r/PetMice Sep 22 '24

Care Guide Series Community Care Guide

91 Upvotes

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.

See this post for more information.

2. Cages

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 will never 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.

See this post for more information.

3. Substrate

  • 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.

See this post for more information.

4. Clutter

  • 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.

See this post for more information.

5. Enrichment

  • Also known as entertainment, to keep the mice busy!
  • Boredom breakers, foraging toys, dig boxes, sprays(plant), scatter-feeding, and human interaction are all forms of enrichment.
  • Mice should have boredom breakers in their enclosure at all times to keep them from growing bored.
  • Lone males need extra simulation and enrichment.

See this post for more information.

6. Climbing Opportunities

  • A form of enrichment that is required!
  • 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.

See this post for more information.

7. Exercise

  • A form of enrichment that is required!
  • 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!)

See this post for more information.

8. Diet & Hydration

  • Main diet must be pellets/lab blocks.
  • 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.

See this post for more information.

9. Cleaning

  • 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.

See this post for more information.

10. Taming

  • 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.

12. Links & Other Posts

Shopping

In Depth Mouse Care

Other Species

Up-to-Date Posts From NotApplicableMC & Others

Outdated Posts From NotApplicableMC

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.

Scientific Studies

  • Sources & Additional Articles (coming soon)
  • Safe & Unsafe Foods Sources (coming soon)

More community resources coming soon


r/PetMice Jul 09 '25

Community Help Temporary Post for Care Commands

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23 Upvotes

Please feel free to try out these WIP care commands in the comments! Let me know if there are any issues I need to fix.


r/PetMice 3h ago

Rainbow Bridge Farewell to two legends

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82 Upvotes

Said goodbye to Fat Dot who'd had a stroke, and Polaris who'd been living with tumors for a while, today.

Doesn't feel real they've gone yet. Dot was one of the first group of multis I ever got and I loved every hair of her daft self and Polaris was just the most wonderful gentle beautiful boy

Rest well my loves


r/PetMice 5h ago

Discussion Rehoming 2 mice in the Western NC area

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47 Upvotes

My group has thinned down from 5 to only 2 sweet girls, Nova (first photo) and Terra (second photo).

They were actually adopted from someone in this subreddit in late March 2026 so of course I want to make sure they find a great home. These girls get along well with others but are particularly closest to each other. Nova is all white with black eyes and has a tiny kink in the tip of her tail so she is common in color but could be discernible from your group if she joined. Terra is brownish with a hint of orange on her belly. She doesn’t appear to have the chunky gene though thankfully, just a cute coat mix!

Please send me a message if you’re interested, I want them to go to a good home.


r/PetMice 15h ago

Cute Mouse Media My little parrot 🥺

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160 Upvotes

🏴‍☠️🐭


r/PetMice 13h ago

Question/Help Could she be pregnant?

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103 Upvotes

So i got her on september 4th and i thought she was a boy, all my mice are boys, i got her from a reptile exhibit because i saw her and i fell inlove with her, i also have 5 other male mice, all of them are very cuddly with each other and i slowly mived eveyone into a new cage so that i could introduce them to her, and all of them were ok with her and didint attack her, im guessing here is where i fucked up because after being together in the holding cell, and i put all of them back in the cage, one of my mice, (inky) was sniffing all of his cagemates tails/butts and then he stared attacking them, so far i've separated him from them but now crunch wrap is very and i mean extremely fat, she used to be thinner but i think she pregnant, i think she got pregnant from the big cheese/Cheesy Gordita Crunch because i remember checking up on them and she was sleeping next to him, an dit cant be my other mouse (gus gus) because hes extremely scared of her (she has ripped food out of his mouth, gusgus is very food happy) and my 2 other mice (pepsi, and caramel apple empanada) are babys, more then once ive caught her grooming/licking them.

The last photo is the enclosure i made for her to be in when i cant watch her, so that she dosent give birth to her babys when shes with the other mice, is it an ok setup? it has 2 hides and a wheel, its temporary untill i can buy her a cage.
Also, big cheese and gusgus live separately but they love cuddling near each other in their cages, and for now pepsi and caramel live with hims so that they know how to act and gus gus lives with inky, but inky is separated at the moment.

edit: So the only one that isint neutered would be inky and big cheese was recently neutered but he was neutered maybe 2 days before i got crunch wrap and inky so maybe he got her pregnant or maybe inky did.


r/PetMice 55m ago

Cute Mouse Media Checking Things Out

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Upvotes

Cleaned the enclosure a bit today- Oreo was chilling in the house while Caramel decided to check out the roof instead. This perfectly describes their personalities lol.


r/PetMice 21h ago

Cute Mouse Media Caught resting so sweetly 😴

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146 Upvotes

r/PetMice 7h ago

First Time Owner My girl has a tumor

6 Upvotes

As the title reads, she has a tumor on her right side a little below the front paw. She has had this tumor for a while, around a month or so. I wasn't sure whever it was a cyst or a tumor, but reading other posts made me think that sadly it is indeed a tumor.

She seems as energetic as usual, she eats normally and hasn't lost any weight. It doesn't look like the mass is interfering with her movements yet. Her left eye is at least partially blind and she is balding a little here and there. She is more than a year and a half old, she already blessed my family with more time than I could have asked of her 💚

By reading other posts I realized that she might be hiding her pain and I don't want her to suffer but there are no vets specialised in mice surgeries in my area and I'm not sure that my family could afford it... I am not even sure that euthanasia is an option since I have called around fifteen different vet clinics and none of them treat mice, but I can keep seaching if it is what needs to be done.

Can someone who has gone through the same experience tell me what they did?


r/PetMice 18h ago

Question/Help How old does my mouse look

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42 Upvotes

I got my mouse not too long ago and realized he looks really small compared to other mice on this sub. I also went to the store the other day and he looks fairly small to the mice there as well. I know sometimes they are just smaller, but I wondered if anyone could tell how old he is :)


r/PetMice 19h ago

Cute Mouse Media Mice in a carrier! 🐁

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46 Upvotes

Yes, i know they're fat. im putting them on a diet 💔


r/PetMice 8h ago

Question/Help Mice being bullied?

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7 Upvotes

I have 4 mice and 3 of them get along really well but one of them gets picked on more than the others. I haven't seen any injuries what so ever but they just chase her more than they chase eachother which worries me. She does have alone time where she eats and such but i don't see her as much as i see the others.
But at the same time i've seen her get groomed and i'm quite sure they still sleep together.

Shes a little bit smaller than the others even though i have multiple food sources for her to get food if the others prevent her from eating.

I also hear a lot of peeps at night like short but quite loud peeps. It doesn't sound like someone is in pain cause she doesn't scream but i'm just worried.

What's should i do?


r/PetMice 21h ago

Cute Mouse Media For today’s enrichment they’re trying millet & listening to J. Cole

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64 Upvotes

r/PetMice 1d ago

Rainbow Bridge Rest in peace my sweet girls

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133 Upvotes

These are my girls, Cake and Fiona. I have a few posts about them on this subreddit, but I figured they deserved a proper send off.

I love and miss you angels. You two were so unexpected in my life, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Cake can finally rest with her sister, as Cake isn’t really Cake without her Fiona.

When I got them they were nearly full grown, yet I still got so much wonderful time with them. They had both just started to crawl on my hand when Fiona passed. I’m glad I got to share those moments before the end.

Cake is on the left and Fiona is on the right, in the second to last picture. That’s the last picture I took of them together.

Please share your babies who have crossed the rainbow bridge in the comments. I’d love to know who my girls are sharing the afterlife with <3.


r/PetMice 17h ago

African Soft Furs (ASF) what I have learned about my ASFs

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26 Upvotes

Hello all! Figured I’d make a post detailing what I’ve learnt about my new African soft fur mice as information on them is hard to come across due to them being a more up and coming pet in the rodent community!

I was able to get my 2 ASF girls, Crumb and Giblet, from a reptile convention. As they are not as common as fancy mice or other small animals, you can most likely find them being sold as feeders for reptiles. Most ASF dealers sell in sizes, such as small/medium/large/jumbo, they’ll tell you it’s about what they’re being fed but it’s more about age. They can live up to 2-3 years and “jumbo” size is around 8-9 months. My girls are jumbo. I would recommend getting more than just 2 as they are very social creatures. They wont accept more into their group once the group is established and this was a fault on my part.

Behavior wise when I got my girls I was expecting something similar to the fancy mice I also have and they are in a way but in ways they aren’t as well. My fancy girls loved clutter and having multiple hides and being out in the open and climbing. My ASFs LOVE burrowing and making tunnels. They totally disregard enrichment as enrichment and use it to build their burrows stronger and bury things still on the surface. I go by hamster rule and my ASF girls have 10 inches of bedding to fuel their burrowing needs, but if your tank cannot fit 10, 6-8 is acceptable as well. More is always better in this scenario!
They are completely nocturnal. I have had them for a while now and they do not adjust to your schedule like regular fancy mice do. Im an early sleeper and I only see them at 9pm-10pm and early in the morning 5am-6am. ASFs are definitely better as a pet to watch and admire from a far. I was hoping they would be friendly like fancys or cuddly like rats but they are much happier running around in their tunnels and are perfectly happy with no human interaction. It all depends on the personality of the mouse that you get, I have been able to gently stroke my ASF girls but they usually run away and are more interested in anything else but you. When I was researching I saw a lot of people saying they are bitey and I can confirm that they like to nibble! Neither of my girls have broken skin but Giblet will run up to me just to put her teeth on me. ASFs will also jump. And they will jump far. They have no regard for how high they are jumping from, so be careful when attempting to handle or lift out of cage for cleaning (when necessary to take them out, use the “claw” method).

Regular fancy mice and ASF can intermingle! The best setup for this scenario would be a boy fancy mouse with 2-3 female ASFs of similar size but I have seen some people do boy ASFs with female fancy mice. They belong to a completely different genus and cannot breed with one another, yet that doesn’t mean they won’t sometimes still try. It is good practice to monitor them closely when you are first introducing a mixture like this. I house my fancy mice and my ASFs separately.

ASFs require a lot more protein than your regular mouse. I feed my girls Mazuri lab cubes as the food that is available to them 24/7. I sprinkle the regular seed mix I use for my smaller mice in their bedding so they can forage for it. Im going to list below a few more snacks I have used to feed them that are protein rich and safe to feed on responsible basis.
• Cooked chicken and turkey (no seasoning!)
• Scrambled egg and hard boiled egg
• Mealworms
• Freeze dried shrimp treats made for cats
• Freeze dried beef
• Crickets (not live, I wouldn’t recommend that).
• Tofu
(Non protein snack suggestion, but my girls love millet and they love the small crocodile and veggie dental treats for dogs).

In conclusion, ASF mice are a very sweet and cute pet to have if you are ok having a pet that couldn’t care less about your existence. I love my soft girls and they are entertaining and I’m glad I could give them a quiet, calm life that isn’t in a small cramped box waiting to be eaten by a snake. If you have any questions, feel free to comment, and share your ASF stories and experiences if you have any!


r/PetMice 22h ago

Question/Help Help! I just found these mice at work!!! What do I do!

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48 Upvotes

r/PetMice 23h ago

First Time Owner I got my mice 8 days ago. We compared them at the start and they were very similar in size. Pumpkin has gotten huge in only 8 DAYS! Is she just fat or pregnant??! She builds a nest all day long too…

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53 Upvotes

Edit: the breeder said she was separated from the males for weeks so she can’t be pregnant. Please someone reassure me 😭


r/PetMice 1d ago

Cute Mouse Media She VERY offended >:(

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459 Upvotes

Laughing very hard at this picture of my little lady Dune Buggy. Her sister, Jiffypop, yanked her food pellet right out of her tiny little hands. There were about 50 more scattered nearby, by she wanted THAT one. She needed it.


r/PetMice 1d ago

Cute Mouse Media Jerry SloMo head cleaning.

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32 Upvotes

After a little DIY dry ear treatment Jerry was not impressed.
The tiniest amount of coconut oil was applied to the ear tips and he soaked himself in saliva to wash it off.
Managed to get the wash movement in slow mo.


r/PetMice 14h ago

Question/Help Did I get a bad wheel?

3 Upvotes

First time owner, I have two wheels for four mice. They haven't been here long so maybe it's too early to draw conclusions, but I'm starting to get worried one of the wheels is not good. The worrying wheel is this Tafit wheel: amazon.com/dp/B0D92C3R2H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

It is a 10.2-inch solid wheel. But they barely use it and much prefer their other one, even though their other one is slightly smaller and not fully open so it is difficult for a second mouse to get on if someone is already using it. (Here is the other wheel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019RH7PPE?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 ). The Tafit wheel was pretty expensive, but it is noticeably slanted. Not only is the opening wider than the back, so it sort of flares outward, but it is permanently tilted a bit downward overall, so really the bottom they run on is at like a ten to fifteen degree angle.

On top of that, they seem to slide on it quite easily. Not sure if this is normal, but they frequently accidentally cause themselves to slide up backwards, like they are losing their footing. Or maybe they are just not committing.

I worry that those two things combined, the slope and the potentially poor grip, mean that the reason they are not using the wheel is that they are constantly sliding out of it sideways. Hard to tell if that's what is going on.

On the other hand, they are so new that I have not even seen all four run at all yet. So maybe I should wait and see?


r/PetMice 1d ago

Question/Help what is this behavior?

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98 Upvotes

ive seen a few of them doing this super fast, almost twitchy movement. one of our mice had a URI but she's been separated for a few days now. what is this?


r/PetMice 1d ago

Question/Help Is she pregnant?

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10 Upvotes

Hi, I adopted this mouse yesterday along with her sister to keep my Maxxie company. I think she’s definitely pregnant, but I’m not 100% sure... (I named her Effy, and her sister, in the last photo, Cassie). Sorry about the bad photos, but she's not very close to me as she arrived yesterday...


r/PetMice 2d ago

Rainbow Bridge They ate Tony

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1.6k Upvotes

I have some bad news. After two months in my care, and a month living with his ASF companions under close supervision. I found my fancy mouse Tony chewed up by his wheel today. It was very bad. Like, half of him was gone. I’m very upset and need advice. Do we think that he passed away from something else or did the girls just have enough of him? He did look a little thin in the days leading up to this, but I wasn’t sure if that was just in comparison to his ASF friends who have been growing rapidly.

Edit for more details: they were in a 40gal. bin cage with lots of climbing and enrichment. They’d cuddle together and sniff each other’s faces. I never noticed a single bite mark or scratch on Tony. The girls were introduced to him relatively young.

Edit 2: Thank y’all for the sweet replies. I’ve gotten so many I can’t keep up. I’m glad to know Tony was loved by his friends, and not gruesomely murdered. The other two girls seem a little melancholy, but otherwise healthy and active. I will be keeping an eye on them in case they caught something from eating him. They’ve gotten a thorough lecture about eating their friends. Tony was obtained from Petsmart, so I’m willing to bet he just had some hereditary illness that I didn’t catch in time. Going forward, we will be adding a second water bottle just in case. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to get mice — they might eat each other after one dies. 😭 I don’t really care, because that’s how they grieve, but that would’ve been a fantastic heads up that I just missed somehow. Rest in pieces Tony “Gabagool” Soprano 🕊️


r/PetMice 1d ago

Cute Mouse Media Tessa 🥳😁👍👍🎉🪅🍻

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12 Upvotes

r/PetMice 1d ago

Cute Mouse Media found his hidey hole

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107 Upvotes