I have just become the proud owner of a mouse?

He was sadly neglected before I got him, and I have never had one before and would be grateful for any advice you can give.





He is in a cage with a running wheel, and he has a water bottle, a feeding bowl (i give him hamster food - is that ok?) and he has a little toilet too. I also put the cardboard tube from toilet roll in there, he seems to enjoy running through it. I change his bedding and sawdust and toilet once a week. Is that enough? I add a handful of food to his bowl each day, is that too much? And how often should I change his water?





I just want to look after him, and give him a happy life. Speaking of which, I understand mice live to about 2 years old. Is there a way of telling how old he is? He's not a tiny mouse??





Thank you|||Wow, congratulations and what a nice person you are!


Mice are wonderful little animals - I had 4 dear little mice that were also adopted, and I just fell in love with them. They're so sweet and affectionate, and intelligent and clever in the way they like to arrange their environment...like little people.


It sounds like you're on the right track about care. I used to change my mice twice a week - every Sunday and Wednesday, for example, and for that I had an extra set of cages, so I could take my time to prepare the clean cages and make an interesting setup for them, and then just pop them into the clean cage. Otherwise it could be a bit stressful for them to be in a temporary box while you wash and dry all their stuff.


Maybe if your little one uses his potty you won't need to clean him as often though (maybe the potty should be cleaned more often, depending on how dirty it gets).


I used to add vitamins in the water bottle each time I changed it (every other day) - I used a brand called Rodivit, but maybe you have a different kind where you live. Also, I fed a mixture of food - some guinea pig food, crushed corn for pigeons, some seed - hamster food tends to be too rich for mice (peanuts and sunflower seeds) and can make them overweight. My mice also loved sharing some of our steamed veggies each evening - just a little bit of broccoli, sweet potato, carrot, potato, cauliflower, etc., plus even tofu, pasta or bread soaked in non-salty soup. I think that may have been one of the reasons they lived so long and were so healthy (my last mousie lived to be 2 1/2 years old).


As for the amount of food, just see how much he seems to need - I fed about a full teaspoonful per mouse per day - plus the little extras (vegg, etc.). If he leaves alot it's either because he has too much or maybe he doesn't like that particular food. If he looks trim and healthy then everything's OK.


The toilet roll is a great idea - let your imagination go as far as toys are concerned - your mouse will explore anything. I used to make a little "mezzanine" for my mice, by attaching a cardboard shelf in their cage, with a wooden ladder up to it, and another little cardboard box on the shelf to hide in. My Silky would go in and rest there with his little face peeking from the doorway.


I also made little hammocks for them from bits of old T-shirt, and hiding places from halves of coconut shell.


One last thing - my three male mice really loved music - I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Particularly gentle Christmas music (Schubert's Ave Maria, O Holy Night, etc.), opera and quiet classical music. They would gather side by side in the entrance to their nest, with just their heads out, and listen for a half hour at a time. It was extremely touching...


Good luck with your new little friend!|||BLESS, i had 2 ,mice,. is your mouse fat or pregnant? give it some fruit and cheese,( just seen u put he at the end, u sure , as they have loads of babys, good luck x|||Sounds like you are doing fine.


Good for you!


If you have a few pounds, get a book from a pet store to refer to.|||Change the water every day, as for bedding etc, once a week is okay.|||It is very fine! You are a good owner =)|||Hey, I'd advise you start feeding him rat food instead..... better yet food for mice! and it depends on how big your "handfuls" are... you can normally get a small scoop and measure it out. I'm not sure where you actually purchase them from tho! I'm sure it'll be a pet center of some sort! Mice like company so you might want to look into that. Change the water every day or more if it gets dirty. sometimes the cage needs more cleaning than that.... I did it about twice a week but mixed up some of the old bedding in with the new stuff so it would still have the lil dudes scent on it and he wouldn't get completely freaked out!!! as they do!|||I'd recomend using aspen bedding or Carefresh instead of sawdust. Sawdust will cause respitory problems in your mouse. Be sure never to use pine or ceder either.


Mice can live up to and over 3 years, but the average is about 2.5 - 3.


Water should be changes at least every second day. And the cage should be cleand at least once a week depending on the size of it.|||If there is food left at the end of the day you are feeding him/her too much. If its a he then it has already been overfed. But SHE might be pregnant.|||Here's a link to an excellent site full of great information on mice and rats: http://www.rmca.org Rat and Mouse Club of America. Signup for the forums is mandatory if you want to read more of the posts, but it's free and only takes a minute. All kinds of great experienced people with great advice, pics, and stories. Good luck with your mouse!|||Firstly, good on you for adopting this little mouse. The system you have for him seems great. It might be a good idea to get him a little house to live in too. I breed mice and they all love half a tissue box filled with cotton wool. They make tunnels through it, sleep in it and have their babies in it. You can buy hard plastic houses from pet shops too which mice love. Hamster food is fine for a mouse and a handful a day is okay too. Mice will only eat until they are full and won't get fat unless the food is too high in fat for the mouse to digest properly. Change the water every day so it's fresh and you can make sure saw dust or anything else has got stuck in the tube the water comes out of. Sometimes that happens and the mouse can't drink. Mice live for 2-3 years. If he's not tiny he is most probably fully grown. That means he is most likely anything from 6 months old and up. I hope that helps.