Mice can make great pets. They are friendly, social, and active little creatures.
With proper attention, they can be with you for about 3 years. Let’s look at 10 things that you’ll need when you buy pet mice.
Table of Contents
Balanced Diet
Your mice will need food
Your mice will need a variety of food to stay as healthy as possible. You don’t want to eat the same thing every single day, so make sure you change it up for your mice.
Our staple mouse diet is Kaytee mouse food from Amazon then a mixture of fruits and vegetables with the odd treat.
Here are some different things you can feed your mice.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Mouse lab blocks
- Grains
Drip bottle for water
Your mice will need clean, fresh water daily. You can get them a little dish, but a drip bottle would be easiest and cleanest for them.
A Comfortable Habitat
A glass tank, Metal or Plastic Cage
Your mice need a comfortable place to be able to sleep, just like you. They need to have a nice little home set up. Not that hard.
You want to make sure that the habitat has a strong, solid bottom where your mouse can’t escape. Check the top and make sure it can’t be easily moved either.
We love the Favola Large Mouse cage available on Amazon
Suitable Bedding
For the bedding, you want to make sure you have crumpled paper or hardwood chips. You want to place 1 to 2 inches along the bottom of the home. Stay away from cedar chips.
Things to Keep Them Busy
Your mice will need toys
They will need things to keep them healthy, busy, and on the move, but not running all over your house.
Yes, please get your mice some toys. You would be bored if you didn’t have things like your phone or your laptop. Your mice will need things to keep themselves entertained.
Exercise wheel or Tunnels
You mouse will want an exercise wheel to give them something to do and for, well, exercise. You’ll want a larger wheel. Just because your mice are small doesn’t mean they need a small wheel.
They actually need a larger one. A solid wheel is best, so they don’t get their little feet or tail caught in any wire ones.
Chew toys
Mice love to nibble. Like a teething baby wants to be constantly chewing on something, your mice want to as well. Give them some sticks or chew pellets from the pet store.
Here is a good selection pack of chew toys suitable for gerbils, hamsters, mice, and rats.
Ropes to climb
If you want to get your pet mice ready for their circus debut, string some rope around their habitat. They will love to climb all around and all over it.
Cardboard tubes
The cheapest toy you can get for your mice are those cardboard tubes that are in the middle of paper towels or toiler paper. They love them. You can secure them down or let your mice play around with them.
A fun little nook
Animals love to find a cozy little place to curl up in to take naps or sleep. Your mice will want a nice hut or domed off area where they can snuggle up for bed. You can give them extra bedding for this special spot.
Mice Love Treats
Your mice would love some treats
Please give your furry little friend some treats! You aren’t the only one who needs to treat themselves. Mice love special gifts from their human parents.
Dog treats
An easy way to treat your mouse is to a dog treat. It can also be a chew toy for them since it’s a bit harder.
Hard fruits
Carrots and apples make a nice snack and treat for a mouse. Again, they will be able to gnaw on them and file their teat down, but they are also very tasty.
Your Mouse Wants A Friend
Always get at least 2 mice if they are female
Pets always thrive more when they have a buddy. While talking to your tv for companionship might be okay for a while, eventually you should talk to someone. Mice also do much better if there are a few of them.
If you haven’t had mice as pets before, you want to go with female mice. You should get at least 2, but should think about getting 3 if you can handle it. Female mice love each other as friends, and will love their human parent more.
If you decide to get male mice, you’ll need to get more habitats, as they shouldn’t live together.
Unless you adopted two male mice from birth or young, male mice will fight and try to kill each other. The first sign of fighting and you’ll have to separate them for good.
Mice Want to Be Social
Mice want to get to know you
Mice can be adorable and lovely pets. Once they are tamed they can really bond and socialize with their human parent. They love to interact with people and if they are females they love to live in little groups.
Mice Need Your Patience
You need to take your time
As with any new pet, you both need to adjust to each other. They are in a new environment. Mice are also prone to get stressed easily, so you need to take your time with taming them.
Do Your Research
You need to know your basics
As with any other pet, you need to know what foods are dangerous for them, what not to do with them, and what health issues to look out for. Maybe get a book about having a pet mouse.
Can I make my own mouse toys?
Yes, making your own mouse toys is easy, and you probably already have materials at home. Mice love the cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls. If you put those in there, your mice will use them as tunnels. You can also use untreated wood to make different toys for your mice.
Do mice need a wheel?
Mice don’t necessarily need a wheel, but they do run up to 6 miles per day and need to get that exercise somehow. An exercise ball is a good alternative if you can’t let your mouse run around a room freely.
Why are cedar and pine shavings bad for mice?
Cedar and pine shavings both give off acid and toxic fragrance oils. The acids cause major skin irritations, and the toxic fragrant oils cause a lot of damage to their respiration systems.
How many mice will fit in a cage?
If you are planning on only having male mice, you should only put one in a cage at a time. If you want female mice, you shouldn’t put any more than 5 in a 10 gallon tank enclosure at a time.
Final Thoughts
If you get these 10 things situated, you’ll have happy and healthy mice. You’ll have your mice for a few years, so enjoy your time together. If treated properly, your mice can entertain you as much as you entertain them.
