Newbie Advice

by spookynoodle Fri 19 Oct 2018, 9:38 am

Hey.

I've been doing research on keeping mice for a few weeks, and I'm beyond confident that I'm capable of doing so! I mostly own reptiles (+ cattle dog & cockatiel) , which is a lot of work, and compared to that a mouse seems like barely any work!

I'm slowly building a bin cage, and also some other enrichment items made out of paddle pop sticks and toilet rolls. I'm wondering if I can use Sugar Cane Mulch as a substrate? It has a strong odor but I air it out for a few days before using it for my Blueys.

I only want one mouse, so I'm definitely getting a male. I've heard lots about the strong odor, and that's something I don't want. I'm going to use a product called Nilodor, just a drop of it on a piece of cotton placed near the cage, not in it. It's pet safe. I'll also change the bedding less. Will this eliminate the odor?

I like feeding my animals so that they don't just survive, but thrive. I'm not an expert on mouse diet, but the product I have in mind is Peckish Rat & Mouse Pellets. Is this a good stable, alongside a variety of fresh veg, fruit and maybe some seed? Also, how much should I feed daily? Once or twice? A few teaspoons?

What do you guys think about these name ideas for my mouse —
Ruben, Engelbert, Dumbledoor, Link, Goku, Peanut

Are all mice capable of learning tricks? I love teaching my bird and dog tricks.

Cheers! Smile

by chiroptera Sun 21 Oct 2018, 1:05 pm

@Spookynoodle Hi, and welcome! I saw your pets in your other thread and they're all super cute!! Smile

I don't know for sure, but I don't think that sugar cane mulch would be a good idea for a mouse; they'd likely eat it (it would be too much sugar for them), I don't know if it would be dusty but it could upset their respiratory systems, and I don't know that it would work well for odor control anyway. Hopefully someone else will come along and give you a for-sure answer, but my instincts would be to try something else.

As for the odor, some people say their males smell strongly, but honestly I've never had an issue with my boy, so it depends on your nose and possibly your individual mouse. Since you have other animals, you may find that he isn't all that stinky after all. I couldn't say whether or not that product would work. Is it safe for birds? If not, I wouldn't use it around the mouse either, they have sensitive little lungs.

I'm trying to find information about the Peckish food, but I'm having a hard time finding it, so I can't say for sure whether it's a good base diet or not. I found two different sites with ingredients lists, and they were very different, so at least one of those lists had to be incorrect?? And I can't find the nutritional information on any of them (% fat, fiber, etc.) So unfortunately I can't say if it's good or bad. BUT lots of people use a high-quality parakeet/bird seed as a staple, such as Vitakraft Vitasmart. Edit: I found a few websites that describe it as a "high protein" diet, so I would be worried it might have too high of a protein content for mice, which don't need as much protein as rats.

As for how much food, mice have very fast metabolisms so they should always have access to food. Once the bowl is nearly empty, you should refill it. (though when you do cage cleanings, keep an eye out for food stashes to make sure they're eating everything and not picking out the bits they like)

I've never personally had a mouse that's done tricks, but on the other hand I've never tried. I think it would depend on your mouse's personality. Some are more prone to taming, and I would think taming would be similar.

Personally, I really like Ruben. Wink

Hope I could help, and good luck with your future mousey friend!

by spookynoodle Mon 22 Oct 2018, 1:14 am

chiroptera wrote:@Spookynoodle Hi, and welcome! I saw your pets in your other thread and they're all super cute!!

I don't know for sure, but I don't think that sugar cane mulch would be a good idea for a mouse; they'd likely eat it (it would be too much sugar for them), I don't know if it would be dusty but it could upset their respiratory systems, and I don't know that it would work well for odor control anyway. Hopefully someone else will come along and give you a for-sure answer, but my instincts would be to try something else.

As for the odor, some people say their males smell strongly, but honestly I've never had an issue with my boy, so it depends on your nose and possibly your individual mouse. Since you have other animals, you may find that he isn't all that stinky after all. I couldn't say whether or not that product would work. Is it safe for birds? If not, I wouldn't use it around the mouse either, they have sensitive little lungs.

I'm trying to find information about the Peckish food, but I'm having a hard time finding it, so I can't say for sure whether it's a good base diet or not. I found two different sites with ingredients lists, and they were very different, so at least one of those lists had to be incorrect?? And I can't find the nutritional information on any of them (% fat, fiber, etc.) So unfortunately I can't say if it's good or bad. BUT lots of people use a high-quality parakeet/bird seed as a staple, such as Vitakraft Vitasmart. Edit: I found a few websites that describe it as a "high protein" diet, so I would be worried it might have too high of a protein content for mice, which don't need as much protein as rats.

As for how much food, mice have very fast metabolisms so they should always have access to food. Once the bowl is nearly empty, you should refill it. (though when you do cage cleanings, keep an eye out for food stashes to make sure they're eating everything and not picking out the bits they like)

I've never personally had a mouse that's done tricks, but on the other hand I've never tried. I think it would depend on your mouse's personality. Some are more prone to taming, and I would think taming would be similar.

Personally, I really like Ruben.

Hope I could help, and good luck with your future mousey friend!

Hi, and thank you so much for the warm welcome. Smile

It does smell nice, so it'd make sense for them to munch on it! I'll definitely look into using something else. I'd love to use aspen, but it's so expensive here.

I went to the pet store today and found a bag of Peckish! Here's the nutritional information / ingredients.

Another brand I'd consider using would be Vetafarm Rodent Origins.

I actually purchased a handraised Cockatiel two days ago and named him Ruben, haha!

Hope to hear back from you soon.

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