Post by Icarus on Mar 24, 2008 9:37:11 GMT -5
A Beginnings Guide Covering All the Basics
By Traci Brown, published Jan 15, 2007
Fun and entertaining, fancy mice make great first pets. They are very low maintenance and are very tame, as fancy mice rarely bite unless they feel threatened or cornered. This makes fancy mice great first pets for younger children.
To begin setting up their home, you'll need a mice friendly cage. Fancy mice are smaller than hamsters and gerbils, so bar cages make it easier for a mouse to escape. A plastic or glass cage is best here as making an escape won't be such an easy task. A 10 gallon fish tank makes an excellent home for three to four fancy mice as mice really do like company. Small plastic homes are great for one mouse, or a larger one can be used for up to two. However you'll want to choose wisely as you'll have to be able to allow other things into their home such as play things and food. If you choose to go with a wire type cage, make sure the cage bars are not spaced too far apart.
To give the mice a comfortable home, you'll need to give them a type of bedding. The only important thing here to remember is that pine and cedar bedding should be avoided at all costs. Pine and cedar bedding has been known to cause respiratory infections and breathing troubles in small animals, not just including mice. The cheapest bedding type is Aspen bedding and makes wonderful bedding for mice. However, it does not do much in the ways of odor control which could be a problem if you own pet male mice. Look around and examine all types of bedding. Decide what qualities are important to you and then go from there. Bedding will need to be changed about once a week, maybe a little less or more depending on how many mice you have, and whether or not they are male or female.
Food wise, any type of commercial food for mice (or hamsters) will work. This food usually contains all different types of seeds, and some corn. Other foods can be purchased such as lab blocks, which contain all essential nutrient types. If you choose lab blocks, it's best to purchase a seed based food to mix these with. Some foods can be purchased that contain freeze dried fruit, seeds, and lab blocks all in one. Any will work, so choose what you feel will work best. However, you'll want to pick out all corn pieces as corn can cause cancer, or harm if it molds. However some feed corn and do not feel different about it. It is up to you. It is best to supplement their normal food with fresh fruits and vegetables on some occasions. When feeding fresh fruits, avoid feeding in large quantities at first until they get used to them, never feed citrus type fruits or vegetables, green vegetables are best. Fresh fruits can be offered with their regular food or alongside it in another bowl. The choice is entirely up to you. You'll also need a ceramic bowl to place the food in. Ceramic is best as it will hold up against chewing.
A water bottle is generally recommended to hold their water. Placing water in a bowl will only mean having to change it more than once a day. Water bottles ensure clean water for many days which make it a great tool if you must go away for a day or two. There are many types of bottles and there is no wrong or right for the job. You'll just need to take into account your cage size and how many mice you are housing.
When choosing toys, it's best to always buy a wheel. Mice love the wheel and love to run. When buying a wheel, skip over the metal type wheels for something safer such as all plastic wheels because metal wheels can cause injury to your pet. This happens when running, they slip and a tail or foot becomes stuck and they cannot move or they jerk and pull causing injury. There are several plastic wheels to choose from and once again there is no one perfect wheel.
When choosing other toys, remember that mice love to chew and anything that is placed into the cage that can be chewed on will be chewed on. There will is no way to stop this, but by providing things specifically for chewing on, you will minimize the occurrence of chewing. Toilet paper rolls are a cheap and easy toy to provide a place to hide and something to chew on when the urge strikes. Fruit flavored wooden chews can also be used for chewing purposes. There are several chew centered products on the market for all types of small pets, so you can use one or all. It's critical that mice chew because chewing helps keep their teeth from growing too large. Teeth that become too large must be clipped by either yourself or a vet. Providing chew toys now will ensure an easier time later.
Once you have an established home for you pet, there is not much more you have to do. Every day you'll want to check on their water supply. If they need fresh water, give it to them. You'll want to provide fresh water a few times a week. More if you are not using a water bottle. You'll have to provide new food every day, throwing out all fresh food within 24 hours. I throw out all fresh food that hasn't been eaten within a few hours as I do not want it to spoil or attract bugs.
Once a week, the cage will need to be cleaned. It's best to have a temporary housing type nearby to house your mice in while you do this. Once they are in temporary housing removing all cage accessories and dump the bedding into the trashcan. Wash all cage accessories with hot water, occasionally using soap if needed. If you used soap, make sure all items are washed very thoroughly. Dry the cage and put in new bedding. Add all cage accessories again and put your mice back. If you have male mice, save a handful or two of old bedding and throw that in with the new bedding. This will comfort them so they will not feel like they have to mark their territory all over again.
I hope I have helped you with all of your general mouse care needs. With regular gentle care, your new friends will keep you entertained for years!
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