Practically 20 questions about mice (considering)

Esmy · 03-10-2014, 04:37 PM

I would love it if someone could answer some questions for me about mice.

I have one Syrian now. I am thinking maybe instead of dwarf hamsters, I might get 2 mice instead. I just want to learn about the needs of the different pets, not going to run out and get them.

For mice- do you have 2 wheels or one? If so, what size?

Do you have one house for sleeping or two? Same with water bottles and food dishes?

Are there any issues with using a bin cage (vented lid only)?

Do/ did yours do tricks?

I've read they are less likely to bite than dwarf hamsters. Do you find this to be true?

From what I've read, females would be ideal since 2 or more get along better and they don't smell as bad. Anything else I missed?

Thanks!

Colby and the Dwarfs · 03-10-2014, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esmy

I would love it if someone could answer some questions for me about mice.

I have one Syrian now. I am thinking maybe instead of dwarf hamsters, I might get 2 mice instead. I just want to learn about the needs of the different pets, not going to run out and get them.

For mice- do you have 2 wheels or one? If so, what size?

Do you have one house for sleeping or two? Same with water bottles and food dishes?

Are there any issues with using a bin cage (vented lid only)?

Do/ did yours do tricks?

I've read they are less likely to bite than dwarf hamsters. Do you find this to be true?

From what I've read, females would be ideal since 2 or more get along better and they don't smell as bad. Anything else I missed?

Thanks!

-Get 3 or more females or a single male. More than one male will fight, and if a mouse from a pair dies, the other could die of loneliness(literally) without a friend to lean on.

-one wheel per mouse, smallest size generally

-one of everything per mouse

-I love bin cages, never had a problem with them!

-Yes, a few of my males can/could jump over things and fetch Cheerios!

-I've been bitten by one mouse when I was 4, I've been bitten 3 times by dwarfies today. Not that I don't love them!

-Females don't smell as much, but the males tend to be sweeter and more outgoing(my experience only stated)

If you're wondering about my experience, I run a small mousery(currently on break, will start back again in May)

Good luck and ask anything, I'll help along w/ other mouse owners on
HC for sure

Esmy · 03-10-2014, 05:59 PM

Thanks Colby! I have a bin cage setup that I was going to connect to Penny's main one but she's not into exploring in the cage much. She uses it for sleep/eat/poop and her flying saucer. I have other things for her to do in there but she doesn't mess with them. I set up the second bin as a play place with just toys but all she does is bury and go to sleep. It's more about her time outside of the bin that matters to her.

I have a visual issue with male parts being so "out there". lol That and I read they do mark more. But I can see males being sweeter.

One of everything per mouse seems like it would require something bigger than my bin cage though. I have a 30 gallon. 3 wheels, dishes, houses.. that would take up a lot of area. At least they are smaller though. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Can people make a profit breeding mice and hamsters? It seems like it costly to have enough things for them and care for all of them.

So the wheel size could be the 4 1/2" silent spinners or the 5" flying saucers? I have a 12" flying saucer and bought a 12" silent spinner and it didn't seem to save much room at all. I was surprised! I ended up returning it cause it was cracked but I plan to just have the saucer.

cowgirlskipper · 03-10-2014, 06:18 PM

I would go with the 6 incher silent spinner. The 4.5 inchers are itsy bitsy.

Esmy · 03-10-2014, 06:27 PM

I thought that would be said- get the bigger one. Depending on the brand there's a 6.5 or a 7.25. 6.5 would be better then.

The saucers are 5" and 7.25".

**kyrilliondaemon** · 03-10-2014, 07:31 PM

We don't actually do the same as Colby, we use 6-8" wheels and don't have one of everything per mouse in any of our cages. Our group of five girls have four wheels but they also had four wheels as a group of nine without any problems

In my opinion no ethical breeder will be likely to make money from breeding either hamsters or mice, if you want to make money generally you will need to cut corners - most good breeders do it as a labour of love really

Our mice don't do tricks but we've not tried to teach them any.

Esmy · 03-10-2014, 07:40 PM

kyrilliondaemon that makes sense too, so maybe for 3 mice say, 2 wheels could be good enough.

I think breeding could be fun (not considering it though) but seems like it could get costly. Hopefully the expenses are at least equaled out by the selling of the mice or hamsters. If I did consider it, one reason would be because there may be breeders in my state, but I haven't found any via internet.

I could try and teach them tricks and see how it goes. lol

racinghamster · 03-11-2014, 02:06 AM

Breeding mice might be fun for you, but not for the mice. If you have never kept mice before, the fundamentals are sexing the ones you obtain from day one. Some unethical (feeder breeders) and pet stores can be guilty of selling mice that are male and female to unsuspecting new owners and then you can have the panic of having to sex really young baby mice and things can spiral if you get the sexes wrong. American male mice are known to be much more intolerant of other males than UK males, so a single male would need to be kept alone.

Females need to be kept in trios or groups. Making sure they are all female. Preparing a safe environment is crucial. Bin cages are fine, but they need to be accessorized with wheels and stimulation for the mice. Diet should be a good rat mix as a base and then you can add canary seed mix sold for birds to it and a millet spray.

Mice also smell, so if you are prepared to have a mousie aroma in your room, this can be something off-putting for some people, so if you live with someone who might object to their scent, I would seriously consider that.

Mice don`t generally bite. If they do, they are either stressed or feel under attack. Or a mouse might nip because they are startled by something, but rarely do mice bite just for the hell of it. They are docile, wonderful little characters on the whole.

Research more before going ahead because it`s really important to be able to find a suitable substrate that won`t exacerbate respiratory issues as mice suffer from this a lot. So using strong scented pine shavings is out. If your in the US, your choice in substrate may be limited to Aspen or Carefresh and I would go near Carefresh with mice as it made some of my mice sneeze and become ill. Ripping up plain white toilet paper sheets is fine for nesting with and some shredded paper.

Forum

Esmy · 03-11-2014, 04:47 AM

Thanks Racinghamster.

I can see how the sexing would be an issue. I saw male and female Syrians in a tank together at a pet store. Couldn't get anyone to help me. Tried to call the store and they didn't answer the phone. That was about two weeks ago. I looked yesterday and most of the small pets were gone from the tanks, including those two.

A smell does concern me. Any tips for keeping it at bay? I have a "me only" room Penny my Syrian is in now. If I got them, that's where they would be. My Husband and I have a large house thinking we'd have kids and it's not going to happen, so we have 4 bedrooms and only use one (til I set up one as my "hang-out" room).

Penny was itching a lot with plain Carefresh so I switched to Kaytee Clean and Kozy and it's working well. It also expands more. She started digging and making a nest only after I got the Kaytee.

racinghamster · 03-11-2014, 05:21 AM

The smell mice have can be noticeable in a room if your not used to it, although males smell stronger than females. The jury is out really as some people say their female groups can smell just as bad as one male! Don`t get me wrong though, it isn`t a really strong smell, just one that you may be aware of that wasn`t hanging in the air before, but mostly in the room the mouse/mice would be kept in rather than all over the house! It`s not that bad... spot cleaning daily and keeping the room airy in summer will help.

Sounds as though you could offer a nice home to a small trio of female mice. I would just make sure that (a) you find some mice from a breeder or a half decent pet store who would be willing to properly sex the mice before you purchased them and (b) also be 100% sure they don`t come from a mixed sex tank as some females may already be pregnant if they are running with a male.

I just want you to be aware of these things in case you are caught out. But it`s always a good idea to mae sure whoever is selling the mice are not just breeding them without worrying about their genders or whether their females are pregnant. x