Re: Where can we keep our mouse?

by Isamaria Fri 08 Jul 2016, 6:59 pm

ThePetekeyPrep wrote:I keep my mice in my bedroom. The first night was hard, but after that, I was so used to it they never wake me up or bother me.
I use a 10 gallon aquarium for my two girls. It's heavy and hard to clean, so I'm actually looking into changing it - I cut my finger on it cleaning today, actually. I'm sure if you find a lightweight tank it wouldn't be a problem, but mine is heavy glass.
Flying saucers are the most silent wheels, I think. Mesh wheels are a favorite among mice, as they love looping on them, but they need oiling with coconut oil or something of the sort when they start squeaking. I don't like silent spinners, actually, as I found them to be...not silent.
Anyways. I digress.
That cage you linked looks nice to me. Good luck.

Thank you! I'm going away for six weeks in November, so I won't be getting the mice until the beginning of next year. But I'm still very excited Smile

by Isamaria Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:02 pm

MouseLover wrote:Cool Isamaria I have always wanted to go to Denmark. I am from the UK and have used Zooplus before, it's a pretty good website. I think that cage would be a lovely size for some mice, plenty of room for them to play in and have lots of toys. I have heard good things about that cage and I considered getting it for my dwarf hamster, so I think it's a good option.

For some reason glass tanks like that cost a lot more in the UK and Europe than in the USA, so I actually think that's quite a good price, and as you say it should last you a long time.

I was just in the UK on holiday a little while ago Smile

by Isamaria Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:04 pm

CinnamonPearl wrote:If you get that tank, you may want to get more than three girls, perhaps four. When first getting mice, it's important to make sure their enclosure is just the right size for them, no smaller, no larger. Smaller tanks are bad for obvious reasons, but giving them too much space before they're tame can cause nervous or aggressive behavior.

Huh..!? I never knew that. I actually heard some people saying that a mouse cage can never be to big, but I'll have to look in to that. Thank you

by GabbiLuvsMice Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:06 pm

Yeah, bigger is better. Of course, there is a line where things just start getting ridiculous, but you really cant go wrong with big cages.

by CinnamonPearl Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:06 pm

That's definitely true for hamsters and other rodents. And once your mice are tame, then you can go as big as you want! But until they're tame, keeping the cage size at a perfect balance with the colony size certainly is the best thing.

by scaredymouse Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:12 pm

FYI, glass tanks don't need to be moved to be cleaned. So the weight of a tank shouldn't deter anyone from getting one if that's what you want. You can just use a small dustpan to get the dirty bedding out, wipe it down with soapy water or a vinegar/water mix or cage cleaner spray, then wipe it down with plain water. I have been doing this for years... I can't lift 20g and 40g tanks... and they get cleaned well without moving them. Personally, I use a little dustpan to get out the bedding, use kaytee cage cleaner spray to clean it, then spritz it with plain water and wipe it down. That's it. Clean, odorless tank.

by CinnamonPearl Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:13 pm

With my tanks, I just scoop out as much dirty bedding as I can and clean out the rest with the vacuum. I put the tank on the floor to do that, but you don't even have to. Works like a charm.

by River Fri 08 Jul 2016, 7:42 pm

scaredymouse wrote:FYI, glass tanks don't need to be moved to be cleaned. So the weight of a tank shouldn't deter anyone from getting one if that's what you want. You can just use a small dustpan to get the dirty bedding out, wipe it down with soapy water or a vinegar/water mix or cage cleaner spray, then wipe it down with plain water. I have been doing this for years... I can't lift 20g and 40g tanks... and they get cleaned well without moving them. Personally, I use a little dustpan to get out the bedding, use kaytee cage cleaner spray to clean it, then spritz it with plain water and wipe it down. That's it. Clean, odorless tank.

I'm shocked I never thought of that! I'll be doing this next week. And I cut my finger over such a pointless act. Hmph.

by Rodents rock! Fri 08 Jul 2016, 11:00 pm

scaredymouse wrote:FYI, glass tanks don't need to be moved to be cleaned. So the weight of a tank shouldn't deter anyone from getting one if that's what you want. You can just use a small dustpan to get the dirty bedding out, wipe it down with soapy water or a vinegar/water mix or cage cleaner spray, then wipe it down with plain water. I have been doing this for years... I can't lift 20g and 40g tanks... and they get cleaned well without moving them. Personally, I use a little dustpan to get out the bedding, use kaytee cage cleaner spray to clean it, then spritz it with plain water and wipe it down. That's it. Clean, odorless tank.

I do the some thing, I don't lift or move my tanks to clean them and I've been doing it that way for years and have kept all my rodents happy and healthy. Very Happy

by DVirginiana Sat 09 Jul 2016, 2:06 am

I have my mouse and three rats in my bedroom. There's not too much noise, ad it's actually become such a constant little quiet noise that I can't sleep without hearing them rustle around lol
The only thing that ever wakes me up is when the rats start banging stuff or plucking the bars with their teeth, but they only do that because they want to get my attention... the mouse isn't smart enough to do that though, thak goodness.

by Nestmouse Sat 09 Jul 2016, 4:29 am

The only thing I've ever read about enclosures being too large is, the mice starting to claim parts of them as their territories and fighting over them. I don't remember any details of it but it's not the first time I hear this.
Although I'd have the choice of sleeping in one room and keeping the mice in another, honestly I wouldn't want to; I'm so used to being close to my babies I don't want to be separated from them at night unless I'm not at home at all (I travel not too seldom). As for noise, I only use flying saucer wheels after reading that they're the best for their tails (preventing deformations) but then also discovered they're normally noiseless unless they're defect in which case they'll have to be replaced anyway. Their only metal bars are the ceilings and recently with my two new mice I had to find ways of preventing them from being up their gnawing them, but that's mainly because that developed into a kind of obsessive behaviour bad for their teeth (they have plenty of healthy gnaw stuff around).
A quick story: a friend came to visit from abroad so I moved out of the bedroom to sleep on the sofa in the other room and offered to take the mice with me there, but he said he's not used to the dead quiet of my nocturnal apartment, coming from his more city like home, and the mice moving around a bit gave him a welcome minimum level of at least faint noise to feel comfortable. That's how our perception of noise is all relative, haha!

by Isamaria Sat 09 Jul 2016, 5:43 am

CinnamonPearl wrote:That's definitely true for hamsters and other rodents. And once your mice are tame, then you can go as big as you want! But until they're tame, keeping the cage size at a perfect balance with the colony size certainly is the best thing.

Could I use some kind of divider to make the tank smaller, like a piece of cardboard until they are tame?
How many mice would you say is minimum in a tank this size?

by essentiallysue Sat 09 Jul 2016, 7:28 am

I keep mine in a plastic bin that you can get from Walmart or a store like that. I like the bins better than glass because they can bang around more quietly, and it's easier for me to lift. My mice are very active at night and I give them so many things to chew, climb, and houses to furnish with paper that they work on them all night. I have silent spinner for each of them, so there's no running anybody off when they want to run. Noise? Oh yes, and I sleep like a baby because I am reassured that everybody is active, and healthy, and have no worries.

by CinnamonPearl Sat 09 Jul 2016, 8:44 am

The amount of mice that will fit in a 29.9x17.7" tank is eight mice.

by MouseLover Sat 09 Jul 2016, 8:59 am

I don't think that the cage/tank is too big, as long as there are no big empty spaces. Mice are kind of agoraphobic (scared of big open spaces) and they feel happier and more confident if there are lots of places to hide. So you'll want to put lots of toys and hidey places for them. You could definitely try and put a cardboard divider in there if you wanted to, but the mice might decide to chew through it haha Laughing

I think it will make a lovely home for mice.

How many mice did you want? You could keep up to 8 mice in there, but 5 or 6 would probably be better. I can understand if you wanted a smaller number if it's your first mice Smile

The minimum number would be 3. But there's a chance that a smaller group might be more nervous to begin with.

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