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Old 08-07-2014, 09:03 PM   #1
Thrifty Hamster
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Thumbs up A lot of Mouse-related questions.

So like I've said before, I've got a fancy mouse that I've made an impluse buy several months ago from the 'horrid' Petco. I rescued him from bullying the other mice and possibly falling to an atrocious death no matter which way he'd end up - as a feeder mouse or being killed by his 'prey'. (Other mice he was trying to bully in the tank.)

Now, probaby since March - five months later, he's a little prince of the house, getting his own twenty gallon tank, food all to himself with no one to fight over with, etc. He's living the high-life!

I love him really I do, I love my little Prince Mortimer. ^^ So, I was thinking of several things - while he's on Sunseed Vita-Prima Rat, Mouse & Gerbil Food; I want to switch him to something of better quality? Maybe something I can get from VioVet. I was thinking Surpeme Sience Selective (the 'kibble') - but if I get him the kibble I want to mix it with a seed mix as well, but a lot of them have high protien contents or things like sugar, salt and molasses in them right? I dont really want that in his food, because the soul reason i'm switching from Sunseed is because it has honey in it. I'm not worried that he'll get diabetes or anything, I'm just worried because of the sugary content and such.

Plus, he has a weird protein content in his Sunseed mix I can't remember what it was but can someone verify what mice should have as their protein percentages? I dont want him to end up getting hotspots! (Not that he has shown any signs lately, I just can never be too careful with my pets! ^^)

Also, I've seen Harvest Mice and was wondering if they got along at all with Fancy mice, I probably want to keep him as the only-mouse but I wanted to bring that into consideration for something for maybe the far-later future, and how rare they are to get? Because "African Soft Mice' I think they are called, are only sold as feeders and supply mice around here and you cant get them in pet shoppes. I could try really hard to look for the Soft African mice, but it'd be miles away and my parents wouldnt go for it.

That is, if I wanted to get a companion or cage-mate (another male) for Mortimer. But since HE was the bully I doubt it'd ever work. Though another thing that interested me about the Harvest Mice thread was the vivrarium that one user on this forum had set up! I was wondering if I could use the something similar for Mort instead of going out and building a wooden cage or Ikea-Hack, because there are reptile vivi's in places like Petco & Petsmart, do you think that could work?

So again, I need a good recmmendation for food (it could be something from VioVet or a food that I can buy from Petco or Petsmart) & a good rec on how to build him a better cage!
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Old 08-07-2014, 10:10 PM   #2
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

Hi there, glad Mortimer is doing well! I have a single male mouse as well that I adopted from a shelter. From what I understand, male mice will not likely adapt to another mouse after being separated at a young age. Even neutering an adult may not help at all. I've learned to keep mine single, even though adding a buddy would be nice. I think if it can happen, a neutered male and a female are the best match? I could be wrong. I've been advised not to pair up mine though.

For the food, I use Reggie Rat, bought at Petco. The recommendation is appx 12-15% protein, 5% fat, and 3-5% fiber. Another food that fits the profile is Essentials Adult Rat Food I think found at Petco or Petsmart?

For a cage, you have several options ranging in price. The cheapest is a bin cage. Side ventilation would be ideal, but you can also get a tank, such as a 20 gallon long. A much more expensive option is a mouse cage called the Marchioro Kevin. I got mine at Thatpetplace but last I saw it was out of stock. It's huge and my young Syrian is currently using it. Lastly, the cage my mouse is in, is a meshed Guinea Pig cage. He really loves climbing all over it! Meshing is a huge pain, but if you're up for it, it can be a great cage. Here is a pic of mine (I've since changed the zip ties to clear lol):

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Old 08-07-2014, 10:35 PM   #3
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

I'm thinking of keeping him as 'the only mouse' in his habitat for now and forever. I think that's how he'd prefer it anyway. I have no idea how old he is nor how he'd really react to another mouse, plus I dont really want another mouse (male or female I just dont want anymore mice in my family/future/life in general) - so he'll be the last one. I've had mice before when I was younger, and I dont think that was a very joyful experience.

Thinking they were both female, dog killed one, got another 'female' and they bred. So we had TONES of mice babies. Sister and I were really young and we had no idea what to do with them and I was super guilty for 'letting them go' in the neigbhorhood park (at least, now I'm guilty looking back on it) so I dont, repeat dont - do not - want another mouse for a long, long time. They aren't my thing. Mort was a emergancy impluse thing and even mom said 'you did the right thing by getting him and he's not a problem here,' but no more. So, that's why until the day he dies I'm going to give him the best amount of care he possibly can accept. : 3 ( Wether he likes me or not >_> ! )

About the other things - I already own a 20 gallon tank, so I'm upgrading. I'm thinking of building him an Ikea-hack cage when I get back to school i'm going to pay my shop teacher and help him out together we will build Mort (and my hamsters seperately) a ikea hack custom cage. : 3

- I'm researching other food stuffs for him, thanks for the info on the protien content, your mousey hasnt suffered from any allergies towards wheat or grains? I've heard that an excessive amount of wheat in their food they can also get rashes, so that's why I've wondered about feeding Mort food with wheat-contents in it but it seems every commercial food (UK, havent checked the US, need to recheck) from Viovet-wise, has wheat-content. I dont think his Sunseed food has wheat, but i'll check.

EDIT: Apologies - Mort eats this food currently http://www.petco.com/product/122412/...l-Formula.aspx

Last edited by Thrifty Hamster; 08-07-2014 at 10:40 PM.
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Old 08-08-2014, 07:15 AM   #4
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

I don't see anything wrong with the food he has. I know nothing of wheat allergies. I would imagine even a tiny amount would trigger that, and wheat is several main ingredients in the one you're using now. My Jerry has not shown any food intolerances and is doing well. Jerry's urine is pretty potent. I wouldn't do a hack for a male mouse cause inevitably the wood would get to smelling pretty awful, possibly also if using a sealant. I haven't done it though, so that's just my opinion.
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Old 08-08-2014, 10:24 AM   #5
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

We feed science selective mouse kibble and our mice all love it but I've heard some other peoples mice prefer it to be broken up first as the bits are quite large for a mouse. I'm pretty sure mice should have 13-15% protein so we ideally aim for about 14% in our mix.

Harvest mice would not make suitable companions for fancy mice. The size difference alone would make it quite dangerous for them. Multimammates (African Soft Furs) can live safely with mice, a pair of females could make good companions for your male if you wanted to go down that route. A few other species of mice have been trialed with fancy mice but how successful they are cohabiting seems to be less certain and less well tested.

Mortimer definetly shouldn't get another male friend. Neutered adult male mice do usually get along with each other and with females but obviously that requires neutering in the first place and not all vets are willing to neuter mice.

I'd avoid wood for a male mouse cage because (like Esmy) I'd expect them to wreck it. The urine'd soak in if it wasn't sealed and even sealed I'd not trust mice to not chew through the sealant to the wood underneath. Our male mice had a wooden shelf for a few days - it took less than ten minutes for someone to chew the waterproof paint off and expose the wood itself.

I've never heard of wheat or grain intolerances in mice before either, we actually use puffed wheat in our mix with no problems.
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Old 08-08-2014, 10:40 AM   #6
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

So will Mort do any um, inbreeding with Soft Furs if I pair them together? They wont crossbreed or anything will they? And Soft Furs require the same nutriional content as Fancy Mice, correct? I can feed the Soft Fur girls the same amount of protien as Morty gets? 14%? And, I'll feed him Science Selective Biscuits? Maybe I can upgrade Mort and the girls (when I obtain the twosome, if I ever do that is) to a 40-gallon breeder? Would that be big enough? Also since the mice aren't getting a muslie mix I'd feed them a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits? Or are they keen on fruits at all?

Can I provide natural toys like twigs, branches and other climbing gym-like-toys? I'd love to make a natural themed-cage! There's also a site that's within the US territories that sells freeze-dried fruits, nuts, GMO-free vegetables and other products for cooking and other projects so I was thinking of ordering from that site and getting them for the mices biscuts and adding them in, just in case if they needed it, for like if I didnt have to give them a muslie mix. Though if you didn't recommend me ordering custom-freeze-dried veg all the time, what muslie mix would you recommend? Could I order the Mr. Johnson's Muslie Mix (mixed with Science Selective)?

Ooneeee more thing, what wheel do you recommend for a mouse or several mice? And will they fight over a wheel if I dont get them more than one? And how do you have which amount of acessories in the cages so I prevent squabbles? Thanks so much! Sorry if I'm rambling! Thanks so much for your time and answers, good day!
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Old 08-08-2014, 10:47 AM   #7
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

Nope, thats why they work so well as companions - fancy mice can't breed with the soft furs I'm afraid I can't guarantee any info on soft fur care as while I have researched them it was a while ago. This website is usually my go-to for any exotic rodent info - Multimammate Mice


Yeah natural toys are great for mice Ours have lots of bark climbing frames and things like that although I am careful getting them out of boxes now (inhaling some dust from one caused a cough thats not cleared yet and its over three weeks later!)


We used to feed the Mr Johnsons rat and mouse mix (I think thats what it was called) and mixed it with other mixes, I can't see any harm in doing so What we do now is make our own mix based on the shunamite rat diet but with adjusted percentages so its more suitable for mice, it might not be too practical for a single mouse but it works well for our 22 of them It'd give you a lot of freedom with the mix - thats a big part of why we've switched to it.

Er... One wheel is probably fine for a few mice, we tend to use a few wheels per cage (unless theres just one mouse in it) but two wheels'd be more than enough for three mice. We use silent spinners but multimammates (soft furs) are bigger so you may want a bigger wheel for them. Multis are also very, very chewy which could pose a problem when it comes to wheels for them. We don't have a set ratio of toys to mice in our cages, if anything is particuarly popular we do give multiples but we've had fourteen girls living happily with only one of most toys
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Old 08-08-2014, 10:54 AM   #8
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

Do you think the Wobuts/Wodent Wheel or possibly the Carolina Hedgehog wheel would be a good choice? Typically used for Hedgies I heard, but I think it can be adjusted depending on the type I buy for mice/hamsters etc.

The Carolina Storm Wheel - Carolina Storm Hedgehogs

And the Wobust Amazon.com : Rodent - Semi-Enclosed Exercise Wodent Wheel 'Wobust' 12" Blue : Pet Exercise Wheels : Pet Supplies
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Old 08-08-2014, 10:56 AM   #9
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

Can you get Multimammates in the US? I've never heard of them here before. Only read about them on the UK mouse forum.
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Old 08-08-2014, 11:00 AM   #10
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Default Re: A lot of Mouse-related questions.

I'd assume either would be ok, but I think the wobust wheel may benefit from having the spindle covered (I know the company themselves sell a cover for it - its designed to protect sugar glider tails but should work for mouse tails too).

Multimammates are in the US Esmy, mostly as a snake food though
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