Thoughts on pet store mice?

by MooMouse Mon 22 Aug 2016, 11:39 pm

I'd just like to know some fellow mouse owner's thoughts on purchasing mice from large pet stores, like PetCo and PetSmart. I know that a majority of the fancy mice sold there are bought for snake feed, which in my opinion is absolutely terrible. Although at PetCo today, there was an adorable little black and white male mouse in a tank all by himself. Of course there were also the usual male and female tanks of plain white fancy mice. However, he wasn't skinny like all of the other mice. I am interested in getting a second mouse now that I know how to care for them properly, but none of the local animal rescues have mice up for adoption. I would greatly appreciate any of your opinions on this matter!

by River Mon 22 Aug 2016, 11:46 pm

They're living animals who deserve loving homes. What else is there to say about them? My girls are both petstore mice and I couldn't have asked for better. Smile

by AnonymousMouseOwner Tue 23 Aug 2016, 12:22 am

River wrote:They're living animals who deserve loving homes. What else is there to say about them? My girls are both petstore mice and I couldn't have asked for better.

That pretty much sums it up!

The only thing you want to be aware of is pet store mice generally come from overcrowded and dirty conditions making health problems more common.

Other than that, they are great! Smile

by CinnamonPearl Tue 23 Aug 2016, 6:33 am

Buying pet store mice only comes down to your own ethics. You can avoid them to not support the feeder industry, you can only buy from places with no live feed policies like Petsmart (what I do), or you can just buy from any feeder bin. It depends on what you personally feel comfortable doing.

by AnonONIagent Tue 23 Aug 2016, 7:11 am

All of my PEW mice were from a pet store feeder bin, and all of them have been wonderful pets. Sally is a gentle but intensely curious alpha mouse, while Sarah and Molly is/were little cuddlers. Lucy and Selina were also pet store mice, but they were up for adoption at my local Petco, perhaps because the staff there didn't have the heart to sell little weanlings off as feeders. Lucy was docile and shy, while Selina is a jumpy little wild child.

by CallaLily Tue 23 Aug 2016, 7:42 am

Most of my mice have been pet store mice. From Petco: Cheeseburger, Bacon, Twix, Hashbrown, and Hazel. Daryl was adopted from Petco - he was in a separate tank and required a "donation" to be adopted. I believe he was surrendered to Petco but in my excitement I forgot to ask about the circumstances. Seren was from Petsmart.

There aren't a whole lot of other options for mice around here. My husband drove an hour and a half away to meet a guy (halfway) to pick up Celyn and Rina.

by MooMouse Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:01 am

Thanks for all of your advice Smile

I definitely don't want to support the pet stores selling feeder mice, but I suppose that if I can give a mouse a better home than what they will have there, it doesn't really matter that they are from a pet store.

That being said, would you all reccomend owning 2 male mice (separate tanks of course). Is the stink twice as much? I use dirt bedding with Rogue and that seems to eliminate most of the odor.

by AnonONIagent Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:19 am

MooMouse wrote:Thanks for all of your advice I definitely don't want to support the pet stores selling feeder mice, but I suppose that if I can give a mouse a better home than what they will have there, it doesn't really matter that they are from a pet store.

That being said, would you all reccomend owning 2 male mice (separate tanks of course). Is the stink twice as much? I use dirt bedding with Rogue and that seems to eliminate most of the odor.

If you can find a Petsmart near you, they have a no feeder policy.

As for the two males thing, personally I'd recommend starting off with three females, but if you really want two males then yeah, I'd imagine having two would increase the pungency of the odor a bit, though probably not nearly "twice as much".

Is there any particular reason you'd prefer males to females? Just curious.

by MooMouse Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:34 am

Well, I already have a male. I would consider getting a female but then of course I would have to get her a companion or two. The first mouse I owned was female, and she never really bonded with me like my male. If I adopted 3 more mice that would also be a lot more food I have to buy, lol.

by Ealexander Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:36 am

Males tend to be aggressive and territorial so it's not advised to house them together. The bigger stronger one won't tolerate the other for long, unfortunately. I've kept three mice over the last 5 years, all males, and all lived alone (with frequent visits to come out to play, of course!)

by MooMouse Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:48 am

Ealexander wrote:Males tend to be aggressive and territorial so it's not advised to house them together. The bigger stronger one won't tolerate the other for long, unfortunately. I've kept three mice over the last 5 years, all males, and all lived alone (with frequent visits to come out to play, of course!)

Right, I would never even think about housing 2 males together. I've seen the pictures!

This is off topic but what kind of bedding do you recommend for odor control, with the experience of owning 3 male mice and all? Originally I used some strange kaytee fresh linen scented paper bedding that I had in the basement from my guinea pig, then I switched to dirt which did an okay job with eliminating odor (it dried out very easily though with the heat around here), and just now I bought some Walmart brand paper bedding which is still going strong overnight. I've recently been recommended corn cob bedding, so I think that I may try that out next. My mouse really doesn't seem to care about the stuff in the bottom of his cage, I thought the reason he would shovel the dirt out from under his puzzle house was because he didn't like to sleep on it, but nope, he does that with the soft paper bedding too. Do you have any suggestions?

by Rodents rock! Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:50 am

I have a male mouse, Mickey. I don't think a second tank with another male mouse would make the sell any worse. To me the tanks contain the smell, so I don't really smell that smell until I'm over at the tank to interact with Mickey.

Mickey is from PETsMART and he is a great little man. My first option would be adoption, but I've never seen mice needing homes at my local Humane Society, so that is why I opted for PETsMART. I personally don't have a problem buying mice from pet shops because they need loving homes just like any animal. Very Happy

by CallaLily Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:54 am

I've only ever had the one male but when I had him I also had two separate groups of girls. I think two (separate) males is doable, as long as you have the time to spend with each individually and of course the extra money for supplies and vet care if needed. There is the possibility that having their tanks nearby to one another might cause them to feel the need to mark more. But the same could be said with having a tank of girls nearby. My buck was pretty skunky smelling but I know others have had bucks that were less pungent.

by Rodents rock! Tue 23 Aug 2016, 8:56 am

I recommended the corn cob bedding, it really is the best thing I have found for masking the smell. Mickey loves digging in it. Carefresh is also good, but between the two, the corn cob is better as far as smell, for male mice. But like I said I always give him some of the Carefresh to use in his house for sleeping. Very Happy

by MouseLover Tue 23 Aug 2016, 9:13 am

If you can find a breeder, that's all well and good, and is possibly the preferred option. The only thing is - mouse breeders seem to be hard to find! So for a lot of people pet store mice are the only option. As others have said, they often make great pets - so there's nothing wrong with buying mice from a pet store.

No pet shops sell mice near me - so my only options are hobby breeders, accidental litters etc that are advertised online. This has worked well for me, as the mice are often handled well - making taming easier.

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