why keep mice as pets?

 

Individual mice have different personalities. Some will be keep-fit fanatics, running on their wheel and chasing the others around and others will be homemakers, building comfortable nests and rearranging the tank. Some mice are playful and easy to socialise, while others need more work. However, the quiet mouse is just as 'normal' as her hyperactive sister. Watching mice play and socialise amongst themselves, you will see a range of behaviour types and temperaments. This is one of many reasons for keeping several mice rather than just one.

Mice are very easy to keep, undemanding pets. However, they are by nature timid and so you need to spend time getting to know them. They will not play with you in the way that dogs or rats will, but they are rewarding pets nonetheless. Due to their active natures, simply watching them in their tank can provide hours of pleasure.

Mice come in lots of different colours and hair types. You might want to think about getting a female mouse as a pet because males have a strong ‘mousey’ odour. I would think about getting a pair of female mice to start with and then consider getting a male mouse later if you want to mate them and produce young.

 

 

Aren’t they too small/delicate for children?
The small size of a mouse compared to other pets seems to make people think that they will be hard to handle and ‘contain’. Although mice are small, children often understand that this means they need careful handling. I have had a child who was only just learning to talk handle my mice under supervision. Children of all ages can handle mice with no problems in my experience, especially when they are taught properly how to handle them from the beginning.

It is true that mice should not be roughly handled, but neither should any animal. A mouse dropped from a height can sustain injuries, but then so can a hamster, guinea pig or rabbit. If you are worried about the child dropping their pet, make it a rule that they sit down when they handle the mouse. Although mice can sustain injuries from a fall, there is also research that shows that a mouse can take a fall of 12 feet without being hurt at all. This doesn’t mean you should try it – but it does illustrate the resilience of the mouse.

 

Do they bite? Are they friendly?
Mice will never bite you unless they are in fear for their own life, unlike hamsters. i am always more conscious of a risk when handling hamsters! Mice are very social animals, unlike Syrian hamsters who must live alone, and perhaps this is why they get on so well with people. Mice will also tend to be a lot more active than a hamster and therefore more entertaining for a child to watch and play with. They will be awake during the day, although they are mainly nocturnal, and keeping a pair or group encourages them to come out of their house and not just sleep all day.

 

 

 

 

 

General 
Body Weight: average ~20 g; highly variable 
Body Temperature: ~36.9 C 
Lifespan: 1.3 - 3 years; highly variable

Reproduction 
Sexual Maturity: after ~4 weeks of age; highly variable 
Oestrus Cycle Frequency: every ~4-5 days 
Gestation: Average 19-21 days 
Litter Size: usually 1-10 pups - highly variable due to genetic and environmental factors; tends to increase for the first few litters, then decrease with age 
Reproductive Lifespan of a Female: approaches 2 years in some strains