CARE-SHEET

Care Sheet 

We selectively breed for pet mice in a variety of colors and coat types. Health is a top priority.   

Housing:
Common housing for pet mice include aquariums (ten gallons or larger,) habitrails (and similarly designed “hampster cages,”) and wire-frame cages (often designed for gerbils.) Two to three mice can comfortably live in a ten gallon aquarium, or similar size cage. Equipment for the cage includes a running wheel (I don’t have to tell you how much mice love these,) a water dish or bottle, and may include places to hide (toilet paper rolls work great, but the fancier, specially designed mouse-houses are fun too.)  We use and recommend Aspen shavings as bedding within the cage. Never use cedar shavings, the oils in the wood can be toxic tp pets! Other safe beddings are available (such as recycled paper products.) The use of pine shavings as bedding for small pets is controversial within the rodent fancier community, but most recommend against using it.

Nutrition:
We feed our mice a combination of foods for the best variety of nutrition. We use Kaytee Fiesta gerbil mix, Hartz gerbil/hampster diet (I prefer 8 in 1 to Hartz, but it is not available where I purchase my mouse food,) and lab mouse chow. Our mice also receive fairly regular treats of pastas, popcorn (cooked!), crackers, cereals (low or no-sugar added,) and occasional fresh fruits and veggies (dried fruits and veggies are also in the Kaytee mix.)  These combinations have worked well for us, but there are also specially mixed “mouse food” products available, and these may be just as good. 

Life span and health:
The life span of pet mice can vary greatly, depending on a number of variables. Breeding, random genetics, nutrition, stress level, and other factors all play a part in determining how long your mouse will live, and how healthy he will be over the course of his life. Cancers are common in older mice (this falls under random genetics, as even the best breeder cannot predict which mouse will inherit certain genes predisposing it to cancer, those genes do not guarantee that the mouse will actually develop cancer, and the parent mice have long since become grandparents and great-grandparents before their cancers are evident.) To further complicate matters, not all cancers are hereditary, but are the result of random mutation in the individual animal. Respiratory illnesses also claim the lives of many older mice; these mice may have been resistant to such illness when younger. Lastly, mice will eventually succumb to the deterioration of “old age,” regardless of how healthy they have been. Keeping your mice in a low-stress, healthy (clean) environment will help her continue to thrive into old age. Baring accident or acute illness, you can generally expect your pet mouse to live from eighteen to thirty months.