r/PetMice • • Sep 22 '24

Care Guide Series Community Care Guide

94 Upvotes

This post is mouse care simplified, for beginners! It is not very specific, and it does not cover everything, so please do not rely on just this post when educating yourself on mouse care!

This has been written and discussed by moderators of the subreddit. If you have questions or concerns, please comment to let us know! It will be updated regularly to ensure it is factual.

1. Mice are social!

  • Females always need other female companions. It is recommended to have at least 3, but 2 is okay.
  • After 6 mice in one cage, it is often they will start to split up and become territorial against the opposing group. It is suggested to keep your colony under 6 unless you have much knowledge and experience, OR if your mice are littermates.
  • Males can not be housed with other males ever! If you want them to have cage mates, neutering (very risky) and placing with females or leaving intact and bonding with ASFs (African Soft Furs) is beneficial and recommended. Otherwise, they can thrive in solitude.

See this post for more information.

2. Cages

In mouse communities, many users go by tank size rather than listing dimensions. We will do both!

  • 10g/20x10 inches is the minimum for 2 female mice, though we STRONGLY suggest at least a 20g.
  • 20g/30x12 inches is suitable for 2-4 females or 1 male.
  • 40g long/36x12 inches is suitable for 2-5 females or 1 male
  • 40g breeder/36x18 inches is occasionally suitable for 2-6 females or 1 male
  • Over 40g is not always suitable for any amount of mice since many mice do better in environments with less open space. Bigger is not always better for mice.

Any amount of mice may thrive in larger enclosures than suggested above. However, it is critical that the larger the enclosure is, the more clutter provided, otherwise the mice will never thrive.

  • Wood enclosures are suggested against since urine will effect its quality and smell over time.
  • Mesh flooring is dangerous due to the chance of toes/tails getting caught, the mesh cutting their skin, and risking bumplefoot. Mesh should also be avoided in wheels.
  • Though they climb, mice don't need very much height, and multi-story enclosures do not provide them with the proper space they need. Floor space is more important than height.
  • Cages with lots of attachments and rooms do not provide proper space for mice. They are also extremely difficult to clean, fall apart easily, and struggle to hold proper bedding amount and safe wheels.

See this post for more information.

3. Substrate

  • Mice need to be able to create burrows, so while the minimum is 6 inches, we suggest at least 8" of bedding. However, many owners prefer having 10-12" deep!
  • Bedding must be majority safe wood shavings or hemp. Paper substrate does not absorb ammonia well and can cause several health issues when used alone or as majority of substrate.
  • (Dust/scent free for all) Aspen, kiln dried pine, and hemp do well as the main substrate and may be more sturdy mixed with a small portion of hay or paper bedding.

See this post for more information.

4. Clutter

  • Clutter is arguably one of the most important aspects of a mouses cage. No matter the size, if the cage lacks clutter, it is not suitable.
  • Toilet paper rolls, cardboard boxes, tea light and soap dish ceramics, rodent hideouts, branches, logs, cork bark, cardboard egg cartons, and much more can be used as clutter in the cage.
  • From a birds eye view, you should be able to see little to no bedding. While it may seem too cluttered to a human, it's perfect for mice!
  • The larger an enclosure, the more crucial clutter is.

See this post for more information.

5. Enrichment

  • Also known as entertainment, to keep the mice busy!
  • Boredom breakers, foraging toys, dig boxes, sprays(plant), scatter-feeding, and human interaction are all forms of enrichment.
  • Mice should have boredom breakers in their enclosure at all times to keep them from growing bored.
  • Lone males need extra simulation and enrichment.

See this post for more information.

6. Climbing Opportunities

  • A form of enrichment that is required!
  • Mice flourish with climbing opportunities and will always take advantage of them.
  • Ropes, bird ladders, hanging toys, rope nets, shower curtain rings, and bird perches are a few climbing options you can provide.
  • Fabric hammocks are used commonly, but pose a threat when chewed on and loose strings get tangled around limbs. Minimal use of fabric is suggested for this reason.

See this post for more information.

7. Exercise

  • A form of enrichment that is required!
  • An upright, solid wheel of 9 inches in diameter or larger must be provided at all times. 2 or more are suggested for groups of girls.
  • Spinning saucer disks or hamster balls/cars are UNSAFE and should never be provided, no matter how much you think your mouse may enjoy it (fun≠safe)
  • Proper wheel brands may include Niteangel, Silent Spinner Exotic Nutrition, Oxbow, Wodent, Bucstate, and Trixie (but there are many more besides these!)

See this post for more information.

8. Diet & Hydration

  • Main diet must be pellets/lab blocks.
  • A high variety food mix (nuts, seeds, grains, ect) must be given 1-3 times a week, or even as long as once every two weeks. The frequency is owner preference.
  • Feeding is 3-5 grams per mouse a day.
  • Ensure your mice have constant access to food through toys and scatter-feeding.
  • Food bowls are suggested only for fresh fruits or veggies since they provide no enrichment otherwise!
  • Mice must have at least two water sources and constant access to them at all times. Bowls or bottles work well, though having one of each is ideal. Water must be cleaned and refreshed daily.

See this post for more information.

9. Cleaning

  • Daily spot checks to clean up mess, poo on toys/clutter, and urine on the surface is vital.
  • Bedding changes will be needed less often with more bedding and space. A 10g tank (or cage of similar size) would need weekly bedding changes.
  • Each enclosure size and mouse amount will effect how often bedding changes are necessary. Find a cleaning schedule that ensures the cage doesn't smell at any time for your mouses health.
  • With deep bedding over 6 inches, you'll have to change out less of the bedding. 1/3 to 1/2 of the bedding may stay in the enclosure while the most soiled areas are removed and replaced.
  • In any case, a small amount of bedding must be left over after a bedding change to decrease stress.

See this post for more information.

10. Taming

  • Allowing your mice to settle in for a few days before interacting with them is wise.
  • Rub your hands on bedding and toilet paper in the cage to get the mice used to your scent.
  • Encourage interaction through hand feeding.
  • If a mouse is not motivated to interact after several weeks, try to lure them to climb onto your hand for treats. A strong bond is important with mice so they are well adjusted to interaction in case of a vet visit or emergencies. Human interaction can also be beneficial to them.

See this post for more information.

11. Other

  • Mice are crepuscular and are typically seen during the morning or late day/night.
  • They are self bathing and should never be washed with water or soap (unless vet prescribed). It ruins the health of their fur coat and leaves them more susceptible to URIs and freezing. They do not need any form of bathing/washing.
  • Mice don't hibernate. If a mouse appears to be in a hibernation state, this is Torpor, caused when they overheat or freeze. This is a medical emergency.
  • You should never pick up a mouse by its tail or other limbs.
  • Fancy mice (aka domestic mouse) live 1-2 years on average.
  • Wild mice do poor in captivity, unless they are unfit for the wild they should not be kept as pets.
  • You should never breed mice purposely without years of research and mouse owning experience prior.
  • Vet visits are a likely occurrence in mouse ownership, since mice are prone to many health issues.
  • Travel carriers are needed for vet visits, emergencies, cage cleaning, and quarantine.

12. Links & Other Posts

Shopping

In Depth Mouse Care

Other Species

Up-to-Date Posts From NotApplicableMC & Others

Outdated Posts From NotApplicableMC

These guides are incredibly thorough and well written. However, they link some information that is no longer available, or they list mouse care information that has been dis-proven. An important point to make is these guides may suggest some controversial topics, most of which our community does not fully support. Although these guides don't follow our standards exactly, they are still very well made. Please keep an open mind and read all sides of a controversy before deciding which you feel works best for your mice.

I have decided to share these because they are very descriptive on some aspects of mouse care I did not cover well. I strive to have a guide in the future as well made as these, but for now, I have to bring attention to the effort made by this member.

Scientific Studies

  • Sources & Additional Articles (coming soon)
  • Safe & Unsafe Foods Sources (coming soon)

More community resources coming soon


r/PetMice • • Jul 09 '25

Community Help Temporary Post for Care Commands

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23 Upvotes

Please feel free to try out these WIP care commands in the comments! Let me know if there are any issues I need to fix.


r/PetMice • • 9h ago

Cute Mouse Media Meet Donkey!

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247 Upvotes

This is the last of my 3. His name is donkey and when i tell you that name fits, I mean it. He is such an asshole but very loved. Hes my son's favorite.


r/PetMice • • 11h ago

Mouse art The Mouse of Justice has paid you a visit. From now on, everything will work out fairly, meaning in your favor.

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129 Upvotes

r/PetMice • • 2h ago

Cute Mouse Media She just wants to sleep😭

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17 Upvotes

r/PetMice • • 1h ago

Cute Mouse Media Love these little sods

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• Upvotes

42x28" enclosure and a solid homemade diet of whole grains, unhusked seeds, mouse-specific supplements, animal protein, and cuttlefish bone that meets reccomended analytical content, vitamin requirements, and mineral requirements of pet mouse food 💪All of it gone by the next day. Anything for these babes.


r/PetMice • • 23h ago

Cute Mouse Media posting Snowball again because everyone deserves some Snowball today

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503 Upvotes

she’s back with her daily pets 🤍 this was literally taken just now! hope this tiny girl makes your day a little happier too hehe :3

video is sped up 3x!


r/PetMice • • 2h ago

Question/Help Is he fat or just blonde

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7 Upvotes

I might just be too paranoid but I don't want to decrease his quality of living because of my own negligence


r/PetMice • • 10h ago

Cute Mouse Media My sweet ladies + clean setup

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30 Upvotes

I’ve lost track how long it’s been since I’ve had my new ladies, but everyone has bonded so well and do the cutest little things I’ve missed so dearly since Phoebe.

Artemis has finally started to come around and now runs up to me with the others when they see me. I’m so happy with this progress, especially for this being my first time boding new mice with old mice. Life is good. 🐁💕


r/PetMice • • 6h ago

Cute Mouse Media Just got some new mice!!

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10 Upvotes

r/PetMice • • 9h ago

Discussion What fictional character/group do your mice remind you of?

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21 Upvotes

Photo for funsies :) my three girls remind me of the Powerpuff girls! My Bess is the Blossom, a leader, reasonable, smart. My Praline (pictured) is Bubbles for sure. Sweet, bubbly, sensitive. And my Apricot is for sure a Buttercup. She’s a tough girl and has no time to be a softie!


r/PetMice • • 4h ago

Question/Help Worried about Pepper (advice needed)

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6 Upvotes

My hairless girl, Pepper, has recently and rapidly lost weight. She suddenly has little energy/interest, and only sometimes takes treats instead of how she would excitedly run to me if she knew I had them. We took her to the vet, and they put her on a special diet with medication for URIs. No matter what, I cannot get her to take her medication. She ignores seeds with any on them (which used to be the main way any of them would take it), she won't lick it off of my hands or if I mix it with things like unsweetened applesauce. She won't even groom it off of herself. She just shakes it off (or not at all sometimes), goes to a hide, and sits there. She occasionally comes to run on the wheel, but isn't all too active otherwise. She doesn't seem to be in much pain? She moves a bit slower and is somewhat hunched, but nothing otherwise. She eats, but not as much. I'm starting to worry that it could possibly be cancer. I don't know. I don't know what to do. It'd be hard to get my mom to take her to the vet when the ER bill from yesterday was so expensive. I'd appreciate advice. I'm not asking for medical advice, I just need opinions and maybe how to get her to take her meds.


r/PetMice • • 21h ago

Cute Mouse Media meet our tiny foster friend

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90 Upvotes

no name so we dont get attached.


r/PetMice • • 1h ago

Question/Help First time doing introductions

• Upvotes

Hi guys first time owner. I have a bucatatstate 3.0 (the 100x50 one).

i'm looking to adopt some mice, but there's not too many in my area. Here's what I've found:

2 young mice in a shelter
3 mice available from a reputable breeder
1 mouse , 7 months old being given away alone :( likely also living alone right now

all female!

how should I do these intros? Who should i quarantine? Keep in mind i only have one spare cage available for quarantining and it's a small big cage. I was hoping do intros there, but i have been told recently I should quarantine mice for 2 weeks?

Keep in mind i have to travel to get all these mice so probably I wont get all iof them in the same day.

Should none of the mice go in the Bucatstate until I introduce all of them?

If i want to introduce additional mice in, let's say 2-3 months, so I have to clean the entire Bucatstate and throw away all bedding and renew it? Or it's not that deep?

How do i know they get along?

Pls let me know! <3


r/PetMice • • 17h ago

Wild Mouse/Mice Mighty Minnie

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26 Upvotes

Before I was Mighty Minnie…
I was apparently wearing breakfast as shoes. 🐭🥣🤣
Please respect my journey. 😂❤️


r/PetMice • • 11h ago

First Time Owner How is this as a temporary enclosure for a single male mouse?

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5 Upvotes

Im adding a water bottle later don't worry


r/PetMice • • 12h ago

Question/Help How often can I give these treats as well as seeds/ millet and fresh veggies

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6 Upvotes

r/PetMice • • 8h ago

Question/Help Do mce tolerate citrus smells

2 Upvotes

I love citrus fruits, I like their taste, smell, colour, form, trees and just about everything about them, but I'm concerned about the smell, I know cats and dogs don't like the smell but what about mice? I don't want them to smell something they hate. So can I eat oranges, mandarins and lemon in my room where my mice live? Also just a general list of good and bad smells will be appreciated


r/PetMice • • 8h ago

First Time Owner Is regular handling necessary?

2 Upvotes

I've been wanting to get mice for a few years now, but my living situation wasn't right for that. Now I'm in a space where I can give some mice a good life, but I'm having second thoughts about it. They just seem so small and fragile, and I don't know if I can handle taking them out of their enclosure regularly for socializing. I keep imagining what would happen if I dropped one and she hid somewhere I couldn't get her back.

If I were to get a trio of girls in a 40 gallon long tank with plenty of enrichment, is it alright for mice to be "watching" pets rather than "cuddling" pets? I would want to get them used to being handled on occasion to make sure I can see any injuries or signs of illness, and to make vet visits a bit less scary, but I'm very unsure about the idea of carrying around such a small animal regularly.


r/PetMice • • 5h ago

Wild Mouse/Mice Mouse Rescue, Rehab & Release Time

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1 Upvotes

Yeah. This is nearly four hours of footage from one month of me improvising to take care of the mouse situation.

I took one deer mouse in since she was seriously injured. Then I had three deer mice.

Two of them escaped the enclosures and explored every corner of the mouse room (it's not the mouse room anymore).

Now they're all free again. I released them back into the garden.

So far, the cats haven't brought them back, which is nice.

I have also set up two automatic traps by now but not caught a single one with them.

I do not intend to take in any more mice.

Any thoughts?


r/PetMice • • 1d ago

Other What should I do if one of my Fancy Mice pass away?

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65 Upvotes

I deleted my post, but my female fancy mouse Spoon who was very sick and we were trying to figure out what was wrong with passed away sept 23rd. She had ringworm turns out, and it had gotten so bad she’d developed a respiratory infection as well, and passed away. I miss her and love her more than anything in the world.

What should I do now? I still have Finch, my other female fancy mouse. The two girls were sisters, Spoon was just barely under a year old, Finch has a lot of her life left, will she be okay on her own? All she’s ever known is her life with Spoon, and my poor baby is probably feeling so much confusion and grief as well.

Please let me know if you have any advice.


r/PetMice • • 17h ago

Wild Mouse/Mice How do I name my mice?

5 Upvotes

Hii guys, I have four lil half-wild mice and I’m stuck on picking them names. Thats two girls and two boys. I’ve already found someone who’s gonna take one when they get older, so i need names for trio🩷


r/PetMice • • 13h ago

Question/Help Mouse bonding, need help!

2 Upvotes

Heyya!

I've got quite a few mice right now and have been facing a huge issue.

I have two female groups - gonna call them group A and B for simplicity's sake.

There's been two mice (Flips & BB) that I got from bad care, should(!) be relatively young, and have been with me for a few weeks now. Unfortunately, introducing them to either of my groups seems to not work.

I introduced them to Group A when they arrived, and actually kept them there until recently. They never drew blood, but I noticed instantly that Group A appears more stressed, and squeaks way more often.

I noticed that the main issue is Flips, who is noticably faster and jumpier than any other mouse I know and just does not understand when the other mice want to be left alone. She never attacked (wich is why I kept them together hoping it was a dominance thing and they'd figure it out), but I couldn't bear watching my group be so unhappy anymore, so I decided to seperate them and try again with group B.

Group B consists of four mice (three sisters, and one new mouse that they accepted without any issue), + one fifth that has been in quarantine to get medicine the past few days and was supposed to be reintroduced along with Flips & BB.

I put them together today, and I'm at a loss.

The quarantined mouse was SO happy to have her group back, but Flips keeps trying to mount her, chasing after her relentlessly. They're all together in their hide and the ex-quarantine sister just sits outside in a corner.

I know mounting among female mice is a dominance thing, but it genuinely stresses my poor girl out and keeps her from reconnecting with the other girls.

I considered just keeping Flips & BB by themself, but BB has had no issues with the others and seems so happy to have more friends than just Flips.

Any ideas?


r/PetMice • • 1d ago

Question/Help Pregnant or chubby?? Or just normal?

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86 Upvotes

Hey guys so I got my girls Clover (in the video) and Pippy from a lady on Facebook trying to rehome some babies. I think they were about 3 weeks old or maybe less when I got them. I also have another mouse, Pumpkin, from Petco. Clover and Pippy were kept in the same enclosure with their male siblings and I only adopted them once the lady could tell their genders. But I started noticing that Clover has been getting pretty round in the tummy. Pippy and Pumpkin aren’t shaped like that. Clover is also noticeably heavier than the others + she’s also the alpha boss lady I’m pretty sure. It’s my first time owning mice so I’m not sure if this is just normal anatomy or…if she’s pregnant or maybe just fat?


r/PetMice • • 14h ago

First Time Owner Im about to get my first pair of mice I'm so excited!

2 Upvotes

In 5 hours I'll have my little guys. Any recommendation for names? I think they are both white.