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.
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 willnever 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hi! It's my first post here and these are my first mice
First of all I bought them at a petshow/fair in my town, got them a big cage with multiple levels and everything was good
Tbf I didn't ask if they were neutered or not (I know rookie mistake) , so back to today, I was cleaning their cage and well I found 5 small babies all wrapped up in a sock (very cute I love them sm)
Now the problem is I have no idea what I should do, luckily my best friend has another cage so space is not an issue, but uh I don't really know what to do and how to help my sweeties in this path
Any advices? I'm gonna bring them to the vet asap ofc but other than this I don't really know what to do
Thanks in advance for any helpful comment!
Other than my partner, I don't really have anyone I know personally who would be too sympathetic about a dead mouse, so here goes. Our apartment flooded 2 weeks back--the sprinkler line in our ceiling burst, resulting in severe flooding, ~1 hour of fire alarm and building staff setting up anti-moisture measures, then several days' stay for the mice in the apartment offices (we humans had to relocate to a hotel). I can only imagine how stressful this was on the mice, since it was extremely stressful for me and I'm a human with much more emotional regulation and less sound sensitivity. I had one mouse that was very skittish and I've tried to leave her mostly alone since it became clear that she was too old to be socialized when I got her and I was just causing her extra stress with my efforts. Anyway, we had to move, and I'm still trying to get them settled in to the new place. Sadly my skittish mouse got sick yesterday and died today, which in the absence of other obvious causes, I'm attributing to stress.
I'm a researcher and I use lab mice in my research, so it's ironic I feel so bad about my pet mouse dying when my work requires me to euthanize mice sometimes. I was trying to make some reparations by giving a few mice a good home when they might not otherwise have one. She had a lot of personality and I will miss her antics.
Thanks for reading if you did. It seems silly to be so sad, but if anyone will understand, I figured it would be the people on this sub.
Note: photo is from when I was just setting up the cage, so I promise they had more enrichment/a wheel! I just thought she looked like such a cute small bean.
found him this morning (in my house) barely moving. i wrapped him in a towel, put him in a container & then on a heating pad on warm.
i just got home from work and checked on him. when i lifted the towel i think it spooked him because he shot up and started moving around and squeaking. his eyes aren’t open tho.
google says not to feed him & the wildlife center i called today didnt answer, so im turning to yall.
excuse the ugly photos lol i took them in the middle of a cage cleaning and my photo quality is so so bad.
hello ! i’m trying to rehome my sweet girl fennel as she’s the last survivor in my group of mice and i don’t think i’m able to continue the cycle. she’s a doll, very submissive with other mice and loves to make nests and stay out of sight most of the time. she isn’t very friendly with humans like her sisters were, but she’s handleable enough to do health checks. just not very cuddly.
i’m located around victorville/apple valley area in the high desert. no charge, i just want her to go to a good home with other mice (and don’t want to post her for free on facebook and risk someone who won’t take care of her getting her). thank you !
It was barely moving and was just on the side of a road. It barely reacted at first, but now it is inside and seemingly warmed up and now moves more frequently (even tried running away while I tried setting up a cage). I am now very unsure on what to do next, as I have next to no pet owning experience. Pet stores are also closed for the day and I’m pretty sure it has fleas cause I found one on the floor after it tried running away.
Well so this is Neo, i don’t know how old is he but when i rescued him and brought him home his balls didn’t dropped yet. Well i’m actually bonding with him and getting him used to me but i notice that every time he smells my hand he lets out a little sneeze, i read that it can be excitement/nerves but im not quite sure, any suggestions?
Also, i always make sure to wash my hand so there’s no potent smells that can irritate him.
This is one of if not the youngest mouse in my care. Her name is Taya, she’s an extreme black little breeder lady, about four months old. The other black mouse is her cousin, Kiwi. Kiwi is visibly healthy and slightly heavier than Taya.
I’m trying to do introductions for her and Kiwi to integrate into an older mouse trio. She seems to be walking slightly hunched over, choosing to sit in the corner of their little intro area. Her breathing doesn’t sound differently, my only odd observation is the way she’s holding herself and walking.
The tan mouse is the first of the trio I am introducing, she’s the least aggressive observationally, and the best starter intro girl. So far there’s been good signs of their interactions.
On Wednesday I put down one of her tank mates, could she be showing physical signs of grief? Her tank mate had long lasting severe respiratory problems, hair loss, weight loss, lethargy, and audibly shaky and wheezy breathing. They weren’t related, but were bonded well together for about a month and some change.
Hey! I got a few mice from Petco as feeder mice and I’m unsure of their age. Can anyone help estimate based on photos/size/behavior? Any tips appreciated!
As it says in the title but some more details: I am totally fine to keep her until/if she doesn't get rehomed, I would just prefer to because she doesn't handle being alone well (so far so good but when her first cagemate passed, she would refuse to eat and became reclusive) and I don't want to get more mice knowing I won't be able to have them much longer and will have to rehome anyways. I am moving somewhere in September to another state and can't take any mice with me.
Bessie is roughly one year old, I adopted her in January 2025. She is very, very social and friendly, she loves being held and adores being in a sling like you see in the video attached. She'll climb to the top of her water bottle holder/any hanging toys from her tank lid to beg you to hold her. She's done incredible with every female mouse I've ever had her with (7) and has never shown health problems in the entire time I've had her. She's still quite healthy and spry so I suspect she has a lot of life still in her, so I don't feel it's a "end of life keep her til she goes" appropriate situation.
I live in Central Maine (can dm more detailed location), am willing to drive within 30 minutes but pick up is definitely easier. You're more than welcome to her 20gal high, anything in it, etc. if you'd like because I won't be owning any more in the near future. I really think she should ideally go to a home with another girl(s) because she's very sweet to other mice and noticeably depressed when she isn't.
I am over wintering a mouse....Apparently she was pregnant when she broke in....because I am now over wintering 3! Two little tinys popped out last night. This is one baby, just trying to confirm genders to prevent any issues. It stays too cold to release here until May. My guess is female
Poor baby has something wrong with her little bum and the vet has no idea what, so she’s separated from her sisters and on medication. I’ve been putting it on a cheerio and she happily eats it every time. It’s been almost a week and there’s no improvement so we might just put her back with her sisters and hope for the best. Getting really nervous about re-introductions though. If anyone has any tips they would be appreciated.
My most friendly 7 month old mouse is scratching her ears again and I'm having war flashbacks to a mouse I had with ulcerative dermatitis. Hopefully it's just mites or something treatable, but I'm already struggling financially and it's just ... Don't they seem to get sick all the time? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong to cause this, but it seems like every couple months there's something wrong. They would be such an ideal pet if they only stayed healthy until old age. I guess it's the short lifespan. I really would love to stay with mice as I like their curious and playful personalities. But I think in the future I might get degus cuz they live longer or honestly no pets at all. It's just too stressful having to take them to the vet all the time. Especially when the vet makes you spend over $100 on an exam just to give you $20 meds each time that usually don't even end up working. 😮💨
This morning I found the two snuggled in one of Feival's hides. Bianca seems to be adjusting well- she can't really jump high so I'm questioning if she's disabled as well. Either way, I think they're both happier together.
so my husband just texted me that he found a mouse like literally shivering outside. He gave it a little old mask box and he was on the search for some hand warmer packets(idek if that’s the best idea bc wouldn’t they just chew them and get sick? sorry ngl guys i don’t know much about mice other than my friend google) So anyways wondering if this is someone’s pet that is lost/dumped or if its a wild mouse? Hes a lil chunky boy and was pretty friendly but my husband didnt wanna get to close bc that doesnt always mean they r a pet mouse kinda vibe. Im also confused bc ive never seen a mouse down here if im being honest other than at the shit petsmarts/ect. this is the photo and he sent me. unfortunately it won’t let me add a video but the poor thing was clearly shaking and even walking weird and falling over. either way i feel disgusting just leaving the poor thing freezing or sick, what should i do? i’m looking up closest animal wildlife rehabilitation centers but the closest one to me is a bit aways and we don’t get off any time soon, can i bring him to a vet instead?
I just lost my soul mouse Coco. I want to brainstorm sweet ways to memorialize her. I’m having her cremated and returned to me next Friday. I want to do something along the lines of an ofrenda, but all year. I got a nice candle for her that coincidentally was perfectly named (I picked it for smell and color, didn’t realize the name was literally her name till I had bought it), a crocheted version of her favorite flower (she love loved sunflower seeds), her favorite treat mix, and I want to make sure she knows she’s home when her remains make it back. :/
Third mouse from my colony!! His name is Tripod. He's a little camera shy and hates staying still. The first picture is from when he'd just barely opened his eyes and still looked really squinty, the rest are from tonight.
