# Anyone have a fancy mouse?



## GiveToHairy (Jul 24, 2010)

Or even an un-fancy one? The inevitable happened...a friend's four year old tired of his fancy mouse Mouse Mouse after two months and the poor thing is living all alone in his cage in their laundry room. I've agreed happily to bring him into the guinea pig/hedgie household.

Anyone had a mouse before? I'm hoping it's not too late to socialize him so I can at least give him a cuddle and a cookie every now and again...

How are they for pets?


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

I had fancy mice in highschool, which was many moons ago. They were happy little critters, I had a few pairs of boys, and some solitary boys, and one girl over the years, I found the girl was the most grouchy, she did her own thing. But the boys were always very social.

I'm sure if you took the mousey in and gave him special treatment he'd warm up quickly to you. I also want to add that mice urine has a definite smell, so make sure you keep his house clean.

Oh and one more thing, he can get through an opening the size of a dime, and can chew through things, so keep an eye on his house to make sure he's safe, playing hide and go seek with any rodent in the middle of the night is not an entertaining game.


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## GiveToHairy (Jul 24, 2010)

Yes, that doesn't sound like fun for someone who starts work at 7am! Thank you for your reply. I can't wait to meet him. He is in one of those hamster plastic/wire cages apparently but we have a lovely LARGE fish tank that is going empty at the moment so we might upgrade him to that just to be SURE he doesn't escape. 

The person who has him said, "You do have to clean his cage once a week and sometimes he leaves poo's in his wheel so you'll want to take those out every day. Is that a problem?"

Clearly, she has never seen what a hedgehog can do to a wheel stomping through his own poo for 5miles a night. I clean sam's wheel once in the afternoon then again before we turn in after he's had his morning constitution as i call it. 

Thanks again!


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I had 2 a few years back... My ex "accidentally" bought live fuzzies/hoppers for his snake, and I smacked him and took them to my place and made him continue to buy frozen :roll: 

Many do usually like having some company. Mine were both females, so they kept well together. I'm not sure IF you can introduce new boys or not, so may want to wait for others more experienced, as I know there are a few. Or just spend lots of time with him and get him lots of different toys.

They are probably one of the only mammals that you want to keep in a tank, for the reasons already stated...They can get out of everything else. I just got a wire top for my tank, I mixed shavings and carefresh. Both of mine were very social, probably because I've had them since they were so young. Fuzzies/hoppers, are usually the ones who have JUST opened their eyes and starting to actually look like mice. 

I didn't buy "special mouse food" though for them... Just because... well... Mice are usually scavenger types and mine lived happily on cat food, various oats, bran, flax seed, sweet feed(horse feed), corn, eggs, fruits, veggies, etc etc. They were both nicely.... round and happy, and lived well over a year, and considering what they were bred for, it was a decent length of time.


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

For the poopy wheel, no mice are NO WHERE near the level of a hedgie! Thank goodness!!

It's just mouse urine I've noticed has a stronger smell, it's not totally gross, but there is an odour unlike some other critters.

As for food, I always gave my guys a commercial diet supplemented with fresh foods. 

For life span, they averaged around 2 or so years, although one of my mice had developed "waltzing mouse syndrom" where he twirled in circles against his will, poor little fellow, but he did live a long mousey life.  

Oh and as for the glass tank, make sure you have a lid that is secure on top, mice can even figure out how to use the adhesive in the corner of the tank to scale themselves up! HAHAH> Clever little fellows.  

As long as you socialize with your mouse, I'm sure he'll be receptive to you in a short span of time. 

I love mice, however I don't like the ones that come to stay univited and eat all my candles.  I still don't know how to tell those ones that there is no more room at my inn!! :|


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## britpeters (Feb 6, 2011)

*`I've had a black mouse and a hairless rat (not quite a mouse, but close!) I got the mouse when I was around 12, when my parents wouldn't let me get a bigger animal because they were afraid I'd tire of it or not take proper care of it... so it was a test-run . My particular mouse was very nice. It did not bite, and I was able to hold it and play around with it. I kept her in a hamster cage and fed it hamster food (not sure if they have mouse food.... cheese? lmao) I grew very attached to it and it had passed away in about one year. As said above, you want to make sure that you keep good care of the mouse's home... the urine is horrible :-X, and they are very messy! And some WD-40 for the mouse wheel that will be spinnin' and spinnin' all night long.
*`My hairless rat was one of the best pets I've ever owned! Plus, one of the funkiest-looking creatures ever (I attached a pic). Since they don't have hair they get very cold, so he would cuddle with me or chill out in my pocket all day . One day I had him in my pocket while I was at work (I used to work at a pet shop unfortunately) and hours later had forgotten about him... I almost had a heart attack when I reached into my pocket! lmao
*` Your new addition will be fine if you're willing to work with it if s/he is a biter . Good luck!


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