80cm x 50cm, bar spacing 9.5mm. I might start looking for some nice sized aquariums - I don't really fancy any escape acts!

Came out to 9 when I did it. Keep in mind that the calculator goes by inches, not centimeters. Even so, I wouldn't recommend keeping a group of mice larger than 7 or 8. If this is your first time keeping mice, maybe just start with a trio, as it can be tough sorting out issues with large colonies. With really large colonies, usually it is more likely for them to fight or split up. Not saying that's how it always goes, but you have to be prepared for fights just in case.

by RYCBAR123 Sat 08 Jul 2017, 7:27 am

[/quote]
Came out to 9 when I did it. Keep in mind that the calculator goes by inches, not centimeters. Even so, I wouldn't recommend keeping a group of mice larger than 7 or 8. If this is your first time keeping mice, maybe just start with a trio, as it can be tough sorting out issues with large colonies. With really large colonies, usually it is more likely for them to fight or split up. Not saying that's how it always goes, but you have to be prepared for fights just in case. [/quote]

Thanks. My choice of getting or not getting mice was kinda taken away from me a week ago, when I accidentally found some for sale in absolutely appalling conditions. There was no way I could leave them where they were, so I took them and headed straight to the vets. I've got two girls, Ivy Rose and Ida Mae, both healthy and thought to be roughly 10 weeks old.

I settled for the Falco Small Pet Cage (75cm x 45cm x 62cm), with a glass bottom and a wire top for continuous air flow. They look lost in it! As for fighting, they had their first run in last night when Ivy wouldn't let Ida on the wheel, so I'm getting a second wheel today in an attempt to avoid further dispute! She didn't hurt her, just got very vocal at her.

by Rodents rock! Sat 08 Jul 2017, 9:22 am

Hi, I'm glad you got them out of the bad conditions they were living in! Congratulations on your new girls Very Happy

We would love to see photos of the girls and your other pets too! I have a Puggle (Pug/Beagle mix) named Myda, a male mouse named Mickey, and a winter white hamster named Cam.