Rescued a mouse today. Help!

[Pebbles82]

I'm sure 20 gallon would be absolutely fine! Good point about making sure it's a girl! I think this is a lovely thing to happen - sometimes it's better than actually making the decision to get a pet. You'll find space

[Shana]

Thanks everyone!

I put a few more things for her to climb on into her tank last night. It looked like she was happy to have some new things to explore. So far she's better at entertaining herself than any hamster I've had. I see why mice can make fun pets!

Mitzi (my Syrian) can tell something's up. The mouse is in another room, but Mitzi must know that she's in the house - she's been squeaking a bit, is abnormally hyper (for her) and is scent marking everything she walks by in her cage. She usually only scent marks one corner of her cage, and only when she's in heat. I've never had two rodents in the house at the same time. I'm guessing Mitzi's behavior is normal, and she'll get used to "the invader" in time, but I still feel sort of guilty for making her anxious!

[kyrilliondaemon]

I'm glad she seems to be settling in well so far. I'm sure Mitzi will settle down in time too, our mice and hamsters generally completely ignore each other.

[racinghamster]

It was just as well you overheard the girl saying she was about to release the mouse or the poor wee thing might have ended up as a snack for a local cat. What an idiot..

The rodents nest is the new forum for us refugees from the Micearenice forum! Mice are easy to keep and they enjoy the small millet seed mixes just as dwarf hamsters do. Being in the US, it might be a good idea to look for a dwarf hamster mix with a maintenance protein level somewhere around 16% ish... but you can add millet spray, millet seed, small hamster treats and basically natural things that hamsters would eat. Mice also like the odd dry mealworm.

Female mice do like company, while males will fight and shouldn`t be introduced, so please make sure your mouse IS a female. She will have close together genital openings and nipples on her tummy, most visible near the genital area. You need to also make sure any new female you get (if you decide to) are sexed properly as they produce young every 21 days.

Enjoy her and I`m sure she will love feeling safe with you. x

[Nienna]

Hi, Shana. Good on you for rescuing the poor little miss.
If you're still looking for information about pet mice, you could look through the AFRMA and RMCA sites.

AFRMA - Rat & Mouse Information - Index page - General

Rat & Mouse Club of America

[Shana]

Thanks again to all of you for educating me! I now know a lot more about mice than I did yesterday

[Wanna Hamster]

I'm so glad you saved that little one! I've been in similar situations and they can be tricky. But, just imagine what that poor girl's life would been like without you. I just makes me happy to hear about someone like you!