General mice questions

by _.smartass._ Tue 23 Jun 2020, 4:59 pm

Getting my first few mice soon and I’m so excited! But I have a lot of questions so I just kinda thought I’d put them in one thing n hope someone could answer at least one

How much should you feel them a day? And how often should you give them fresh veggies n things like mealworms? This is probably a really stupid one but is back-2-nature a good bedding for mice because ive heard great things but I’ve never really seen people use it for mice So am unsure Smile

is there anyway a cage can have too many things in it? And is the Alaska cage a good cage, because I just ordered it and am now seeing people saying it’s not so great so I’m starting to panic ahah. Sorry for all the questions, just really want to give these mice the best life I can and know as much info as I can before getting them!

by Robin~ Tue 23 Jun 2020, 6:08 pm

Hello!

I personally feed my mice about 10g of food every other day or so (I currently have two females). Back when I had four it was amount that much daily if not more. I'd say that's probably about two tablespoons.

As for fresh veg, I feed one tsp/mouse that every other day. Be sure to wean them onto fresh veg so they don't get wet poos. Smile

For mealworms, I'll feed a couple a day as treats. Definitely don't want to go too overboard though as they are a bit high in fat. I generally follow this list intended for hamsters (just avoid red meat, dairy, and the common allergens [sunflower seeds, peanuts, etc]): http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/topic/96457-hamster-nutrition-v-safe-fruits-vegetables-and-other-dietary-supplements/#entry982830

The Alaska is a great cage! Maybe not for some other rodents, like syrian hamsters (I'm sure they would bar chew the heck out of that...they're super picky when it comes to cage size), but for mice that would be perfect.

If you have any further questions I'd be happy to answer to my best ability!

by _.smartass._ Tue 23 Jun 2020, 6:12 pm

Robin~ wrote:Hello!

I personally feed my mice about 10g of food every other day or so (I currently have two females). Back when I had four it was amount that much daily if not more. I'd say that's probably about two tablespoons.

As for fresh veg, I feed one tsp/mouse that every other day. Be sure to wean them onto fresh veg so they don't get wet poos.

For mealworms, I'll feed a couple a day as treats. Definitely don't want to go too overboard though as they are a bit high in fat. I generally follow this list intended for hamsters (just avoid red meat, dairy, and the common allergens [sunflower seeds, peanuts, etc]): http://hamsterhideout.com/forum/topic/96457-hamster-nutrition-v-safe-fruits-vegetables-and-other-dietary-supplements/#entry982830

The Alaska is a great cage! Maybe not for some other rodents, like syrian hamsters (I'm sure they would bar chew the heck out of that...they're super picky when it comes to cage size), but for mice that would be perfect.

If you have any further questions I'd be happy to answer to my best ability!

Thank you so much! It’s so hard to find specific info online and I just dont wanna end up doing the wrong thing and hurting them aha Smile

thank you for being so helpful! Smile

just one more quick question, how often is best to deep clean their cages? Just because I’ve read some very conflicting things Smile

thank you so much!

by Robin~ Tue 23 Jun 2020, 6:23 pm

_.smartass._ wrote:

Thank you so much! It’s so hard to find specific info online and I just dont wanna end up doing the wrong thing and hurting them aha thank you for being so helpful! just one more quick question, how often is best to deep clean their cages? Just because I’ve read some very conflicting things thank you so much!

I know, it's so hard to find good info on this sort of thing. My care has just been a weird combo what my vet's advised me, what I've learned on here, and what I've learned from owning hamsters. I can't imagine facing mice as my first pet, especially with the forum as dead as it is. :/

I personally clean my girls' cage once a week, preserving around 1/3 of the bedding so their smell remains. I'll usually clean out the wheel and any smelly plastic toys, and I'll toss any of the cardboard toys that smell. Mice tend to really thrive on new set ups, so it's not like hamsters where a new set up will completely throw them off guard and stress them out. Smile

by _.smartass._ Tue 23 Jun 2020, 6:30 pm

Robin~ wrote:
_.smartass._ wrote:

Thank you so much! It’s so hard to find specific info online and I just dont wanna end up doing the wrong thing and hurting them aha thank you for being so helpful! just one more quick question, how often is best to deep clean their cages? Just because I’ve read some very conflicting things thank you so much!

I know, it's so hard to find good info on this sort of thing. My care has just been a weird combo what my vet's advised me, what I've learned on here, and what I've learned from owning hamsters. I can't imagine facing mice as my first pet, especially with the forum as dead as it is. :/

I personally clean my girls' cage once a week, preserving around 1/3 of the bedding so their smell remains. I'll usually clean out the wheel and any smelly plastic toys, and I'll toss any of the cardboard toys that smell. Mice tend to really thrive on new set ups, so it's not like hamsters where a new set up will completely throw them off guard and stress them out.

Thank you so muchh:) haha it’s a little bit daunting with how much conflicting information there is online, but this really helped a lot!

by chiroptera Tue 23 Jun 2020, 10:46 pm

@_.smartass._ I did a quick search of the back-2-nature bedding, and I personally wouldn't recommend it for mice - it's technically safe, but it's not very good for burrowing.

I use paper towels and tissue paper that have been shredded with a paper shredder for my bedding, and it works quite well, they love to burrow in it. Store brought paper beddings also work, as long as they aren't scented and don't have baking soda. Aspen bedding also works, and is generally considered to be better than paper bedding for odor control.