# Mice and Hamsters in cages?



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I plan to have hamsters and mice in the future, but my research has not been conclusive on their housing situation (obviously not _together_, though lol).

For mice, a tank is obviously a safer option because there is little chance for escape, but are mice happy in a tank? I mean, do they like to climb like rats do or burrow like gerbils? Or both? Would 1/2 by 1/2 mesh be small enough for them not to fit through? Would a tank with a topper be ideal? Also, what about the stink? I've heard males stink to high heaven. Would it be better to get females?

For hamsters, more specifically Syrian hamsters (I'm not touching any dwarf hamsters), it doesn't seem like escape is as much of an issue since I think they're a tad bigger. So can they be kept in a cage? Are those fancy "hamster cages" okay? You know, the ones with the tubes and all. They seem really fun, but hard to clean and I would think hyper little rodents with sharp teeth could have a lot of fun chewing the plastic up.  Would a regular cage (like a rat cage) be okay? Or do the prefer burrowing so a tank filled with bedding would be better?

This is all just for future reference since I probably won't get any more animals for a few years. I researched rats for at least three years before getting them six months ago. I like to be prepared.  I also plan to get guinea pigs, but I haven't run into any issues getting a straight answer in my research on that front... Again, this is all WAY in the future. I don't have the time, room, money, etc to take on any animals (even more rats) at the moment.

Anyways, any testimonies about how hamsters and mice are good pets (what's fun about them, for example) would also be helpful!
Thanks! =D


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Mice do much better in tanks or bin cages. I have a homemade bin cage for my mice and I also added a small rectangular window of mesh (hardware cloth) to one side. Mice absolutely love to tunnel. They do love to climb, but not as much. Most cages are actually quite harmful to keep mice in (like crittertrails etc). A tank with a topper would be great for mice, though I'm not a fan of toppers personally because they get quite smelly and nasty. A tank or bin with about 3 or 4 inches of bedding would make any mouse happy. 
I'd definitely go for female mice. I have 10 females and I only start smelling them if I go for a week and a half or two weeks without cleaning their bin. As long as I change their bedding every week I never smell them. I had a male mouse once, and he smelled up the whole house just 30 minutes after cleaning his bedding. With females, you have to get groups. I'm not sure of anyone who has just a pair, but I started out with a pair. They began bullying each other since their colony was so small. After I got more girlies to join them they have been quite happy since.

Syrians are quite bigger. They are just a bit smaller than a rat once they get full grown. They /can/ be kept in a cage, but they are much happier in tanks or bin cages. I started my Syrian out in a square hamster cage and now he lives in a tank of his own and he is happier now. Those fancy hamster cages (critter trails, habitrails, etc) are really not suitable for any animal. They are a hassle to clean and the tubes get very smelly. They are extremely small and if you were to purchase enough pieces to make them a suitable size for any creature to live in then you would have spent more money than you would have to get a great home for your critter. Those cages have also injured a countless amount of pets (paws get stuck in between plastic pieces, they chew up the plastic and ingest it, etc). 
Hamsters don't really burrow much (at least neither of mine do), but they love to make luxurious nests. A rat cage would be fine for Syrians if it has a deep bottom for their nesting.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for all the info. 

Would a 40 gallon keep a few mice happy? lol. ;D I probably won't be getting mice or hamsters fora few years, so our gerbils probably will be gone by then and my family has no plans to get more, so I'm going to steal the tank they're using. What do you think the optimum number of female mice is? I'd probably want more than two but less than ten. XD Is there a rule for the size of enclosure like there is for rats (2.5 square feet per rat)?

How often would a tank or a cage need to be cleaned for a hamster? Am I correct in thinking that Syrian hamsters are happier without company of another? Do they need a lot of extra handling if kept alone? Or do they like being alone?

I've never been a fan of those plastic cages, but they're cool in theory. I especially hate seeing gerbils in those cages with barely an inch of bedding. >.< In our search to find Coco a friend, I found an ad on CL for a female black gerbil in a hamster cage... Poor baby.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Lol Well it wasn't my original idea to end up with 10. I was originally going to get just two more for a total of four, but then I went in the pet store and they got four sister mice in. They were all so lovely that I took all four home. Then I rescued some from craigslist and ended up with 10 total. 
I believe 4 to 6 would be a great number, and they would love a 40 gallon tank.  There is a rule for size, but I don't recall it off the top of my head and many many people don't abide by it. I actually kept my 6 mice (before I rescued the others) in a 10 gallon tank until I built the bin cage for them to move into. They were in the 10 gallon for a week or so, but lived happily still.
According to this website a 40 gallon tank would be suitable for 9 mice.
http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/cagecalculator.cfm

I usually clean my Syrian's tank once a month (that's a complete cleaning). He uses the potty in one corner, so I clean that corner once a week. Syrians must be kept alone. In the wild they live alone and only come together to mate. Two syrians would be happy while they're babies, but once they mature they will fight constantly until they're separated or one dies. A single syrian doesn't really require more attention because its alone. Its best to play with them in the late evening since that's when they wake up. My Syrian doesn't mind me waking him up, but some will mind it.

I really hate those cages. :/ I would never keep any animal in them.


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## Ratfinx (Feb 19, 2013)

For my first hamster he had so many cages it was unreal he ended up with a plain tank with loads of toys because the ones with tubes are awful to clean out and they always block them with bedding, and just so you know my hamster was a Syrian  


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Everything I was going to say has been said.

On mice with cages it's best to go with 1/4 inch spacing. Only large males (and sometimes large females) can't get out of 1/2 inch spacing. Though tanks and Bin cages are still preferred.

Other then the "Fancy" hamster cages being bad, they are just Way too expensive for the size of them. a small one can cost up to $30 while a large bin cage over 5 times it's size is half the cost. 

I honestly don't know anything about hamsters other then caging, and some food requirements, but I've heard that Syrians are the more docile (towards humans) of the hamsters? We'll ignore the fact they try to kill each other.

On Hamster cages the Minimum is 350 square inches, obviously larger for syrians. For mice that cage calculator goes by around 75 square inches, which is a little over half the size of the UK lab standard (as in UK lab size min. is 100 Centimeters, 75 square inches in centimeters is about 187) Though for mice it actually works out to a good size since unless they are English show mice, mice aren't that big. Just in case you actually wanted to know and do the math on your own. Just so it's not a weird number, about 80 square inches should be a good size per mice (and give you a nice range).


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

I've actually nearly always had mice and kept them in the "fancy" cages. Many times connecting 2 or 3 cages as one. I will agree that it gets messy after awhile, but with more space to roam, the mess really doesn't add up. Plus, they love it! Right now I have a S.A.M.(small animal module) connected to a biddie buddies cage. 
I just clean the bedding regularly and once monthly pop apart the pieces and wipe them with baby wipes. 
I kept them in tanks for a little but all they did was sit in one corner and act all sad so I gave in and looked online for the cages. 
The ones we were looking at we're $35-$45 so I said no thanks.
I bought a basic cage off Craigslist for $15 and the S.A.M. (With several tubes and what not) for $10.
Then I went to goodwill as they always have tubes and sure enough there was a big bag with a ball, wheel, tubes,water bottles, all of this stuff I didn't even need in there with the tubes, all for $5. So my two cages and all of their extra supplies was $30  




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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Four mice sounds like a good number to me. That's my max number of rats per cage (by choice, not because that's all I have room for), so I think I'll stick to that for every thing! 

I love the sound of only cleaning the hamster's cage once a month! Haha! XD

I just looked through a few forums and found some adorable pictures of cuddly mice... All of them were male, though. Can females be cuddly at all? I really don't need another stinky animal so I'd like to avoid male mice. Plus, if I have to keep him by himself, I'd feel badly for him. 

LW, I've been told by several people at pet stores that Syrians are the "friendliest" of the hamsters. I've never interacted with any hamsters but a few robos at Petland (I now despise Petland and refuse to step foot in there) over ten years ago when my family was considering getting them. I haven't interacted with mice, either, come to think of it... But I hadn't interacted with rats for at least a year after deciding I wanted them. XD Boy, getting rats was a slow process...

I'll probably keep both the mice and the hamster in my 40 gallon tank... at different times, of course! lol. I don't really want to have both at the same time, anyways. I can only handle so many animals, haha.

Anyways, is Kaytee Clean and Cozy an okay bedding for mice and/or hamsters? I use it with my rats (in combination with Yesterday's News cat litter for better odor control [I'm done with fleece...]) and the Gerbils (in combination with corncob to give it some more texture for burrowing).


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

I would say it's fine for them, a lot of people use it.


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