# Mice?



## Jessiferatu (Apr 30, 2014)

I swear, every time I go to get rattie supplies I end up interested in other small animals. I'm sure I'm not the only one. 

So I was in petco today picking up some things, and they just happen to have (for the first time I've noticed) a crap ton of female mice. I was thinking about them even after I left. I wanted to take some of them home, but I literally have no idea what goes into their care. I do plan on reading up about them, but I thought I'd ask some questions here first because I remember reading some of the members here also have mice.

So my questions are:

Best habitat?

Best diet?

Do they need cagemates like ratties do? If so, is there an optimal number or would just two be okay?

And I've heard that mice are not nearly as (human) social as rats, is that true?

Any advice or experiences you guys would like to share would be much appreciated.


----------



## Aeyna (Jun 16, 2014)

I don't know very much about mice, but I do remember when I got my first ratties, I was living with several roommates, one of which really wanted a pet after I got the rats, but was kinda creeped out by them. So she got a mouse. It smelled a lot worse than the rats, and she couldn't really play with it or anything. I think she only kept it for a short time before getting rid of it. I'm pretty sure she let it go on campus. If I had known she was planning that, I would have stopped her. She did say at some point that she wished she had just gotten a rat instead.


----------



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I don't have mice nor have I ever had any, but I've researched them pretty thoroughly.

They are harder to tame than rats, but can be very loving if you're willing to put in the work socializing them. Males are easier to tame than females since males have to live alone (they will fight to the death with other males).

Males smell a LOT. They mark everything and stink badly. Females allegedly don't smell as badly, but I don't have any experience with either.

Females must be kept in groups. 3 or more seems to be preferred by mice keepers. They are very easily introduced to other females.

Aquariums are the best habitat. Ten gallons or more is fine for a few female mice or a single male, but of course bigger is better.

I don't know much about diet, but I know some people feed them Oxbow Regal Rat Food.

Again, for emphasis, I have to say do NOT keep two or more males in the same habitat (unless you are an experienced mouse-keeper). I have yet to hear of a story that ended happily with two males. However, I know of someone who always keeps a neutered male and one or more females together and they works out wonderfully for her. If I ever get mice, that's what I plan to do. Allegedly neutered males don't smell or mark as much, but I don't know.

That covers the basics that I know. They seem like great pets and I love their charming little faces. <3


----------



## Charlottesmom (Nov 27, 2013)

Females: good in groups 2-3 or more, Males: singleton only, some would disagree but I have seen pictures and videos of what COULD happen. Ten to 20 gallon tanks are good, I can't recommend a saucer "wheel" enough, my guy LOVES his! Look up popsicle stick mouse houses and be amazed at what you can build for your mousies! I was actually looking for 3 female mice when I got Mocha, all the females were PEW, no variation whatsoever, so I chose my little guy. So.....Here is my Mocha, my sweet little male mousie!


----------



## Charlottesmom (Nov 27, 2013)

Yeah, let me comment on the smell....okay take 20 male rats put them in a closed room, crank up the heat to 100 degrees, crank up the humidity to 85%, let simmer for 3 days go into room close door, take a huge sniff....now double that and you have the potential stink of ONE male mouse! J/K....a little....Mocha really stunk till I started putting the Goodbye odor into his water, now he is much better, just cleaned his cage today (the boy pees on EVERYTHING!) and it smells 100% better! Mocha was extreamly skittish when we got him, I can now pet him but not pick him up, he does come over and sniff my fingers. I sit by his tank and talk to him a lot, he really seems to like that and will come right over and watch me. :0)


----------



## KrazyKritterz (Apr 26, 2014)

I have Females and Males. Seperated of course Males do smell and the odor stuff for the water does help. Females should be in groups on 3 or more so there isnt 1just bulling the other. 3 females are ok in a 10 Gallon tank and those are best cages for them besides homemade Bin cages. They like wheels alot and all my mice are super Friendly. And Handable some even have long hair.They do pee and poo in everything so clean diligently. You can train mice too but it takes alot og commitment. My friend has one that rings a bell when He needs more food. Here are a few of my babies. Males sometimes can be housed together if raised that way but watch carefully they can start fighting and may need to be seperated. Most cases they like to me alone.








I've owned Mice for years and I love them almost as much as I love Rats.


----------



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Gah, all this talk of mice is making me want them again... I just got over my last urge to get them and now this thread pops up. XD I probably will get them eventually, but right now I have five rats and four gerbils, so I don't have the time or the room for more small pets. But, man... their faces are just so charming. I don't know any other word to use to describe them. Just so adorable... It doesn't help that I have an empty ten gallon taunting me. 

I'm glad to know about that odor thing... I'll keep that in mind for my (possible) future male mice.


----------



## rileys-mom (May 26, 2014)

I love little rodent animals, too. I had 5 little mice once. They were a lot of fun to watch, but I rarely took them out of the cage because they were so small and hard to keep an eye on. 

The most interesting thing was watching them age. Because there life span is so short you can literally watch them age right before your eyes.


----------



## MeinTora (Mar 19, 2014)

I have three mice...all females, one who is very inquisitive and reminds me of my rats! Her name is Eleanor. 

I can't say they much compare to rats, but she gave me quite a scare the other day when I walked by my rat cage...and saw Eleanor cuddling in the basket with my five rats, she looked at me like it was perfectly normal...having a bit of an identity crisis! But in all serious I was very lucky to not have discovered something not so cute as rats are predator to mice. 

She is still very young and I think she must of slipped through the bars of her cage and found her way into their cage. My five girls did not seem to see anything out of the ordinary. Just a very tiny rat or five gigantic mice. Haha. 

She has a much bigger personality than I was told mice could have. I was expecting something small and cute, but not much more. She greets us at the cage door and likes to be taken out. Has favorite snacks, and is rather sweet  


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## MeinTora (Mar 19, 2014)

http://m.imgur.com/a/TFQin 
A small album of them.
The PEW is Leary 
Grey and white is Misses Kite
Agouti and white is Eleanor 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## SpringSt (Jun 18, 2014)

I have always loved mice, and found them to be just as (almost) personable as our rats. My husband had one particular mouse that would hang out on his shoulder and sometimes sleep in his shirt pocket. The mouse would run to him if he kissed towards him. I had fun handling the girls the most, but I like hyper active and bouncy animals in comparison to the lazy boys  The most fun thing about them, though was creating houses, play gyms and other things out of non-toxic glue and popsicle sticks from a craft store. You can get creative and make anything, virtually. My mice had houses, bridges, a miniature agility set lol.


----------



## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

I'm sorta scarred after i hit a bad patch of genes. My mouse Milo (my first ever baby) developed very brittle bones and she fell an inch off the ground (at the age of 3) and broke her back -- first ever animal i had to put to sleep. My second mouse Kodiak (kodak) developed a very large tumor and she busted it open, she too had to be put to sleep. My third and forth mice Olympus and Nikon, Nikon died suddenly on new years, and oli died of what we thing was old age. All I have is Delilah and she lives with my boyfriend because he has 2 new babies that hes going to put her with. He also has a mouse name Timmy. My sister had 3 i got her for her birthday Pilot Puzzle and Pitch. Pitch literally scratched her ears off and then puzzle and her killed each other (randomly) while my friend was watching them while i was at school. She also had Daisy (her first mouse who lived the the 3 siblings after milo died) Daisy and Pilot lived together for at least another 5-6 months before pilot started scratching herself and she ended up hitting a vein in her ear and bleed out. Daisy died shortly after from grief and old age ALL within my sister and I going away to school A single year. Ironically, when ever I came home for a break from school, one of my mice died. Then I come home for thankgiving break, my dog died 2 hours before my parents pick me up... all I can remember thinking was "I cant wait to see my dog" -.- I love my Delilah though. We also had a male, cam who we rescued and he died of old age. He looked like Daisy

All of these Pictured lived with me in my room pretty much at at the same time. I dont have any pictures of Pilot, Puzzle, and Pitch. (Pitch was extreme black, Pilot was a piebald, and puzzle was black and white.) 

Daisy Kodiak Milo




















Olympus and Nikon Oli and Delilah


----------



## MeinTora (Mar 19, 2014)

ClassicFAIL said:


> I'm sorta scarred after i hit a bad patch of genes. My mouse Milo (my first ever baby) developed very brittle bones and she fell an inch off the ground (at the age of 3) and broke her back -- first ever animal i had to put to sleep. My second mouse Kodiak (kodak) developed a very large tumor and she busted it open, she too had to be put to sleep. My third and forth mice Olympus and Nikon, Nikon died suddenly on new years, and oli died of what we thing was old age. All I have is Delilah and she lives with my boyfriend because he has 2 new babies that hes going to put her with. He also has a mouse name Timmy. My sister had 3 i got her for her birthday Pilot Puzzle and Pitch. Pitch literally scratched her ears off and then puzzle and her killed each other (randomly) while my friend was watching them while i was at school. She also had Daisy (her first mouse who lived the the 3 siblings after milo died) Daisy and Pilot lived together for at least another 5-6 months before pilot started scratching herself and she ended up hitting a vein in her ear and bleed out. Daisy died shortly after from grief and old age ALL within my sister and I going away to school A single year. Ironically, when ever I came home for a break from school, one of my mice died. Then I come home for thankgiving break, my dog died 2 hours before my parents pick me up... all I can remember thinking was "I cant wait to see my dog" -.- I love my Delilah though. We also had a male, cam who we rescued and he died of old age. He looked like Daisy
> 
> All of these Pictured lived with me in my room pretty much at at the same time. I dont have any pictures of Pilot, Puzzle, and Pitch. (Pitch was extreme black, Pilot was a piebald, and puzzle was black and white.)
> 
> ...


My girls love drink holders too!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

I have mice too, and just about anything I would say people have already covered. One thing though, if you get your mice from Petco, demand to check their sex ourself with your own hands and eyes!!!! The Petco will regularly miss sex young mice and then you have boys in the girls tank. That's how I ended up with a boy. The employees may say "well it's difficult to sex them" or "they're too hard to handle" but DONT LISTEN and insist sexing them yourself. Those employees don't bother to handle the mice correctly and thus believe that they're impossible to handle and usually won't let customers touch them. The employee who gave me mine reached in the tank, stirred up the mice, and started jabbing his hand in chasing them around and grabbing them by the tail. I asked to check their sex and he was really doubtful I would be able to handle them and lo and behold, when I picked them up gently and NOT by the tails they were calm. Honestly, those people are idiots I could go on and on. But yeah beware miss sexed mice. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Perocore (Jan 6, 2014)

I had a little mouse named Pikachu during an animal science project. He wasn't a "show mouse" which are larger than your average mouse, but just a normal, tiny little white mouse. Was he nearly as clever or affectionate as my rats? Nope, not even close! However, he would come when called, would sit and stay on my paralytic partner's arm and groom her hands while I was busy, which I thought was just fantastic and always made her smile. He'd groom my hands and hair as well, and would follow me around by my voice (as he had very poor vision), and when I scratched his back he'd curl up and fall asleep in my palm. He didn't smell much, either, but we completely cleaned out his cage every single day, so that may be why. It helped that I was used to handling rodents, as a lot of people ended up being bitten by their project mice because they didn't know how to handle them. Pikachu never bit though, he was always friendly and sweet and very happy to see me.

I don't like mice as much as rats, but they are pretty cool little creatures!


----------



## Jessiferatu (Apr 30, 2014)

Thank you for all the replies (and pictures!), you all have given me a lot to think about.


----------



## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

ksaxton said:


> I have mice too, and just about anything I would say people have already covered. One thing though, if you get your mice from Petco, demand to check their sex ourself with your own hands and eyes!!!! The Petco will regularly miss sex young mice and then you have boys in the girls tank. That's how I ended up with a boy. The employees may say "well it's difficult to sex them" or "they're too hard to handle" but DONT LISTEN and insist sexing them yourself. Those employees don't bother to handle the mice correctly and thus believe that they're impossible to handle and usually won't let customers touch them. The employee who gave me mine reached in the tank, stirred up the mice, and started jabbing his hand in chasing them around and grabbing them by the tail. I asked to check their sex and he was really doubtful I would be able to handle them and lo and behold, when I picked them up gently and NOT by the tails they were calm. Honestly, those people are idiots I could go on and on. But yeah beware miss sexed mice.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


My Boyfriend/ Fiancé works at petco. They try very hard at least in all my store (within a 40mile radius) to keep tabs on their animals. Alot of times people rotate the tanks meaning when they clean one tank they move the bottom group up and then clean the second. So, sometimes females are on top and males on bottom and the next employee forgets or doesnt know and out of habit puts the wrong mouse into the tank. I always went to my petco's and petsmart (which i work for the company) and they ALWAYS let me see and handle them. So, dont lump bad employees with the entire company....


----------



## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

Also, Daisy (our longest living mouse) was a petco mouse. She was the first mouse we bought and she lived to be 3.5 years old. Again, don't denounce a company just because of a few bad employees. Their policies both PetSmart and PetCo are pretty good companies when it comes to the standards for animal care.


----------



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

ClassicFAIL said:


> Also, Daisy (our longest living mouse) was a petco mouse. She was the first mouse we bought and she lived to be 3.5 years old. Again, don't denounce a company just because of a few bad employees. Their policies both PetSmart and PetCo are pretty good companies when it comes to the standards for animal care.


I think that it's fairly well known that a lot of petco/petsmarts just aren't very good when it comes to their small animal department. I've seen plenty of other people complain about them. The employees are generally not very knowledgeable, and most don't care about the mice. One time at Petco an employee handled a mouse improperly and naturally it bit him because it was scared to death. He then told me he hoped I was feeding it to a snake and was genuinely disappointed when he found out I was keeping them as pets. They really should be more careful about putting mice in the correct tanks, it's not good to mix males and females for obvious reasons, even by accident. I'm not saying that literally every single employee in those stores is an idiot, there are of course those who either own rats/mice themselves, and those who try their best to care for them properly. But a lot of the time those stores have misinformed employees who recommend the worst stuff for small animals and don't handle them properly. Wasn't there also a man who found a baby iguana in a Petco dumpster? Again, not saying that those who actually try to be good to the animals are idiots, just saying that a majority of those workers who don't know what they're doing are just not great. Their poor performance reflects something about the company itself if they are giving incorrect information and improper care, as they should have been trained properly by the company. The petco/petsmarts also keep their rats in tiny tanks, and we all know how bad those are. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

All of my mice came from Petsmart/Petco, and they were all great. It's just unfortunate that they have to live like that in those stores. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

ksaxton said:


> I think that it's fairly well known that a lot of petco/petsmarts just aren't very good when it comes to their small animal department. I've seen plenty of other people complain about them. The employees are generally not very knowledgeable, and most don't care about the mice. One time at Petco an employee handled a mouse improperly and naturally it bit him because it was scared to death. He then told me he hoped I was feeding it to a snake and was genuinely disappointed when he found out I was keeping them as pets. They really should be more careful about putting mice in the correct tanks, it's not good to mix males and females for obvious reasons, even by accident. I'm not saying that literally every single employee in those stores is an idiot, there are of course those who either own rats/mice themselves, and those who try their best to care for them properly. But a lot of the time those stores have misinformed employees who recommend the worst stuff for small animals and don't handle them properly. Wasn't there also a man who found a baby iguana in a Petco dumpster? Again, not saying that those who actually try to be good to the animals are idiots, just saying that a majority of those workers who don't know what they're doing are just not great. Their poor performance reflects something about the company itself if they are giving incorrect information and improper care, as they should have been trained properly by the company. The petco/petsmarts also keep their rats in tiny tanks, and we all know how bad those are.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


It is required to keep out animals (even birds) in tanks because we allow animals that could kill them (dogs and cats) into the stores, it is safer for the animals in the "hopefully" short term they are staying there. I work in the small pets department and as does my fiancé/boyfriend. A lot of people surrender/dump animals in our/their parking lots and/or around the store.... thinking that someone will find it. PetSmart requires special certification and training for each department but its the individuals who become lax and choose what rules to follow. Its a pitty. But please, go apply for one of those jobs, you'll soon see a different face to the company.... Again, the company isnt the bad one here, dont always lump them together.


----------



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

I'm sure the company has good intentions, but unfortunately the company's image is conveyed through their employees. So if the employees are bad, it reflects poorly on the company. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

It just doesn't seem right that the employees are trained in that department, and yet I see them recommending things for new pet owners that are bad for the pet. Cheap low quality food, tiny cages, etc. If that's what they were taught is correct by the company, then it's not their fault it's the company's for misinforming them.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

ksaxton said:


> It just doesn't seem right that the employees are trained in that department, and yet I see them recommending things for new pet owners that are bad for the pet. Cheap low quality food, tiny cages, etc. If that's what they were taught is correct by the company, then it's not their fault it's the company's for misinforming them.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


PetCo and PetSmart both have handouts and booklets for customer and employee use to catch up on knowledge and know how for all animals in the store. It is at this point up to the employees to know "our" mission and understand and keep informed on the animals that we have. Although we are aware that what we sell is not suitable for long term housing, and we do try to deter them , but their kids or they think that the pink one is cute and it looks like a circus tent so they buy it. Sadly.


----------



## Charlottesmom (Nov 27, 2013)

The employees at 4 out of the 6 Petcos/Petsmarts that I frequent are very knowlegable for small pets and fish in general, they really do seem to care about the animals. Two of the stores have people who just don't seem to care, the small animals have the basics but are crowded most of the time. Some give out bad info...but mostly for bettas (arrrrrgh!!) though generally their small animal info is pretty good. I do go in to pet stores and act like a dummy who knows nothing about a critter I could write a book about just to see if they know their stuff. *evil cackle*


----------



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

I have seen Petsmart employees walk new pet owners who know nothing about the pet through the store and tell them what's best and hand it to them, they actually hand pick the low quality food and tiny cages and the new pet owners just go with it Because they trust the employee to know what they're talking about. My friend got a bearded dragon from Petsmart and the employee told them that the light they were getting for the tank was the wrong kind even though it was the exact same kind as the one in the Petsmart bearded dragon tank right in front of them and she was very insistent and rude about it. I just don't have high expectations for a big chain company pet store from my experiences. Good job to those who actually try to do things right, hopefully you guys are able to counteract all the bad employees out there. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Jessiferatu (Apr 30, 2014)

My experience with Petco has been okay. Some of the employees don't seem to know what they're talking about, but I've encountered some very knowledgeable and helpful people as well. 

Same goes for my local (independently owned) pet store. There is a woman there that genuinely cares about the rats (and is also a rat owner) and is correct in her knowledge and advice. Then there is another employee who knows nothing and even seems kind of squeamish about handling them / handles them incorrectly. Why someone who doesn't like rats would work in the small animal department is beyond me, lol. But it definitely depends on the individual person and, IMO, not the company as a whole.


----------



## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

Jessiferatu said:


> My experience with Petco has been okay. Some of the employees don't seem to know what they're talking about, but I've encountered some very knowledgeable and helpful people as well.
> 
> Same goes for my local (independently owned) pet store. There is a woman there that genuinely cares about the rats (and is also a rat owner) and is correct in her knowledge and advice. Then there is another employee who knows nothing and even seems kind of squeamish about handling them / handles them incorrectly. Why someone who doesn't like rats would work in the small animal department is beyond me, lol. But it definitely depends on the individual person and, IMO, not the company as a whole.


Thank youuuuu. :3 someone whp understands. 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------

