We are currently working on a better, more in-depth care guide which will be available soon. If you have any questions not addressed below please feel free to contact us - even if you do not plan to get mice from us.
The guide below is for keeping mice as pets. If you wish to breed mice for exhibition, we recommend fancymice.info
The guide below is for keeping mice as pets. If you wish to breed mice for exhibition, we recommend fancymice.info
General Info
- When bringing a new mouse home, it's best to leave them alone for the first day so they can settle in.
- Fresh water must be available at all times.
- Water is best provided in a water bottle, as bowls can quickly become soiled or filled with bedding.
- Male mice (bucks) must be housed alone. Multiple male mice housed together will fight, and may fatally injure each other.
- Female mice (does) must be housed in pairs or more, as they become lonely without company.
- We personally recommend does in trios, so that if something happens to one mouse or they eventually pass from old age, there isn't one mouse left on her own.
- Mice unfortunately have a very short lifespan - generally about a year to a year and a half.
Feeding
- Food should be available at all times, but take care not to overfeed, especially with muesli mixes.
- Instead, try to work out how much your mice eat within a day, and only top up their food when there is some left, but not loads.
- "Scatter feeding" helps with selective feeding and is also great mental stimulation. This is where, instead of using a bowl, you scatter their food around the cage. All our mice at Nezumi Mousery are scatter fed.
- Pellet-only diets can be a little boring for mice. If possible, when feeding a pellet diet, it can be good to add some muesli/seed mix every so often for added mental stimulation. Budgie food (made of millet and seeds) also makes a good scatter feeding treat.
- There are many foods that are fine for humans, but not safe for mice. Take care when feeding treats, even fruits and vegetables. For example, apples are fine, but apple seeds can be dangerous for mice to eat. There are many lists online for safe foods (lists intended for rats are also applicable for mice).
- Generally, anything that's unhealthy for humans is also unhealthy for mice, so avoid all junk foods completely. Mice would much rather enjoy some (unsalted) nuts, seeds or veggies as a healthy treat.
- Be very careful with any "sugar free" foods around mice - many contain a sweetener called "Xylitol" which is toxic to mice (and other animals).
Handling
- To pick up your mouse, gently grip the base of their tail and slide your hand underneath.
- For more tame mice, you can use two hands to gently scoop them up from underneath.
- It's best to always hold your mice above something - like your lap, a bed, sofa or a table. Even very calm mice can suddenly jump or fall when startled, so it's best to make sure they cannot fall from a height. However unlikely they are to fall, it's better not to take the risk.
- Never hold onto the end of a mouse's tail. Only hold towards the base, where the tail begins.
- If a mouse is particularly skittish and you need to move them (eg. for cleaning out the cage), you can guide them into a cardboard tube or upturned cup and then cover the entrance(s) with your hands.
- Mice are very small prey animals, and so loud noises and sudden movements can startle even the most confident mouse.
Bedding & Cleaning
- Sawdust can cause respiratory problems and should be avoided. Many people refer to wood shavings as "sawdust", and these are fine, but actual sawdust is not.
- Good types of bedding include hemp based, kiln dried pine shavings, aspen shavings or recycled paper pellets.
- We personally like Aubiose and Megazorb; which are hemp based and wood pulp based, respectively. However, they only come in large bales and are intended as horse bedding. Though cost-effective, they do require large amounts of storage room. These can be found in farm supply stores.
- Zooplus and Ratrations are both sites online that sell suitable bedding, both in large bales and smaller bags. Ratrations sells both Aubiose and Megazorb in smaller amounts.
- We also like Snowflake brand wood shavings, and find them to be less dusty than many other brands (particularly pet store own brands). These come in both large horse-size bales, and smaller bags suitable for those with only a few pet mice.
- In addition to bedding, mice also need something to nest with. Suitable nesting materials include shredded paper, toilet paper, tissue or hay. Most pet store nesting materials are fine, however avoid the cotton wool type nesting material as it can be dangerous.
- For cleaning, there are many pet-safe disinfectants available from stores. You can also use a diluted white vinegar spray, or just plain old water and washing up liquid!
Cage & Enrichment
- 40 x 30 cm (length x width) is generally considered the minimum cage size for one male mouse or a pair of females, but a bit bigger than this is better. Floorspace is more important than height.
- Mice do not like large open spaces. Larger cages need to be suitably filled up with clutter. Mice are one of the few species where bigger doesn't always mean better, especially if "bigger" means lots of wide open space.
- Mice can fit through very small spaces. When using a cage with bars, make sure the spacing between them isn't too large. If your little finger can easily fit through, so can your mouse.
- Fish tanks/aquariums are suitable for housing mice, but you will need to build a lid out of 5mm or 6mm wire mesh. Ideally these should not be over 30cm tall, as ammonia can cause issues at depths above this.
- Wheels must be at least 17cm or 6.5". Some mice require larger wheels - if the mouse's back is arching, the wheel is too small.
- Both solid plastic and wire mesh wheels are suitable for mice.
- "Flying saucer" style wheels are excellent for groups of mice.
- Cardboard boxes, toilet paper tubes and egg cartons make excellent toys for mice.
- Our mice enjoy dog dental sticks and "Whimzees" dog chews, for extra things to gnaw on.
Health
- While great care is taken at Nezumi Mousery to only breed healthy mice, sometimes mice unfortunately get ill regardless.
- Mice are prone to respiratory infections. If your mouse sneezes a lot, or has a "chattering" or "rattling" sound in their chest, they likely have a respiratory infection and may need to see a vet.
- Mice sometimes get lice or mites. This usually comes from contaminated hay or bedding. They're easy to treat, especially if caught early.
- Mice are very good at hiding symptoms of illness. It's a good idea to perform regular health checks on your mice.
- For health checks, mice should have their eyes, ears and genital area checked, and their chest listened to. Healthy mice will have bright eyes and clean ears and genital area. Mice should not have an audible rattling sound when breathing, if there is an audible sound, this suggests a respiratory infection.