Mouse care

by Ainsley1o1 Sun 29 Oct 2017, 4:47 pm

Hi!

I have never had a mouse but I'm looking to get three females because that's what I heard is best.

So I have a couple questions:

What size cage?
How much bedding?
Is kiln-dried pine ok?
should I have a lid for my cage?
what type of food?
How big of a wheel?
Do mice become territorial over food bowls or water bottles?
How many wheels should I have for three mice?
scatter or bowl feed?

Thanks! If I have more questions I will be sure to ask.

by CucumberMouse Sun 29 Oct 2017, 6:02 pm

-The minimum cage size for 3 female mice (or one male) is 200 square inches, which is the same as a 10 gallon fish tank
-1 or 2 inches of bedding is good I think, my mouse enjoys burrowing a lot, so if you want to give more opportunity for burrowing then add a few more inches of bedding
-I'm pretty sure toys and solid objects made of kiln dried pine are safe, but if your talking about pine bedding then I wouldn't use it (personally, I like paper bedding best)
-Mice should have a mesh lid to allow enough ventilation, but they are little escape artists, so it is important to have a lid, especially if you want to add climbing toys
-For mice that aren't from a breeder, about 12-14% protein should be good, and 5% (around) fat with under 10% fiber (this is for the part of the diet that isn't fresh food), you will also need fresh foods and some treats, but definitely check out the Nutrition section of this forum, you can find a lot of detailed information over there about fresh foods and other parts of your mouse's diet
- 6.5 inch wheels are the minimum, but I think 7-8 inches is better, you can use wire mesh wheels and solid wheels, just stay away from wheels with only horizontal bars. (the medium size of flying saucer is a good option, too)
-I've never seen mice become territorial over food bowls, but I'm pretty sure it can happen, hopefully someone else on the forum can answer that question better for you
-I think that 1-2 wheels is good for 3 mice, unless you see them getting territorial over the wheels and fighting because of it (then you should get more wheels), but I do think that mice like to run on their wheel together at the same time, which is harder for them to do if you have a solid-based wheels
-Personally, I prefer bowl feeding (so I can monitor how much my mouse is eating), but I don't think there is necessarily a right or wrong way when it comes to bowl and scatter feeding

Hope this helped, there's a ton of great information through-out this forum so you can find lots more detailed explanations if you need to Smile

by CallaLily Sun 29 Oct 2017, 7:04 pm

I think CucumberMouse answered everything really well. Also check out this thread which links to a bunch of information threads on mouse care: Pet Mouse Info.

by Blessed Sat 04 Nov 2017, 12:10 am

Ainsley1o1 wrote:What size cage?
How much bedding?
Is kiln-dried pine ok?
should I have a lid for my cage?
what type of food?
How big of a wheel?
Do mice become territorial over food bowls or water bottles?
How many wheels should I have for three mice?
scatter or bowl feed?

Thanks! If I have more questions I will be sure to ask.

Hi there. =)
1. On the Humane Society Web site, it says 1 - 3 mice can be in a ten-gallon, so a ten-gallon would work fine (I have my three girls in that size).
2. And I think it's recommended you use 2 - 3 inches of bedding, but I wouldn't necessarily feel the need to follow that. In fact, paper towels work good for the 'bedding'. I just place usually 8 on the floor of my tank, thickening the layer a bit.
3. Kiln-dried I'd imagine is fine. It's pine, cedar, aspen, and wood shavings you shouldn't use, as they can cause respiratory infections and possibly give your mice mites.
4. I'd recommend a lid for your cage, but it's not really necessary if you don't have cats or other animals that would want to reach into there and get your mice.
5. I give my mice Small World Carnival Complete Feed For Mice & Rats, 3 lbs and 8In1 Pet Products Mouse/Rat Food Premium Pet Mouse & Rat Food, 1.5 Lb (the first one's a seed mix, the second one is chunks). They're both from my Walmart, and most likely other Walmarts, too. I think they have a fine amount of stuff needed for mice (e.g. protein, fat, etc.). The first one is about $5 and the second one is under $3. And mice food lasts a super long time... At least, my mice's food does. Smile

6. I think the most common smallest wheels are about 4 inches, and I use a silent wheel like that size. But bigger is perfectly fine, too (just not chinchilla wheel size, preferably).
7. Nope; that I'm aware of, they don't get territorial over food bowls and water bottles.
8. I have one wheel for my three girls. Two can share a wheel if it's wide enough (and more likely than not, it would be), but one really should be sufficient; most likely they won't all choose to use the wheel at the same time, anyways. But if you'd prefer to give them that option anyways, then I'd suggest getting two.
9. Most people I'm assuming use bowls. I do for their main diet, and then for snacks, I tend to scatter it around or hide it, to give them something fun to do. But that is entirely up to you; personal preference. =)

Really, mice are fairly cheap to maintain. And easy to care for. They don't take up a lot of space, either. And in my experience, they're very skittish (but you can work on that by handling them gently and frequently). But they can be fun to watch, I suppose. So if you're looking for a low-maintenance, cheap pet, go for them. If you're looking for a cuddly, very tame pet...they might not be the best for that. Smile

But then again, it depends on the individual mouse, too. And be warned, in case you don't know this: Mice do stink; male mice do, especially, but three or more females can get to smelling 'like a male'; but if you put deodorizers near their tank, or use bedding to absorb the smell (it lasts for a good bit), or clean their cage quite frequently...then you shouldn't have much of a problem at all.

by Ainsley1o1 Sat 04 Nov 2017, 4:43 pm

Blessed wrote:
Ainsley1o1 wrote:What size cage?
How much bedding?
Is kiln-dried pine ok?
should I have a lid for my cage?
what type of food?
How big of a wheel?
Do mice become territorial over food bowls or water bottles?
How many wheels should I have for three mice?
scatter or bowl feed?

Thanks! If I have more questions I will be sure to ask.
Hi there. =)
1. On the Humane Society Web site, it says 1 - 3 mice can be in a ten-gallon, so a ten-gallon would work fine (I have my three girls in that size).
2. And I think it's recommended you use 2 - 3 inches of bedding, but I wouldn't necessarily feel the need to follow that. In fact, paper towels work good for the 'bedding'. I just place usually 8 on the floor of my tank, thickening the layer a bit.
3. Kiln-dried I'd imagine is fine. It's pine, cedar, aspen, and wood shavings you shouldn't use, as they can cause respiratory infections and possibly give your mice mites.
4. I'd recommend a lid for your cage, but it's not really necessary if you don't have cats or other animals that would want to reach into there and get your mice.
5. I give my mice Small World Carnival Complete Feed For Mice & Rats, 3 lbs and 8In1 Pet Products Mouse/Rat Food Premium Pet Mouse & Rat Food, 1.5 Lb (the first one's a seed mix, the second one is chunks). They're both from my Walmart, and most likely other Walmarts, too. I think they have a fine amount of stuff needed for mice (e.g. protein, fat, etc.). The first one is about $5 and the second one is under $3. And mice food lasts a super long time... At least, my mice's food does.
6. I think the most common smallest wheels are about 4 inches, and I use a silent wheel like that size. But bigger is perfectly fine, too (just not chinchilla wheel size, preferably).
7. Nope; that I'm aware of, they don't get territorial over food bowls and water bottles.
8. I have one wheel for my three girls. Two can share a wheel if it's wide enough (and more likely than not, it would be), but one really should be sufficient; most likely they won't all choose to use the wheel at the same time, anyways. But if you'd prefer to give them that option anyways, then I'd suggest getting two.
9. Most people I'm assuming use bowls. I do for their main diet, and then for snacks, I tend to scatter it around or hide it, to give them something fun to do. But that is entirely up to you; personal preference. =)

Really, mice are fairly cheap to maintain. And easy to care for. They don't take up a lot of space, either. And in my experience, they're very skittish (but you can work on that by handling them gently and frequently). But they can be fun to watch, I suppose. So if you're looking for a low-maintenance, cheap pet, go for them. If you're looking for a cuddly, very tame pet...they might not be the best for that. But then again, it depends on the individual mouse, too. And be warned, in case you don't know this: Mice do stink; male mice do, especially, but three or more females can get to smelling 'like a male'; but if you put deodorizers near their tank, or use bedding to absorb the smell (it lasts for a good bit), or clean their cage quite frequently...then you shouldn't have much of a problem at all.

how much food per mouse?

by Blessed Sat 04 Nov 2017, 6:13 pm

I don't think it matters. If you use a bowl, get the smallest bowl you can find at a pet store or your local grocery store in the pet section, and fill it to the brim, but that's entirely up to you how much you want to give them. They do like having the option to eat whenever they want to, as I think they're considered 'grazing' animals in that aspect? But my mice don't get a bowl of food in the daytime, though occasionally I will give them some if they're up, and sometimes I give them snacks in the daytime or night time, other than that, I just feed my mice at night. But most people will probably tell you to keep their bowl filled at all times, so they have that option to eat whenever they want to. I just don't care for my mice (or animals?) the way most people probably do...particularly when it comes to feeding. So don't listen to most of my feeding advice, lol.

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