Mice getting bored, how can I help?

by Salvsop27 Wed 17 Nov 2021, 11:59 pm

Recently my two mice seem to be getting bored in their tank. They have been climbing on the top and occasionally wall scaling. I’m planning on upgrading them at Christmas, to an ikea detolf, and getting another mouse or two to join them. How can I keep them happy until then?

Cage information:
20 gallon tank (long)
360 square inches of floor space

Mice getting bored, how can I help? 77e59910

Mice getting bored, how can I help? Ab5ebf10

I am currently using kaytee clean and cozy and eco earth (in the little ceramic pot)
Two above ground hides, as well as a box under the bedding that they made a nest in.
A bird rope toy that they really love to climb on and a ladder
A flying saucer wheel (I think it’s like 7/8 inches, but I’m not sure.) but I plan on getting them a normal wheel soon.

I feed them mazuri rat and mouse blocks, as well as tiny friends farm rat and mouse food. I scatter feed the tiny friends farm food and mix it into the eco earth. They have some chew toys, but most of them are buried or shoved in weird places by now. I am at a loss for how to keep them entertained until I can upgrade them and any advice would be appreciated.

by scooter :D Thu 18 Nov 2021, 1:17 pm

here's a few things i do to keep my mouse busy !
i like to rip up some cardboard/newspaper and mix it in w the bedding
somw days i scatter feed his food but other days i put it into a foraging toy so he rlly has to work for it (i'll link a video for some diy ones below)
i suggest adding some more hanging toys / hammocks for them
rearrange their cage/add new things around every week, they love just exploring their stuff again !!
i also suggest adding more vareity in their food, like various seeds or pasta. im pretty sure there's a post somewhere on this forum about ssafe foods ! also giving them vegetables every couple of days (if you dont already) might be fun for them !!
heres the video i was talking about earlier, most of these are done with just toilet rolls so its extra easy ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wc9BjIpyeg

by cerial Sun 21 Nov 2021, 3:07 am

I have 6 different kinds of food mostly oat/wheat cereal(no corn ever) with things like almonds or fruit pieces inside. They dig for the almonds and also carry off the food.

Every two weeks I clean the cage washing everything plastic or metal before everything is wiped down with new bedding going in. I replace the sticks giving them tons of new chewing things and climbing routes. I put in new cardboard boxes with one side open or holes made into the boxes. I throw out the dirt in the dig box and replace it with new dirt and grass.
I try to move things around keeping the food and water in one spot so they are often exploring for a few days before building nest.

I try to introduce something new every month. Last month that was a stainless silverware thing with a mesh back and several dividers. The month before that I found a small 4" ish wheel thing that the deer mice love.

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Besides the toys you can introduce one or two day things. Bubble wrap is one of those things mice love. The bigger the bubbles the better and at least 12" so they don't carry it off. Plastic bottle caps(with the ring removed) with a drop or two of dried soda inside will have them carrying it around. 4" square pieces of a t shirt/jeans/towel can make for a few interesting days and short term bed or hide.
Of course these are all throw away things. But most are a cheap to free way to provide enrichment.

by Salvsop27 Sun 21 Nov 2021, 10:00 pm

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This is this weeks setup, and they seem to like it a lot more. I put a bunch of paper in with them, and they shoved it all into the fleece pineapple thing. I also put a bunch of their food into willow balls, and mixed in with the eco earth. They gave a bit less bedding than before, but that’s just because I was running low. I also hung some more things from the top, which they absolutely love, I’m looking into buying more hanging things for them. Tysm for your help

by Buggirl13 Tue 23 Nov 2021, 9:03 am

a 20-gallon tank is a bit too small. The minimum is around 40 gallons. With a bigger tank, your mice will be less bored.

by Buggirl13 Tue 23 Nov 2021, 9:14 am

really sorry, I should learn to read the whole post before responding. I didn't see how you said you were going to upgrade, I hear Ikea detoffs are great enclosures for mice. Smile

by SarahAdams Mon 29 Nov 2021, 12:32 am

I often cut a small square from a thick cardboard box and stuff little treats like a sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, and even a little bit of cookie in the honeycomb little openings at either end. I either put them on the floor of the bin or hang them up within reach. They just love digging and chewing the treats out.

by Mel Mon 29 Nov 2021, 12:16 pm

I would recommend a larger cage to allow for more toys, more supplies, and more bedding. especially for multiple mice. Mice do very well when they have more space than they need. my mouse has a 1152sq inch cage yet he still sometimes gets bored when it is filled with toys and bedding and enrichment. the trick is changing up the setup often. I would recommend at least 7 inches of bedding to allow for optimal burrowing. I would recommend making a bin cage if you're on a budget or even making a custom cage. I would recommend at least 600sq inches. using things like homemade toys can be great and affordable. half of the things in my mouse Jorge's cage are made of cardboard or wood. I think it's good to scatter feed and to interact with them for about half an hour everyday. filling their cage so they have to maneuver around their toys is really enriching for them. they also benefit from a lot of hanging toys, too. you can use simple rope from a craft store, bird houses, boxes, tunnels, hides, and much more.

by animalgirl555 Mon 28 Nov 2022, 7:39 pm

cerial wrote:I have 6 different kinds of food mostly oat/wheat cereal(no corn ever) with things like almonds or fruit pieces inside. They dig for the almonds and also carry off the food.

Every two weeks I clean the cage washing everything plastic or metal before everything is wiped down with new bedding going in. I replace the sticks giving them tons of new chewing things and climbing routes. I put in new cardboard boxes with one side open or holes made into the boxes. I throw out the dirt in the dig box and replace it with new dirt and grass.
I try to move things around keeping the food and water in one spot so they are often exploring for a few days before building nest.

I try to introduce something new every month. Last month that was a stainless silverware thing with a mesh back and several dividers. The month before that I found a small 4" ish wheel thing that the deer mice love.

Besides the toys you can introduce one or two day things. Bubble wrap is one of those things mice love. The bigger the bubbles the better and at least 12" so they don't carry it off. Plastic bottle caps(with the ring removed) with a drop or two of dried soda inside will have them carrying it around. 4" square pieces of a t shirt/jeans/towel can make for a few interesting days and short term bed or hide.
Of course these are all throw away things. But most are a cheap to free way to provide enrichment.

The wire wheel that you have for your mice isn't safe as they can get their paws stuck in the space between the wires. If you want, you can put duck tape on both sides of the wire so they won't get stuck. Smile

But to keep my mice entertained, I like to make food-chew toy things, and I found that my mice really seem to like sprays. Especially Millet.

by cerial Wed 30 Nov 2022, 3:25 am

That is more for the deer mice then the fancy mice. I have three other 10" wheels for the fancy and "feeder" mice to run on. I have 2 smaller tanks both with wheels for my mice with issues. One of those has a Niteangel which is highly recommended. But the deer mice move so fast in it they will stop and get spun around and sometimes get flung a foot or so across the cage to make a "tunk" against the glass. I was like oh thats not good. . So the 3 other wheels in the deermice cage are not perfectly round keeping the wheel speeds down. But in that wire one they can run as fast as they want without getting flung out.

Simply changing things around will encourage enrichment. I sometimes make treats like pandcake drops (no butter or milk) just the stuff left in the bowl drip into a hot pan then give the 1/4" things to them or give them some broccoli or cucumber pieces.

They never know what they might get. The only thing I avoid giving them is anything with corn/corn meal or any of those edible toys. I dont 100% know whats in the edible toys and also feel they may try swallowing large pieces

Here is a extremly submissive feeder that had her tail chewed down(she is called Shorty) next to my scared of everything mouse named Grey.

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After this video
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OBayEiNAr2w?feature=share

I moved him into his own 10 gallon and he was much happier. Then I had the issue with Shorty and moved her around 4 weeks ago.
It took him a month. But he eventually got use to her and now they sometimes sleep together. She just got a handfull of new bedding today and already filled a corner.

I give the deers lots of things and additional beddings between cleanings (2 weeks). They love making nest. I completly empty that hanging mesh when I clean the tank. But here it is at 11 days completely full.

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Just keep moving stuff around. A wheel is much better then a saucer. But run what you can. Sometimes I will buy live crickets from a pet store. Or catch a wild black cricket or grasshopper and that makes for some fun. Just keep things new and move stuff around. It avoids them getting bored. But moving stuff around also avoids one mouse becoming territorial about a object or part of the cage.

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