Best products from r/PetMice

Yay, I'm excited for your new pet -- as the other redditor said, thanks for leaving him alive! I used to have a roommate who had a snake, and we joked about my mice and her snake living in the same apartment without knowing about each other.

It's actually recommended to keep intact males alone. Females are social, but males are territorial and are likely to fight and injure each other.

For both food and toys, you can order online and it's even often cheaper. I personally recommend a "kibble," which is generally called a "lab block" in rodent-keeping-land, over a seed and nut mix. Mice tend to pick and choose their favorites and not get complete nutrition. However, if seed/nut mixes are what you have, it will definitely sustain the little guy and he'll have fun picking through it. You can also feed cooked pasta and dry cereal as treats (NOT as his sole food). Most veggies and fruits will be yummy treats for him too. The only ones to stay away from are those with high water content, like celery or melon. They can give him diarrhea.

For toys, you can buy them or make your own. In general, mice like to climb, to run, to hide, to tunnel, and to chew -- their teeth grow throughout their lives so they need to gnaw to wear them down. At minimum, you want a wheel for him to run on (so he doesn't get fat), some kind of hide for him to sleep in, and a hard wood block (not pine, which is dangerous for mice) for him to chew on. He'll also enjoy torn up paper towels, which he will make a nest from; a ladder or even some sticks to climb and chew -- I usually get my ladders from the bird section of the pet store; a paper towel roll to run through; and other things to climb through and around. I started out with the plastic igloo, a wooden arch (in the trash now, got peed on too much to clean), a wheel, and a couple paper towel tubes. I'd recommend something similar for you.

three years later, I am obsessed and have way too much mouse stuff, but to give you an idea of the variety of storebought vs homemade vs repurposed stuff you can give a mouse, my three girls currently have in their cage system: 3 plastic wheels (2 upright, 1 "flying saucer"), wooden ladder from the bird section, some pieces of cardboard I cut up and leaned on stuff, a plastic "igloo," plastic arches to run under that formerly were a milk pitcher I cut up, a "perch" that's the cut handle of the milk pitcher tied to the cage, 1 whole paper towel roll, shorter pieces of another one, a hanging chew toy (from the rodent section but I've used ones for birds and rabbits in the past), a rope and wood swinging bridge like Indiana Jones would run over (I think also from the bird section, I forget), a cone-shaped hide I got for free when I adopted a mouse, this thing: http://amzn.to/2ymOjdf which is a house you can build in a bunch of different ways, a rodent hammock that's supposed to hang but is currently on the ground because my mice are tiny jerks, a mug that my girlfriend wanted me to get rid of but I gave the mice instead, a very small square plastic hide I also got for free with mouse adoption but presumably is from the rodent section, and several wooden branches that are pre-cut and sanitized that I got from a small pet store that had a combined bird/rodent aisle so not sure what they are supposed to be for. Please don't be overwhelmed by this list and feel like you have to buy your little guy this much stuff! Like I said, I started with just a few things and.... over the years, it's snowballed.

I don't know a lot about how feeders are kept, so apologies if this next bit is info you already know. You're going to also need a source of water and some kind of bedding substrate. I recommend a rodent bottle over a water dish, because he will get a water dish dirty very quickly and changing it will get annoying equally quickly. Rodents like to burrow, so something they can make tunnels in is ideal. This is generally going to be either wood chips or shredded paper. Wood chips are cool looking, help to neutralize odor to an extent, and very low dust. Aspen is the best for mice. Do not use pine or cedar -- the oils are very bad for mouse respiratory systems. I used aspen shavings at first for my mice, but I switched to paper bedding after one mouse developed a tumor and I learned that there is a school of thought that wood shavings can be carcinogenic to mice. (Not everyone agrees on this.) The most popular brand of paper bedding is Carefresh, but there are several out there. Unless the urine smell is truly intolerable (you live in a one-room apartment or you have a roommate that is barely on board with a mouse companion anyway), I advise against scented bedding. Mice like to smell their own urine -- it tells them that this is their home. If you clean the cage at least once a week, it will do double duty of keeping him healthy and keeping the urine smell from building up. When you clean, throw away the old bedding. Wipe or rinse the cage and most or all of his toys. I like to leave one or two unrinsed each week so their scent stays on them, but that's just a me thing. Some mousekeepers recommend scattering some of the old bedding over the fresh bedding to maintain the scent, but I just chafe against doing that because I feel like it's /so/ dirty...

As a side note, please don't use a cage with wire floors or shelves with rodents. (wire sides and top is of course fine.) His little feet can easily get caught in a wire floor and cause serious injury :(

Taming depends on personality -- each mouse really does have their own tiny personality. It's helped me to keep in mind that mice are prey animals and have a natural instinct to run away from fast movements, things coming at them from above, and anything unfamiliar. I generally take time to rest my hand in the cage, often holding a treat or a bit of peanut butter. Some people will put the cage next to them and watch Netflix with their hand in there. This helps the mouse get used to your scent. My Lyra was climbing all over my hand in just a couple days, while my newest adoptee, Rey, is still pretty skittish -- she'll take the peanut butter, and sometimes she'll put a curious paw on my hand, but she's still figuring out that I'm not going to hurt her if she climbs all the way on. Regardless, let the mouse explore your hand in his own time. You can gently and slowly move it closer to him if he's skeptical, so he has to keep thinking about it. Once he's climbing on, try lifting him up a bit. Once he's OK with being lifted, you can take him out and hold him or let him run around on your arms. Even when she enjoyed being taken out, Lyra took a very long time to be ok with sitting in my hand but immediately loved sitting on my shoulder and running on my arms. Be aware that mice can't control when they poop -- they just go when they need to -- and you WILL at some point get pooped on. Their poop is contained little pellets, very easy to shake off into the trash, not like baby or cat poop that gets everywhere. As the other poster said, patience, love, slow movements, and food! I have heard of people haveing "tub time" with their mice when they put the cage in the dry tub, stop the drain (!!!), open the cage, and get in the dry tub with the mouse. This lets the mouse explore on their own terms while keeping them from escaping. My apartment doesn't have a tub, just a shower, so I don't have any personal experience there. A mousekeeper I follow on Instagram swears by it for shy mice though.

I'm procrastinating about cleaning my apartment so I kind of wrote a novel... I hope it isn't too much haha :) good luck to you and your new friend! As far as I understand it, pet snakes are FAR more delicate and finnicky than pet mice, so if you have successful experience as a snake owner you should be totally fine.

I have a 5 year old daughter and a 2 1/2 year old daughter. I will say that mice can be a delightful pet for your daughter -- with a few caveats.

1. Consider the mice entirely your pets. While she may (and should) help out with cage cleaning, playing with them, refilling food and water, etc., you must be the one to keep the schedule.
   
2. You should be present with her every single time she plays with them, until you're really 100% sure she understands how to handle them and what the rules are (how you get them out of the cage, where do they go, etc.). Mice are generally very sweet and do NOT bite unless they are squeezed, scared, or handled roughly. So you need to spend lots of time with your daughter demonstrating how to hold them. Use a toilet paper tube to pick them up in the beginning, and have a safe "free play" bin where she can interact with them and they can't escape. My older daughter was 3 when we first got a pair of hamsters, and then a year later we got 2 mice. Now we have 3 mice (two girls in one tank and a boy in another). I can let her take out her boy mouse while she's in her room and trust that she will play safely with him unsupervised and he'll be returned safely to his tank. Contrast this with her 7 year old friend who has had no pets (only recently got a dog), and when I let her hold one mouse, she immediately dropped it because it peed on her. So I think her age is great BUT she will need lots of supervision.
   
3. Speaking of pee/poo, they will likely do so while you're holding them, at least in the beginning (when they are scared babies). It's really no big deal, though.
   
4. I would get a 20-gallon tank and use a mix of aspen shavings and Eco Earth/reptile bark in one end for fun digging. They love to dig in bedding and the tank, with a secure lid, will be very safe. It will likely be as expensive as the bin cage, once you get all materials. Since you have a dog and cat you want NO chance of them getting in a cage. When you're playing with them in a bin, put it on a table. (Trust me... you can't leave them for a second, your dog/cat WILL come in and get to them.)
   
5. I have gotten mice from PetCo and from a reptile "feeder" store. The PetCo mice were albino, clearly girls, and they tamed pretty quickly. The feeder store mice were adorable colors, BUT one turned out to be a boy. They were super young and took a little longer to tame. If mice are mixed girls/boys and they're older than ~6 weeks, the girls are likely pregnant. A local breeder is your best bet. Second best would be anywhere to get young (8-12 week old) mice that hopefully are gendered correctly and NOT pregnant!
   
6. When you pick them out, pick the friendliest, calmest, most curious ones. If you put your hand in and one comes up to you, pick that one. Don't go for the extra cute one that bolts from you. Avoid one that rattles its tail or lunges to bite. They can all be tamed but the calm/brave ones will always be much easier and the shy ones will always be more timid.
   
7. Taming will take a lot of time in the beginning. They need lots of short daily interaction with lots of treats like mealworms, or yogurt/peanut butter on a spoon (so they can't snatch a treat and run away). You might start with a small cage and then upgrade once they're tame. I wouldn't stick them in a huge cage with tons of hides at first. You want lots of positive interactions. And out of cage playtime in a fun safe area.
   
8. I would get 3 girl mice. Boys can be sweet and mine is a doll, BUT they have a musk that is like mouse cologne. The pee/poo smell will be about the same for both (you'll need a full bedding change once a week), but the boy loves his smell and he always has it. Something you have to get used to, and clean more frequently.
   
   Overall, mice are FUN, ADORABLE and underrated pets!! The 20 gallon tank will be loads of fun to put ropes, sticks, toys, hanging baskets, tubes, etc. inside and watch them go. Wooden houses like this and this are super fun for kids to put together. We go to Michael's and get wooden birdhouses/castles and put them in as hides. After you put in the time taming them (remember food = love), you and your daughter will have a blast. Good luck and share any pics if you get them!
   
   ​

Where did you get your mouse from? If you got her from a pet store, chances are you'll have a harder time taming her than if you got her from a breeder. I also agree with /u/mewingoreos, she'll feel safer and more confident with a buddy or two.

When you are offering her food from your hand, how are you holding the food? Hands with grasping fingers can be threatening to mice, as they know you can grab them suddenly. Put your hand flat in the tank, palm up, with your fingers tightly together like this. Then hold your hand perfectly still for five or ten minutes and let her approach you. You can also try rubbing your hand in her bedding first to make your hand smell more like her.

Definitely find a treat she can't resist, preferably something she cannot just grab a large piece of and run away to eat. I've had good success with dipped millet from the bird section of pet shops, you can get fruit-dipped or honey-dipped (or even candy coated!). Millet is made up of tiny little seeds, so she has to keep coming back to you to get more delicious tiny seeds. Parakeet seed also works well, as does a large piece of fruit that's too big to drag away (such as an apple wedge or baby carrot) so she has to keep coming back to take nibbles.

Whenever you handle her, try to keep your fingers together as much as you can to avoid looking like a grabby hand. Use a fist and extend one finger to gently touch her side or back if she'll let you. Let her sniff your fist or climb on it if she's feeling brave. Etc etc. Try not to pick her up if she doesn't want to be as much as possible. With really stubborn mice, sometimes I've even sat with a hand in their cage while watching TV. They always come around eventually.

Sounds like you've got a great start! 40 gallons is definitely big enough for four mice.

You'll want to make good use of the vertical space because mice LOVE to climb. What you've got sounds great, but I also recommend lots of bird ladders and other climbable things and they'll be very happy. Mine love those hanging coconut huts they sell for parakeets too.

Regarding the water bottle, I've had problems with mice not being able to drink out of anything except the smallest size sold at Petco, so just watch out for that. You don't necessarily need two water bottles or wheels, but there's no harm if you want to! One really big wheel is better than several small ones if you only have a few mice. The silent spinner and the flying saucer are my faves.

Two is definitely the minimum for female mice, but I don't think you'll have a problem with three unless you get a particularly aggressive one. Some tussling is normal among mice, especially when first introduced, as long as it doesn't end in blood.
Regarding hanging things, suction cups with hooks are a LIFESAVER when it comes to mouse tanks. I hang everything off of them, and interconnect ladders in the middle to make a raised highway of sorts.

Best of luck and congrats on your future mice!

Most of the items were from local pet shops, but they are available online. The Rosewood Naturals and Trixie lines are great and provide a lot of choice. Here's a full inventory of what I used with links:

1. Vivarium https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/vivexotic-repti-stax-compact-vivarium-med-mussel/
   
   
2. Wheel
   https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F131889404264
   
   
3. House
   Wooden Nissan House Hut for Hamsters or Gerbils https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003TONZH4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pFVsDbQSKGR1V
   
   
4. Ladder https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F181393896519
   
   5 Play tube
   https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F233143281028
   
   
5. Platform shelf for house - I DIY'd this using part of the tube tunnel above for the legs, and some solid wood cut to the size I needed. I sanded it all very smooth and drilled 2 holes on one edge to hook the ladder into. Everything was assembled with non toxic glue (glue gun) and sealed with a pet safe water based varnish.
   
   
6. Glass forage jar - From local homeware store.
   
   
7. Glass ramekins for food and water - From my kitchen but any homeware store will have something similar, they seem to be cheaper than the pet bowls.
   
   
8. Hanging wicker toy
   I bought this from a local pet shop. You can easily make one with the kind of wicker toys in the link below, tied together with some jute/hessian string.
   AUOKER 5 Pack Syrian/Dwarf Hamster Chew Toys for Teeth, Natural Wooden Molar Teeth Care Toy Set for Hamster, Ferret, Parrot, Chinchilla, Guinea Pig, Rabbit Chew & Play - Hamster Cage Accessories Toy https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N3YVYT6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PQVsDb1YS325F
   
   
9. Natural Grasses
   I've tried both these and the Harvest Festival version which are more aimed at rodents but they prefer this as they can climb it :-) I also included millet which you can get from any pet shop.
   Rosewood Naturals Bird Pick-n-Fly https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002ST9A2K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qUVsDbAK4MDHW
   
   Bedding is dust free wood shavings and soft hay.

Sticks, as much as you can put in it. Willow, aspen, birch, apple, are all fine but if you don't know google woods suitable for birds/hamsters. Wash well with soap and salt if you can, and hang up to dry. Once they are dry you can use them for a long time.


Coconuts are great.


Hay nests like this : https://www.amazon.de/Trixie-6108-Grasnest-f%C3%BCr-Hamster/dp/B0009586MU/ref=sr_1_36?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=trixie+hamster&qid=1571102738&sr=8-36


are very versatile. You can pierce them with sticks and place them very high in the enclosure. On the bedding level the mice will absolutely destroy it, very fast, won't last a month. High up they won't destroy it. They'll sleep in it. But destruction is fun so since it's so cheap maybe buy a few of them.


​

Willow balls are also their absolute favorite. You can make them yourself, but buying is so much easier. If you can craft with willow, your options are limitless. People make all kinds of stuff with it.


Hay. Giving them plenty of hay makes them busy. They love building nests and they love darting in to the hay. It's fun to look for eatable things from the hay too.


You can also collect and dry wild flowers and plants, which you know are non toxic for mice, but the season might be over with already.


Rocks, safe rocks are a different type of texture to study. It also uses their nails well. Note that with rocks you must place them directly to the bottom. You can also use a brick, for that look up what kind of bricks gerbil owners use.


And all the things other people already told you to get.

I am not an expert, but I've definitely read that air freshener is not the greatest thing for them. I absolutely get wanting to control the smell, though -- here are things I've tried:

1. Corn cob bedding (like this). Supposedly it interacts with the ammonia in their urine to neutralize some of the smell. I found that it just smelled weirder, not less, but you could give it a try.
   
2. Clean more frequently, and especially rinse out the wheel(s) daily. Deep cleaning the cage every day is totally unrealistic, but I found that mine tend to pee a lot while they're running (I guess?), and then the pee would dry on the wheel and smell a lot (because there was nothing to absorb it, it was just exposed to the open air). Giving the wheel a quick rinse with warm soap and water every day helped cut down a bit of the smell.
   
3. An air purifier. I have a smallish one pointed at the cage (so that's sucking air from the cage, that is). It's not technically rated for odor reduction (apparently you need some kind of fancy carbon filter for that). It might be placebo effect, but I feel like it helps. If you can afford a really good air purifier, I think that would be the best solution -- good for the mice and good for your nose :)

Hm, I usually see those used for transferring animals, I haven't seen an example of someone using it as a home. I have a small one I used when I got my babies, but just to carry in the car. I can't find the dimensions for the largest one - the tarantula stuff is triggering for me sorry lol There's some info on housing here, it makes a good point about the keeper plastic lid however: http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/housing.cfm


I know the top has a hole for a water bottle like this ( http://www.amazon.com/Lixit-Corporation-SLX0850-Aquarium-5-Ounce/dp/B0006B6804/ref=sr_1_11?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1373342103&sr=1-11 ) to go through. (Vertical nozzle, as opposed to a usual diagonal one.) Or you could probably drill one for a different type of

I'd say start with one wheel, and grab another if you need to. Out of my 3 only 2 use it, and it's honestly much more amusing to me to see them try and go opposite directions >_> haha

I grab fleece when I'm at the art store, like Michael's or AC Moore. I just get the small squares and cut them up, the solid colors are only like 50 cents a square? Or less? But yeah any fleece/polar fleece is fine. If you have a dollar store, they sometimes have scarves made of fleece and its a decent amount to play with! I got one last winter. Just had to cut the edging with the cotton thread and ran it once through the wash. :) Any fleece from anywhere works. I pulled apart some old PJ's that I never wore anymore myself.

Climbing toys are always a hit, and you can usually easily fasten them to bin cages if you add a few ventilation holes in the top (or suction cups with hooks - I get a pack for a couple bucks at ACE hardware. My mice have loved this hanging bridge. I plan on getting a few more varieties - it was very well made and the mice seemed to like the basic structure. I also recommend pvc pipes - easier to clean then conventional tubes, larger, and fun for them to explore and tunnel through, especially if you bury them partly under substrate.

Edible logz are also a favorite, at least for chewing, though my guys seem to enjoy climbing on them as well.

My guys also really love when I sew them fleece cubes and hammocks! I almost always find one or two mice in the fleece cube. Not really for playing, but lounging is just as important haha Fleece is definitely preferred as it clumps off as opposed to threading, so if they chew it, it is safe.

I bought a silent spinner wheel because i thought "hey it wont make a tonne of noise" (their cage is in my bedroom) however it STANK, as its plastic and has concave. And since my mice love their wheel so much they spend 90% of their time on it. Which bring 90% of the poop....

I swapped it for a wire mesh wheel, I realise bumble foot can be an issue however from what i understand thats caused by the feet being rubbed on the metal bars and the bacteria that live in poop get in the disturbed skin.

The paint does keep it as a smooth surface and for how cheap these wheels are replacing it once a year is just easier and cleaner for me. I wash it with their tank once a week too to ensure that it is clean.

Also a mesh wheel is safer as one of my mice doesn't keep up and a plastic wheel results in her falling on her back from the top of the wheel, as she cant hold on. But with a mesh one she can :) and she cant hurt herself on it.

EDIT:
Also I saw that icaruscottontail suggested that they only have it during supervised exercise times. I dont think this is not a good idea, if your mice are like mine they love to run at night 11pm-5am mainly, and i found they run up to 8km a NIGHT, if they only get a few hours when your awake they are unlikely to use it or use it as much as they would want to otherwise.

Niteangel Natural Living Tunnel System, Small Animal House https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OW6ZO9U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jpFACbCZ0ZTQE

I bought this for my boy Eli for Xmas...he lost his marbles...he loves it soooo much...he has a 20 gal long tank so you can fit the whole thing inside but it doesn't leave room for his wheel. I took the houses apart so each week I change out the houses so they can air out and I gave the connecting tunnel log to his baby brother leif in a separate tank...I first bought Eli this...Niteangel Natural Wooden Hamster Mouse Tunnel Tube Toy Forest Hollow Tree Trunk https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OW44P56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4sFACbT7F5QKX

they have tons of real wood mouse safe toys...I like this company the best...we also have a pineapple hammock and a strawberry one. I wanna get Eli and leif this Activity Assault Course - Hamster & Small Animal Toy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HRLM1E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_azFACb2XNVKE5

Best thing I could find (10.7 x 18.4 x 8)

The only thing I would worry about is the little ones chewing on the coating, this size should cover 1/3 long ways.

Also you may be able to use the hooks on this not only as a stand but you could make very small holes and hook it to add even more room.

However if this doesn't work, you could add adhesive hooks so you can use cage hooking items like this

If the hooks aren't what you want then you can add items like these:

Best Option

Wooden Balcony

Platform

Platform and Swing

Platform and Swing - The Squeequel

I really hope this will help you and the little ones out!

Edit: Forgot to add this one

Really? I mean with the cages connected they have WAY more space than they would have in a 10 gal tank. Also, I figured since mice were burrowing critters they would like the tubes. They aren't small cages, I have three of these attached with lots of tunnels with lookouts and hidey holes between: https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Critter-Trail-Habitat-360/dp/B00DDPCK8O/


It's a good 14.5" in diameter, giving them 166 sq in per cage where as a 10 gal would give them 200, but they would not have the extra areas from the connected cages. Sadly, I don't have room to go for anything with a bigger footprint, like a 20 gal tank.

I'm definitely open for feedback on husbandry though. Thanks

My personal favorite is this house set here! The blue and pink houses are designed to sit next to each other and look like one big house. It’s also the sturdiest Kathson house I’ve purchased so far. Kathson has lots of cute dollhouse adjacent mouse and hamster stuff. I’m a big fan.

I got the hanging ladders and straw nest from petsmart in the bird section. The wooden tube I got off of Amazon. And thank you ^-^
Niteangel Natural Wooden Hamster Mouse Tunnel Tube Toy Forest Hollow Tree Trunk https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OW44P56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_mriNDbSYM5R5V

I kept my mice in my room and their wheel used to wake me up until I replaced it with this! Worked like a dream and used it for the rest of their lifespans.

https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Silent-Spinner-Exercise-Wheel/dp/B0006L12V4

Here's an Amazon link doodoodoodoo

bridge

Here is the mobile version of your link