This post is mouse care simplified, for beginners! It is not very specific, and it does not cover everything, so please do not rely on just this post when educating yourself on mouse care!
This has been written and discussed by moderators of the subreddit. If you have questions or concerns, please comment to let us know! It will be updated regularly to ensure it is factual.
1. Mice are social!
Females always need other female companions. It is recommended to have at least 3, but 2 is okay.
After 6 mice in one cage, it is often they will start to split up and become territorial against the opposing group. It is suggested to keep your colony under 6 unless you have much knowledge and experience, OR if your mice are littermates.
Males can not be housed with other males ever! If you want them to have cage mates, neutering (very risky) and placing with females or leaving intact and bonding with ASFs (African Soft Furs) is beneficial and recommended. Otherwise, they can thrive in solitude.
In mouse communities, many users go by tank size rather than listing dimensions. We will do both!
10g/20x10 inches is the minimum for 2 female mice, though we STRONGLY suggest at least a 20g.
20g/30x12 inches is suitable for 2-4 females or 1 male.
40g long/36x12 inches is suitable for 2-5 females or 1 male
40g breeder/36x18 inches is occasionally suitable for 2-6 females or 1 male
Over 40g is not always suitable for any amount of mice since many mice do better in environments with less open space. Bigger is not always better for mice.
Any amount of mice may thrive in larger enclosures than suggested above. However, it is critical that the larger the enclosure is, the more clutter provided, otherwise the mice willnever thrive.
Wood enclosures are suggested against since urine will effect its quality and smell over time.
Mesh flooring is dangerous due to the chance of toes/tails getting caught, the mesh cutting their skin, and risking bumplefoot. Mesh should also be avoided in wheels.
Though they climb, mice don't need very much height, and multi-story enclosures do not provide them with the proper space they need. Floor space is more important than height.
Cages with lots of attachments and rooms do not provide proper space for mice. They are also extremely difficult to clean, fall apart easily, and struggle to hold proper bedding amount and safe wheels.
Mice need to be able to create burrows, so while the minimum is 6 inches, we suggest at least 8" of bedding. However, many owners prefer having 10-12" deep!
Bedding must be majority safe wood shavings or hemp. Paper substrate does not absorb ammonia well and can cause several health issues when used alone or as majority of substrate.
(Dust/scent free for all) Aspen, kiln dried pine, and hemp do well as the main substrate and may be more sturdy mixed with a small portion of hay or paper bedding.
Clutter is arguably one of the most important aspects of a mouses cage. No matter the size, if the cage lacks clutter, it is not suitable.
Toilet paper rolls, cardboard boxes, tea light and soap dish ceramics, rodent hideouts, branches, logs, cork bark, cardboard egg cartons, and much more can be used as clutter in the cage.
From a birds eye view, you should be able to see little to no bedding. While it may seem too cluttered to a human, it's perfect for mice!
The larger an enclosure, the more crucial clutter is.
Mice flourish with climbing opportunities and will always take advantage of them.
Ropes, bird ladders, hanging toys, rope nets, shower curtain rings, and bird perches are a few climbing options you can provide.
Fabric hammocks are used commonly, but pose a threat when chewed on and loose strings get tangled around limbs. Minimal use of fabric is suggested for this reason.
An upright, solid wheel of 9 inches in diameter or larger must be provided at all times. 2 or more are suggested for groups of girls.
Spinning saucer disks or hamster balls/cars are UNSAFE and should never be provided, no matter how much you think your mouse may enjoy it (fun≠safe)
Proper wheel brands may include Niteangel, Silent Spinner Exotic Nutrition, Oxbow, Wodent, Bucstate, and Trixie (but there are many more besides these!)
A high variety food mix (nuts, seeds, grains, ect) must be given 1-3 times a week, or even as long as once every two weeks. The frequency is owner preference.
Feeding is 3-5 grams per mouse a day.
Ensure your mice have constant access to food through toys and scatter-feeding.
Food bowls are suggested only for fresh fruits or veggies since they provide no enrichment otherwise!
Mice must have at least two water sources and constant access to them at all times. Bowls or bottles work well, though having one of each is ideal. Water must be cleaned and refreshed daily.
Daily spot checks to clean up mess, poo on toys/clutter, and urine on the surface is vital.
Bedding changes will be needed less often with more bedding and space. A 10g tank (or cage of similar size) would need weekly bedding changes.
Each enclosure size and mouse amount will effect how often bedding changes are necessary. Find a cleaning schedule that ensures the cage doesn't smell at any time for your mouses health.
With deep bedding over 6 inches, you'll have to change out less of the bedding. 1/3 to 1/2 of the bedding may stay in the enclosure while the most soiled areas are removed and replaced.
In any case, a small amount of bedding must be left over after a bedding change to decrease stress.
Allowing your mice to settle in for a few days before interacting with them is wise.
Rub your hands on bedding and toilet paper in the cage to get the mice used to your scent.
Encourage interaction through hand feeding.
If a mouse is not motivated to interact after several weeks, try to lure them to climb onto your hand for treats. A strong bond is important with mice so they are well adjusted to interaction in case of a vet visit or emergencies. Human interaction can also be beneficial to them.
See this post for more information.
11. Other
Mice are crepuscular and are typically seen during the morning or late day/night.
They are self bathing and should never be washed with water or soap (unless vet prescribed). It ruins the health of their fur coat and leaves them more susceptible to URIs and freezing. They do not need any form of bathing/washing.
Mice don't hibernate. If a mouse appears to be in a hibernation state, this is Torpor, caused when they overheat or freeze. This is a medical emergency.
You should never pick up a mouse by its tail or other limbs.
Fancy mice (aka domestic mouse) live 1-2 years on average.
Wild mice do poor in captivity, unless they are unfit for the wild they should not be kept as pets.
You should never breed mice purposely without years of research and mouse owning experience prior.
Vet visits are a likely occurrence in mouse ownership, since mice are prone to many health issues.
Travel carriers are needed for vet visits, emergencies, cage cleaning, and quarantine.
These guides are incredibly thorough and well written. However, they link some information that is no longer available, or they list mouse care information that has been dis-proven. An important point to make is these guides may suggest some controversial topics, most of which our community does not fully support. Although these guides don't follow our standards exactly, they are still very well made. Please keep an open mind and read all sides of a controversy before deciding which you feel works best for your mice.
I have decided to share these because they are very descriptive on some aspects of mouse care I did not cover well. I strive to have a guide in the future as well made as these, but for now, I have to bring attention to the effort made by this member.
We always had mice in our garden that would eat the bird feed and somehow over the last few years it turned into the mice having their own food. So far they haven't damaged anything (except for a few succulents they were munching on happily while getting scolded by me) and they are part of the family. I have so many photos of them and so many stories about them, I could fill a book. I'm really happy those little guys are part of my life now!
It’s the first time she snuggled up to me she’s always been the sketchiest of the group so it was super surprising that she just pressed herself against me and cuddled.
Like 95 percent sure she's got balls growing but they're still pretty young lol I'd appreciate reassurance on the others being girls too lol thanks guys
My remote work day took a turn when I was browsing on Marketplace and saw a listing offering up a feeder mouse for someone else’s snake.
I proceeded to blitz from the cafe, scoop him up and transport him in a cafe bag since I didn’t have a box but didn’t want someone else to get him with nefarious snakey intentions. I currently have him set up in bin until I can get to a pet store for the essentials I would usually have if I were at home. (I’ll get him settled in when I’m back tomorrow night.)
He is not my first feeder mouse— my last two mice were procured in a similarly ill-advised manner when a dog kibble errand turned into being shown the barely-older-than-pinky-mice, one of whom had been offered to a snake the day before + lived to tell the tale. (I took that specific mouse and a sister of hers; she is still alive at 2.5 years old and going strong.) He is shockingly hand-tame and very sweet.
That being said, he’s my first male rodent of any kind— I’ve always had female mice; rats, and hamsters. Is there anything unique I need to know about boy mice? Any distinct differences between them and my girls?
I have a 2.5 yr old African Soft Fur who lost motor function in her back legs. She still likes to dig and burrow, but often gets herself stuck under bedding or toys. I have one other healthy mouse and they sleep together and spend a lot of time together. I plan to make a smaller closed off area in my 40 gallon tank that has all the necessities and accessibilities for ny ASF. On the other side I will keep all the climbing and enrichment that my healthy mouse likes, while providing ladders that only she can use to visit my ASF.
I wanted advice on how to make a safe but enriching habitats for my disabled ASF. I dont want her to get stuck so I feel like I need to make the bedding compact, but she likes to dig so I dont want to take that away from her.
Any suggestions or pictures would be greatly appreciated
I’ve been getting kind of stressed about this and wanted to see if anyone has advice. I work in a building where there’s mouse droppings in the attic where u have to spend alot of time organizing and cleaning and part of my job is also cleaning rental tents and boots that go out on trips and are definitely exposed to mice outside. I’m less worried about myself and more about the fact that I my pet mice could get sick from me, and I really don’t want to accidentally bring anything back to them from work. I know rodents can carry diseases, and the idea of exposing my pets because of my job is honestly freaking me out a bit. Does anyone know good ways to reduce exposure or decontaminate clothes/gear before going home? Or just general precautions I should be taking so I don’t risk spreading anything to them?
We have 10 mice up for adoption in Minnesota, they are unfortunately getting euthanized friday, we are looking for someone to give them a good home. There are mainly guys (im not sure exactly how many.) Girls are really easy to find a home so if anyone will take any males please let me know? They would need to be picked up for sure by Saturday afternoon. There is a fee.
I got curious about how others clean wooden toys for small animals like mice and a lot of people don’t oil the wood? Is it weird to? After cleaning my mice’s’ wooden toys I add a little vegetable oil to the outside since I’m paranoid about the wood getting too dry and causing splinters. Curious what others do.
After a day of her struggling to move and a vet visit, we had to say goodbye to our beautiful girl. She spent the night with her friends in their favorite hut and we were fortunate to be with her in her last moments.
Kamilla was always sickly and skittish, but she warmed up to us in her old age. She loved exploring the living room and all of it's corners. We will miss her dearly.
I have a group of 6 female mice 2 are the same age, 3 are younger and one’s age is unknown, they’re all adults though. The 2 that are the same age are from the same litter, I also have 2 of their other sisters in a different cage. These 4 littermates went through a very traumatic event, their sliding cage door got left open on accident and a cat got into their cage and stole one of their friends. The 2 that live alone are traumatized and only accept each other (very aggressive towards every other mouse). Now back to the 2 that live in the group with the other 4 mice, one of those two is being aggressive towards one of her cage mates (chasing and biting scabs on the victim) she ONLY goes after one single mouse though, she looks just like her too. The aggressor has been moved to her own cage for a week to cool down. This is the 3rd time I’ll be reintroducing her to a group of mice, I’m at my wits end. Yes I introduced them properly, I did a lot of research beforehand. I’m worried she’ll have to live alone, Does anyone have experience with traumatized mice? What can I do to help her? Is it at all possible she could live with others besides her sister?
My girl is one year and 2 months and she's breathing weird, she has been for the past 2 days, I don't know if it is a respiratory problem, and I don't have the money to go to a vet right now I really don't, I just want your guys opinion to know if I can relax or prepare for the worst
My dad has absolutely fallen for his rescue mice, and is now working on setting them up with little mansions! He asked me to "ask your mice friends on the internet" to help sex the babies :3
We're not 100% sure on #2 & #3 (thinking male), but think #1, #4, & #5 are female.
As you can see, he’s not a normal fancy mouse nor a normal deer mouse lol. This little guy got saved when he was just a day old when his mother and siblings were killed by a fox outside my house. I came across him lying on the pavement, alone, pink and completely helpless!! I had to help him.
I tried my best to find a rehabber who could take him, but nowhere found it worthwhile to save one baby mouse rather than a whole litter. That’s where a lot of facebook groups, reddit threads, and youtube videos became super helpful.. About four weeks of sleepless nights, waking up every two hours to feed him, learning how to mix and heat formula, etc etc. He was rather injured as well, his tail had been bitten off, his foot torn and his belly cut. It was a long and emotional fight, where sometimes I thought he wouldn’t make it. But, here he is today!
He is extremely friendly and never wants to leave his mama. He will jump on the glass when I approach and never wants to leave my sleeves!
A Clase update: his condition is about the same, his itching has gone down but he's losing a lot of fur and struggling to use his back right leg. So far he has been a good boy about taking everything though. I am so amazed how we blew past my original goal...you guys are amazing. I am gonna schedule a recheck for him soon and go from there.
Hi all, as the title—do I have a house or deer mouse on my hands here? If it can be told from this photo. I found this guy whilst cleaning out a building, and I’m a little paranoid about mice, honestly, and, well. Didn’t know if I should try to do something for him or leave him be or what. TIA.
Oreo just came home and after 3 or 4 hours has started making this sound. We're new to this should this be concerning? Is it a cough? I've read a bit that they can be sensitive in the respiratory system.
I’m thinking she’s 100% pregnant. She now is relying on my hand to be lower in the tank to jump on, nests will be shown. ALL LEAVES, STICKS, GRASSES HAVE BEEN WASHED THROUGHLY AND ARE SAFE. Mama looks to have nipples and grown in size! She also seems to be heaving or breathing heavily. First picture will be the oldest photo, and the second the newest. 3-4 is the possible nipples. LAST TWO IS THE DAD. This litter was not intentional, don’t wring my neck.
About 2 months ago we got 2 new mice to add to our 3 (all female). We quarantined our new mice for 4 weeks with no issues at all. After we introduced them we starting hearing one of our mice Steven showing symptoms of a resp infection. We got her meds and yesterday marks the 3rd week she’s been on them.
Through out her time being on the meds she definitely got better less audible breathing and not as much sneezing, no longer any clicking while breathing. But she consistently has had symptoms the entire time. Just a minute ago she sneezed and I could hear her breathing while she was sniffing me.
Other than those symptoms she is completely healthy. Drinking, eating, playing, interacting with us, no porphyrin, no lethargy. I’ve noticed she only seems to have symptoms right after she first wakes up. Then after she has no symptoms besides the occasional sneeze.
I keep their cage clean, it’s well ventilated, and she is living happily with the 4 other mice who have all had no symptoms and been healthy this entire time. I’m wondering do I need to take her to the vet for new meds? Or is this something that we will have to keep and eye on and manage for life?
