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Mice, Anyone?

5K views 56 replies 16 participants last post by  Bombalurina 
#1 ·
I went to Petsmart yesterday, HUGE mistake. I went into the rodent isle, and saw this little black and white male mouse. >.> He was adorable. I saw him running on his wheel, eating his food, lush fur; completely healthy. His face was half black and half white, I fell in love. The thing that really got me the most, was that when I put my finger gently on the glass, he also put his paw next to my finger. ;-; That mouse was the one for me... And as most moms are, she's afraid of rodents. :\

How am I supposed to get him? Believe me, I know how much responsibility it takes to have a small fragile pet. The food, vet bills, cage setup, toys, treats, love, care, etc. etc. I can't stop thinking about that little guy... My dad was a huge animal addict when he was little, he bred albinos responsibly. Can anyone help me? Did I mention I can't stop thinking about that guy? He was completely alone, mice are social, right?

I need some support here.
Also, I have been researching about them. If I do get him, is a wire cage with limited spacing best for them? I heard aquariums don't provide enough ventilation and ammonia can start. And the "hamster habitats" are pretty small.

. How much money do you spend monthly on mice supplies?
. How much money do you pay for vet bills?

Me and my family are saving money, we're moving this summer so we have to pay the down payment.
I have no chance of getting this mouse, but he was just the one. :(
 
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#2 ·
I pay about 15$ for a large bag of bedding every month or so, and 2-3$ every two and a half weeks for food, but if you buy in bulk, both of these things are a heck of a lot cheaper! The thing is the start up cost- cages run about 35$, a good, silent, non-rung style wheel about 15$, a water bottle about 5$, a few toys shouldn't be much, a hutch about 3$. But a lot of those things will come in the pack you get, most likely. However, never ever buy/use a rung-style wheel. Their legs can get caught and break, or can snap their spines...
 
#3 ·
That seems to be cheap, for a furry animal that is. I actually spend a lot more money on fish supplies. lol The only difference is that with fish you don't really have to buy supplies constantly, with mammals it's a different story.

What about your vet bills? Do they even get shots?
I plan on saucer wheels, they look really cool. ^.^ The mouse I saw had his tail over his body when he was on it. :3
 
#4 ·
. How much money do you spend monthly on mice supplies?

I spend about $8/month on a bag of food for my mouse and hamster, so probably $3ish on him, and abooout $15ish/month on toys and chews, which is just my personal preference :) I simply use shredded paper for bedding.


. How much money do you pay for vet bills?

In the six months I've had my mouse, he's only had to go to the vet once (Thankfully!) when the cat got ahold of him. It was a $45 consultation fee, I do
believe.


As for the 'mice are social' bit, yes and no. Female mice are social, but male mice often prefer their own company and yours to that of other mice, though they do occasionally like a buddy. I personally wouldn't suggest you getting him a friend and trying to introduce, since it could result in injuries to both mice, or worse.

My buck lives in a 10 gallon aquarium, which some people do say is not good for their health because of ventilation. This can be true, but given that I spot clean daily and do a full cage clean once a week, it's never been a problem for me. It's a bit more work keeping clean, because of ventilation, but for me it's worth it because my mouse was a little escape artist. I can't count how many times he got out before I switched him to the aquarium.

I'll warn you, male mice can stink a little bit, but it's a smell you get used to :)

I second the no runged wheels, my personal preference are silent spinners, though you have to clean them every day, because they're solid surface wheels, and mice like to poo/pee while they run.
 
#5 ·
Males like to be alone most of the time? Great! I mean, I think he was the only mouse there. There were only hamsters and guinea pigs. I'm still thinking about a wire cage with minimal spacing and horizontal bars for climbing.

I personally don't care about gender, I like to have the pet choose me. :)
 
#6 ·
Well, they don't like other mice, but unlike fish they require human interaction ;) You'll have to put some work into taming him, but he should come out for at least an hour a day, all spread out (5 minutes here, 10 minutes there)

I understand about having the pet choose you :) When I was at the store, completely not planning on another pet, I walked by the mouse cage and saw this adorable little guy. I resisted the urge for a total of three hours before I was back in the store picking out a cage :D Up to that point I'd never thought mice could be pets.
 
#7 ·
Oh, alrighty then. Some stimulation a few times a day. Do they like human interaction? I haven't had a furry animal since I was 5, I miss furries. I'm going to ask my dad again if we can go to the pet store, I think I already found a name for him. 0.0 Dominoe, hehe.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Cute name :D

I can't speak for every mouse, since Yankee (my mouse) is my first and only one, but he loves coming out to play. If I walk by his tank and don't at least pet him, he'll climb up his water bottle and hang on the metal-mesh lid until I get him out.

As for the money thing, we're pretty low on money too at the moment, and that's never affected Yankee. Like I said, It's about $3 a month to feed him, I use shredded paper for bedding, and I buy him some chews/toys and such pretty frequently. The most expensive thing was the wheel, around $15 like Neight said.

The things I currently have in Yankee's cage are: A wheel, a little plastic igloo, a crittertrail tunnel (just laid on the ground for him to run in and out of, I would never use an actual crittertrail cage) food bowl, water bottle, a small ceramic flower pot (he likes sleeping in it) and I'm getting him a hammock. With the exception of the wheel and the metal-mesh lid ($10), I didn't pay more than $4 for any of it, though my mom is exceptional at bargain hunting :p I like to switch his toys up every 3ish weeks, to give him something new for stimulation.

I also think it's worth mentioning that if you call around to family and friends, you could probably get an aquarium for free. Mine was just sitting in my uncles front yard when I walked down one day, and he was happy to give it to me-said it was an eyesore, lol. 10 gallons is the idea size, if you wanted to use an aquarium.

ETA: Totally random, but if you do get the mouse, I would reccomend not getting him a hamster ball. Some people think that mice would like them, but more often than not, it only causes stress to the mouse. One person I know of actually had a mouse have a heart attack from being in the ball o_O
 
#9 ·
Thanks. :]
They have so much personality, don't they? I never knew it was pretty cheap! I plan on using Carefresh bedding, maybe that's why I expected it to be so high. I'm planning on this or some basic wire cage. I want the mouse to have as much room as possible. If I do get that cage, I'm going to switch the wheel. I really hope my parents say yes, I never had a furry animal in a long time!
 
#10 ·
Haha, that was the cage I was going to get when I was getting a pair of rats!! (it took me awhile to decide I wanted a betta the most out of all the pets I hope to own)

It's huge, which is great, but I'd worry about the bar spacing. It needs to be 7mm at most, or they can slip right through. You can get some 'hardware cloth' and mesh it, though, if you wanted that cage :)
 
#11 ·
Oh, yeah... The spacing seems to be about 12mm. Beaver dam. :\ I'll just try to get some mesh if I do get to that route. Thank you so much for all the help! Now all I need to do is actually get the mouse. lol
 
#14 ·
OMG I want a black and white male mouse too! I fell in LOVE with one at Petco but the bf said nono :(
 
#16 ·
I got a huge bag of aspen shavings at Petco for $6-7, wheel was $3 at Walmart, water bottle was $2 at Pet Supplies Plus, and I made my own cage, hammocks, nest boxes, and buy food ingredients in bulk at PSP and mix it up at home. I miss having mice, but I love my hamster. He's much more social and cuddly. I make all my own rodent cages, toys, etc. Saves quite a bit of money! For my hamster's cage, I used a 30gallon tub I got at Walmart for $10. I also use 1/2 in wire mesh for ventilation. The holes were too small for my mice to get through: no matter how small the gap was, my mice would always get through the bars in a cage that had them. They can flatten their skull horizontally, which is how they get into and out of such tight spaces.
 
#17 ·
i have five females, Sylvia, Amber, Prissy, Squint, and their mother Momma, all are a dark fawn color, they have their own 30gal with wheel, tunnels, water bottle, chew toys, acouple ladders and a ball they take turns in . thefunmouse site is great to get information and i love love love CreekValleyCritters's stu, mattie quasi(rip) alot of definite have to watch videos including raising baby mice.
 
#18 ·
Oh my gosh, he sounds so sweet, I love mice (I don't understand how people can be scared of them:-?)

So nearly got one, but I was warned they can smell a bit and because I would need to have the cage in my bedroom it put me off a bit.

Anyway, just wanted to wish you luck with your new pet. Please post some pictures when you get him and let us know how it goes. :-D
 
#19 ·
I went to Petsmart yesterday again, he was still there. Dad says I can't get him because we have to get a cage, food, accessories, etc. It seems like he thinks it's too much work to well, buy stuff. lol I'm still trying..

I really think it's meant to be. I saw a house mouse this morning when I woke up, certain pests field mice are. In school, science was about adaptations and there was a mouse. And third, there's a book I saw today about a mouse who gets help from rats since her son is sick with pneumonia. :\
 
#20 ·
I went to Petsmart yesterday again, he was still there. Dad says I can't get him because we have to get a cage, food, accessories, etc. It seems like he thinks it's too much work to well, buy stuff. lol I'm still trying..

I really think it's meant to be. I saw a house mouse this morning when I woke up, certain pests field mice are. In school, science was about adaptations and there was a mouse. And third, there's a book I saw today about a mouse who gets help from rats since her son is sick with pneumonia. :\


the book is secret of nimh? lol i love that book.
 
#21 · (Edited)
When my mice got sick I spent around $500 total on vetbills and medication. When they are younger they tend not to get sick but as they get older they catch URI easily. One of my mice was deemed terminally ill, Ophelia my rescued snake food/rescued from a photo shoot mouse. Her immune system was so weak she was constantly needing medication and constantly having to see a vet for health checks. Most of my vet bills were because of her and on top of it she was allergic to everything and had to take allergy medication and when she was 2 hurt her eye and needed that fixed too. I was told she would only live a year, and most mice live an average of two years...but my girls lived for 3 years including Ophelia who didn't die until 3.5 years old from a tumor. She was also a mouse star, she was in one indi film and SIX photoshoots.


That was Ophelia


Ophelia 2.5 years old.


Opehlia's tank mate Verona...learning the trades of a model mouse.


When she wasn't a cover girl she was in my pockets, her favorite place to be.
 
#22 ·
Yes, that book. lol
If I keep the setup really clean and good ventilation, should there be a minimal chance? Do you happen to know when the mice get euthanized in the pet stores? I really don't want to waste any time until it's time. :|
 
#25 ·
Okay, he's still in Petsmart but I saw this father who was looking at him. Hmm... :L My dad was wondering how much money cages are so the plan seems to be working. I got to hold my mouse today, he was really small and cute. <3 I really hope I get to buy him.. ;-;
 
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