How did you end up with mice as pets?

by Mouseketeers Fri 07 Oct 2016, 6:57 am

It got me thinking the other day, I would love to hear how everyone ended up with their mice pets.

I am not going to lie, as a slightly bored 23 year old I wanted a pet. I needed something that would make noise during the night ( long complicated story ), yet not be super demanding. I still remember driving home on the phone to my friend with Crackers and Zoe on the seat beside me. The conversation went something like " So I have mice ... like pet mice... in my car..... I don't like mice do I? But! They don't have tails. The tails freak me out."
I don't think her response would be appropriate to type out Wink

I went into work and my students had a good laugh at me and we brain stormed some names. Then Mocha came along to add my third and final girl to the colony ..... lol Then a few weeks later I came across Tigger and I mean how could I pass her up. Then I met Teddy and well the rest is history xD

I never ever expected to end up where I am with this hobby. I was completely hooked within moments of getting them home.

Now please don't get me wrong, I am not a horrible person. I live alone with no one else to consider, I have horses so i was not a newbie to animal ownership or the financial strain. Nor am I condoning impulsive purchases .. despite how good at it I may be.

Lets here your stories!

by stephlisa Fri 07 Oct 2016, 8:04 am

I don't think my story is massively interesting, but I'll share it anyway.

I'm in the house a lot, often on my own, and I was having problems with depression and anxiety and so I'd been talking to my partner about getting a pet since we'd moved house! I wanted something that could talk to and would give me snuggles and be a generally cute little face to see each day.

We couldn't have a dog or cat (allergies and phobias), our garden wasn't rabbit proof and allergies meant I couldn't have a house rabbit. We researched reptiles but we didn't have anywhere we'd be able to convert into a suitable reptile home (I really like tortoises - I think they're so cute). So finally we started researching rodents. I've had a few bad experiences with a hamster when I was younger (it was my sisters and she didn't try to tame it or anything and it was in too small a cage and so wasn't very happy).

I knew I didn't want a big rodent (like a rat or a chinchilla) because at the time we were looking we couldn't have a big enough house. Then we were visiting my parents and the topic came up, and she suggested a mouse. At first I wasn't so keen, but then I researched them more and went to see some in the pet shop and found little Colin so we got everything set up and went to get our little mouse. Now I find myself hooked on my little one - he snuggles up with me to watch films, he runs around doing silly things and cheers up me when I'm sad (it's like he knows!).

I'd love more pets, but this little mouse is one of the best decisions we've made!

by CallaLily Fri 07 Oct 2016, 9:46 am

We'll my very first mice I had when I was around 8-10 years old. My good friend at the time had picked up a mouse that turned out to be pregnant, so I took 2 of the babies once they were old enough to leave mom. I named them Tom and Jerry and if I'm remembering correctly, one was black and one was brown.

EDIT: I took a few minutes to try to remember the timeline. I had to have been 9-10 years old (1990-1991) when I had these mice.

Now, how I came back into keeping pet mice in 2014 (23-25 years later) may upset some - but keep in mind it all turned out for the best.

snake mention:

So that's how I came to pick up Cheeseburger and Bacon from Petco in June 2014. So I may not have went into this planning to keep pet mice, but I am so happy it ended up that way. Now I can't see myself not having pet mice.

by Peachy Fri 07 Oct 2016, 10:43 am

My first mouse was a boy that my 7th grade science teacher let me take home for the summer. I had to wear socks on my hands so he wouldn't bite me while my grandma cleaned his cage. His name was Oreo.

Then, a month after I graduated from high school I colored my hair pink (and then blue, darker blue, lighter blue, green blue, over and over until I got tired of bleaching it) and adopted a cat. While at Petco looking at cat stuff after work, I found the mice. I went home and asked my mom if she would mind a couple, and then Artemis and Athena came home the same night.

After 15 months, Artemis died and I adopted two girls (Demeter and Aphrodite) from the shelter the same day. Aphrodite passed before quarantine was over. I brought Demeter home in October 2011, she and Athena finally moved in together in December 2011. Then I brought home Opheleia, the poor girl who lived alone for a bit while the vet and I discussed pros and cons of myco testing. We finally introduced her and then I brought home another. lol

I got my first boy in October 2011 too, and I was immediately crazy in love with him. Love

Athena passed in April 2012. She was the reason I got more mice after Artemis passed, and then girls just kept dying and needing replaced. When I was finally down to one old girl, I decided to take a break... But within two weeks I went to the shelter and brought home a new boy. And then two girls. And then two pregnant girls. And now...

by MouseLover Fri 07 Oct 2016, 3:35 pm

Mice were always one of my favourite animals as a little kid. Any film or cartoon featuring mice was a hit with me. But no pet shops I've ever been to have had mice for sale, and I didn't know anyone who had mice as pets, so I guess it never really occurred to me that you could even have a mouse as a pet!

About 8 years ago I think, when I was 18 and living away from home for the first time, I starting thinking about getting a little pet to keep me company. I started researching small animals as pets, and as soon as I thought about a mouse, I knew that was what I wanted. I managed to get in touch with someone who bred show mice, and they were willing to sell me a couple of girls. So that's how I got my first mice, Daisy and Peach (named after the princesses from the Super Mario games lol). When Daisy died, I bought two more mice. And a year or so later another three mice. And two more mice. And... you know how it goes with girls Smile

by MooMouse Fri 07 Oct 2016, 4:08 pm

It was interesting to read all of the completley different stories about how people got into mice! Here's mine:

It was a Wednesday evening when my mom showed me a picture of a female mouse she had heard about on the radio. I was 8 or 9 years old. Every Wednesday morning an SPCA representative would come on the radio and talk about a certain pet that was up for adoption at the SPCA. Usually it was a dog, sometimes a cat, but this was the first time it was a mouse. Her name was Charlotte, and she was surrendered to the SPCA because she had been pregnant. She had given birth a few weeks before that.
How did you end up with mice as pets? 2012-010

How did you end up with mice as pets? 2012-010

How did you end up with mice as pets? 2012-011

(These are pictures of her in her older years)

As soon as I saw her I wanted to hop in the car and drive an hour to the SPCA to adopt her. Spoiler alert, that didn't happen, but a few days later we went to adopt her. She was a *good* pet, only she didn't enjoy human interaction too much. But, it was hilarious to watch her run like The Flash on her wheel and roll around in her ball. She lived the normal 2 years and then passed. We buried her in my backyard.

Fast-forward 6 years, and I am now the proud owner of one male mouse named Rogue, also adopted from the SPCA. I originally planned to get one named Spinach, but Spinach wasn't so friendly, lol. I'm so glad to have gotten back into mice as pets and be part of this great community we have on the forums.

by EverythingAnimal Fri 07 Oct 2016, 4:12 pm

Wow, I'm really boring. I wanted a pet, something that didn't need more than a 10 gallon tank (ruled out hamsters and gerbils) and that I could only have one of. So, I settled on a boy, did 3 years research on male mice before heading to the store and coming out with three girls. Razz

by Bandit Cat Fri 07 Oct 2016, 6:11 pm

I stumbled across this forum, and I fell in love with them from there! I then went to TFM, and learned all about them (research always comes first!) and decided I wanted a male. So now I have a really cute mouse named Cotton!

by CallaLily Fri 07 Oct 2016, 6:17 pm

Bandit Cat wrote:I then went to TFM, and learned all about them

I just thought I'd mention for anyone reading, all of TFM's info has been copied over (with permission) to this forum. So don't freak out when that site disapears. It's all here. Mostly at the top of the forum in the "Fancy Mouse Information" section (with the cute mouse/cheese pictures) but some stickies in other appropriate sections too. Very Happy

by EverythingAnimal Fri 07 Oct 2016, 8:51 pm

CallaLily wrote:
Bandit Cat wrote:I then went to TFM, and learned all about them

I just thought I'd mention for anyone reading, all of TFM's info has been copied over (with permission) to this forum. So don't freak out when that site disapears. It's all here. Mostly at the top of the forum in the "Fancy Mouse Information" section (with the cute mouse/cheese pictures) but some stickies in other appropriate sections too.

I'm actually double prepared. Before everything was moved on to here, I copied everything on TFM to a google doc. So even if disaster strikes, there is always a backup plan!

by MesaMouse Sat 08 Oct 2016, 12:00 am

Almost five years ago, after my twin male cats passed on at age 14 within one month of each another, I decided I needed more pets. Although I already had other pets, the BooDog and several hermit crabs, I'd always loved rodents and knew a few people who had pet rats so off to Petco I went. After looking in all the rodent tanks, I simply fell in love with the twitchy noses and long tiny feet of the mice. I came home with a wholly inappropriate CritterTrail setup, Kaytee brand mouse food, bedding with baking soda and Merlot and Chablis, my first two girls. When Chablis passed on, Bombay and Frascatti were added (no quarantining as I had not yet found TFM and knew nothing about introducing mice, treating for mites, the need for a trio, etc.). When the last of that colony, Frascatti, passed on, I said "No more mice!" because they were so short-lived. An experiment with rats ended quickly (the BooDog is half-dachshund and desperately wanted to kill them, chewing part way through a door in the attempt, so back to the rat rescue they went) and more mice came home, etc, etc. The last old lady of the fourth colony, Cordelia, passed on last month at 27 months old and I still look for her tank every day. At this stage of my life, there will be no more mouse colonies but hopefully a single hamster soon.

by CinnamonPearl Sat 08 Oct 2016, 7:57 am

Well I had wanted mice since I was little, but my mom never let me cause she was musophobic. I even typed up an essay on why I should have them and "accidentally" left it in her room. Laughing

But after my parrot died, my parents weren't gonna let me get another pet, so after months of trying, my friend and I made a plan to smuggle a trio of does into the house and keep them secretly. We even started gathering supplies! But my sister caught us and convinced my mom to let me get a small pet, and I chose mice. I adopted Rosie, Mabel, and Little Cow a month later.

by AnonONIagent Sat 08 Oct 2016, 1:57 pm

I had wanted small animals as a kid, but my mom never let me get them. The desire waned after a few years, though. Then, early this year, I started having dreams where I was going to the store to buy a hamster, and just before the store associate was about to put the hamster in my hands, I would wake up feeling depressed and unfulfilled. And this made me start wanting them again.

So after weeks of these dreams finally I got the balls to ask my mom about getting a mouse or hamster, and this time, with me being 21, the answer was not a flat "no" but a "maybe". However, she said no to mice because according to her they were "tiny and flighty and sure to run away to somewhere you'd never find them".

So finally, after a lot of research and figuring out a place to put the cage where the cats would never reach, my mom said yes to a hamster. So after work one day I met my mom down at one of the two pet stores in the strip mall where I work (one being a Petco and the other being a mom & pop store, the latter of which being where we went), and we picked out a Campbell's Russian Dwarf hamster which I named Lola.

And for a while, I was happy. But I kept on going down to that pet store and looking at the small animals in my spare time, and slowly but surely, I fell absolutely in love with the mice in the feeder bins. I fell in love with their funny personalities, their little feet, their satellite dish ears, their silly tails that shook as they ran on their wheel; just everything about them. And it hurt me to know that almost none of them were likely to find good homes, and were instead doomed to a terrifying death in the jaws of some other creature.

Eventually, I just had to hold one. So I asked one of the store clerks to hold one of the mice. They looked at me weird, as basically no one who came to their store were interested in the mice as pets, but they obliged. And the mouse they handed me was so incredibly tame! She sat calmly in my hands, washing herself and even accepting a treat! I was instantly in love. I had to have this mouse.

So after convincing my mom that I had proven myself responsible with my care of Lola and finding a spot for yet another cage, she reluctantly agreed to let me get mice. So the next day after work, I went down, bought everything I needed, and finally picked out the mouse I had previously as well as a healthy-looking cagemate for her. These mice became Molly and Sally, respectively.

Since then I I've had three more mice come into my care. Of the original two, Molly has sadly passed on as the result of a terrible accident, but Sally is still going strong. I am absolutely in love with these little creatures and can no longer imagine life without them.

by CanadianExport Sun 09 Oct 2016, 11:41 am

My story is a little convoluted. My mum wanted to get a pet again after having to re-home her cat due to developing severe allergies to her (the cat found a wonderful home with one of the vet techs at my mum's vet). So she did research for about 6 months into what kind of animals she could afford and would fit into her life. She finally decided on mice. We went to Petco and picked up three little girls. Unfortunately Winnie kept getting into fights with the other two and my mum was getting really worried and uncomfortable having her. I talked to my boyfriend and he agreed that I could bring her home (as long as he doesn't have to take care of them he is cool with animals). So I made a quick bin cage and brought her home. Then after doing some more research on how to deal with a bully mouse and whether I can try getting her a friend I got Ori. About 6 months later I saw an ad on Craigslist for a woman who had satin mice and I decided I wanted more. So now I have four and am a little addicted to mice.

I never thought that I could enjoy these little guys as much as I do because I was always of the opinion that dogs were the only animal for me. But after having my 12.5 year old chihuahua all these years I have kinda decided that mice are much more my speed right now. I still have my senior chihuahua and he is great but boy have these little mice stole my heart.

by Mouseketeers Sun 09 Oct 2016, 8:33 pm

I love all these replies! I also love how no matter how we came into owning mice we couldn't imagine going back to a time without them Smile

by Sponsored content

How did you end up with mice as pets?

How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?

Re: How did you end up with mice as pets?