Essential tips on housing mice

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Essential tips on housing mice

Owning and caring for pet mice is great fun and very rewarding, but it’s also a big responsibility and commitment in terms of time, care, and finances. Mice are not low-maintenance pets, they require dedicated time and effort so it's important you do your research and evaluate your lifestyle before considering owning mice.

RSPCA Australia
Thursday, 18 July 2024

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Owning and caring for pet mice is great fun and very rewarding, but it’s also a big responsibility and commitment in terms of time, care, and finances. Mice are not low-maintenance pets, they require dedicated time and effort so it's important you do your research and evaluate your lifestyle before considering owning mice.

Importance of companionship and human interaction

When it comes to mice, they are highly sociable animals, so you should keep at least two mice together. Avoid housing undesexed males together as they tend to fight, and also avoid housing undesexed males and females together to avoid having any unintended litters of baby mice. Keeping a group of females or a group where the male mice have been desexed is generally the most successful approach. Remember mice should be introduced together at the same time to their environment to avoid fighting.

Human interaction can be a valuable source of enrichment for your mice. To enjoy human handling, they need to be accustomed from when they are young by gentle and frequent handling. Make sure you support their entire body when you handle them; this makes handing more comfortable and safe, it makes the mice feel safer, and they are less likely to struggle and potentially harm themselves or escape. Remember mice are quite fragile and must be handled very gently and carefully. Children should always be closely supervised around mice, as they can inadvertently harm them.

Tips for creating an enclosure.

Mice can be housed in a range of enclosure types. It’s best to provide an enclosure as large as possible, easy to clean and well ventilated. Avoid wooden, plastic or glass tubs/aquariums as they are not adequately ventilated and cannot be adequately cleaned.

The floor of the enclosure should be solid and covered with newspaper or towelling. Never use wire or grid flooring, as this can cause damage to the feet and legs of your mice. Mice need plenty of bedding to cover the bottom of the cage and make their home comfortable, and to dig in. Mice also need to build nests; this is a natural behaviour and also helps them regulate body temperature. So, they also need nesting material, in addition to their bedding.

Dripper-type water bottles are better than water bowls as they are less likely to become soiled and can be filled up without having to open the enclosure.

The enclosure needs to provide an interesting environment for your mice. Therefore, choose or make an enclosure with different levels and climbing surfaces but make sure your mice cannot fall from a height. Provide hiding places such as small cardboard boxes, shredded paper, and cardboard or PVC tubes and plenty of mice-appropriate toys which are changed regularly so your mice remain interested and don’t get bored with them.

Safeguarding your mice and enclosure.

Safeguarding your mice and their enclosure is crucial as there are a range of different factors that can be dangerous and life-threatening if not addressed. Firstly, ensure that the area that your mice will be kept in does not become too hot or too cold as mice are prone to heat and cold stress (the temperature should be between 18-30 degrees). There should be plenty of ventilation and air circulation without being draughty.

The enclosure should be placed in an area that will provide your mice with natural daylight but not be in direct sunlight. Avoid bright or direct lights near the enclosure and during the time your mice are handled or if they have a play area outside of their enclosure.

Avoid exposing your mice to high-pitched or loud noises and ultrasounds. Also avoid using products with strong smells near your mice (e.g. ammonia-based cleaning products, spray deodorants).

The enclosure should be placed somewhere that the mice will not be exposed to animals they will perceive as threats, such as cats and dogs. Being in the presence of animals who the mice perceive as potential predators will cause them fear and distress. The enclosure must be predator-proof and escape-proof.

It’s important to check on your mice every morning and evening to monitor for any signs of illness, check their enclosure for soiled bedding that needs removal and to make sure that their water bottle nozzle has not become blocked or wedged open.

By following these tips, you are on the right track to creating a safe and comfortable housing environment for your mice.

For more information visit the RSPCA Knowledgebase

This piece was originally published in Australian Community Media newspapers.

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Essential tips on housing mice

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