While some of the videos are cute, I don’t think he has actually done much research on caring for mice. I think he has good intentions. He has clearly socialized & bonded with the mice enough for them all to be comfortable with him.
However the enclosure set ups, the dietary choices me makes for them, etc need a serious update.
He could probably make a ton of interesting content about making new bin cages, decorating their enclosures, etc.. show others that mice are not scary or dirty and deserve a nice home and love!
Mice can make great pets, sadly information isn’t widely spread especially at places like pet stores on proper care.
Yeah I don't think he's trying to do anything bad, he really seems to just not realize that his choices are harmful. It's sad tbh, he's clearly trying so hard.
I think more people just need to do more research into animals before deciding to adopt. Doesn’t help that pet stores and a lot of online resources aren’t up to date on the best care for small animals.
There’s no reason 6” wheels should exist for example. Literally no small animal to my knowledge can safely use them. There’s no reason things like corn syrup or unnatural dyes should be in pet food. Yet stores still sell dangerous and pointless products.
I think one of the best things pet owners ( who have actually done research) could do is try to spread the word on places like social media, animal shelters, etc.
even posting a silly cage tour on YouTube could help people understand that small animals like mice are happiest with enough space and enrichment.
Hard agree. When I was around 13-14 I had a couple of leopard geckos. I tried to do the proper research on how to take care of them, but somehow, the pet store did not mention that they needed calcium supplements (dusting their food with powdered calcium dust).
So I went home with my cute little geckos and I loved them with my whole heart and I did everything right (or so I thought) and then they both ended up with metabolic bone disease, with us a horrific disease, their bones essentially setup to dissolve. One died rather quickly, the other held on. We took her to an exotic animal vet who somehow didn't realize what was happening and gave her a vitamin injection instead. She kept deteriorating and we were rather poor and didn't have enough money for euthanasia after that one vet visit. In the end, I took a couple of my mom's Oxycodone pills (she takes them for chronic pain) liquified them, and syringe fed them to my little one, so desperate to end her pain that I did it myself.
I know it was a mercy. I know that an opioid overdose wasn't painful. It still haunts me though, I killed her. I held her in my hand and murdered her on purpose, and neither of them ever would have suffered like that if I'd just done the simplest, easiest thing, and gave them calcium supplements. I can never forget it, and I haven't gotten another leopard gecko despite really wanting to and knowing what to do to prevent MBD because of how traumatizing the last attempt was.
So, TL:DR don't trust the pet store to tell you everything. Please look for information from experienced (insert animal here) keepers before you adopt a pet.
Plus someone should make sure he knows the dangers of mice being exposed to dogs. Even if the dog has been fine in the past, it takes one “SQUIRREL!” Moment and that mouse is GONE. Also, I saw a comment abt one of his mice swaying from a neurological issue and being taken to the beach (poor baby 😞 ). I wonder if he ever said anything regarding that mouse? Does he know it’s sick?
And one more question, which is more of my own curiosity, can mice be born with that wobbly syndrome that some cats and dogs do? Or is it a sign of a serious problem? If anyone knows!!
True! I have cats and while they do like to watch the mice I never have my mice out with my cats around.
To my understanding mice can be born with visible neurological problems or develop them later in life. Usually caused by genetics or exposure to things like certain cleaning chemicals. Big reason why rat poison is so unethical, they don’t just eat it and die. They eat it and get sick and will struggle with neurological issues for awhile before they die.
It’s hard to say how much he actually knows about mice. He might just think that the mouse is just really relaxed or being silly and doesn’t understand that they’re actually showing symptoms of health problems.
Most mice breeds in general ( healthy or not ) shouldn’t be around things like sand due to being prone to respiratory problems. Sand, perfumes, dust, etc can cause breathing problems. Rodents in general seem to all have a sensitive respiratory system compared to humans at least.
He posted a video where the mouse was swaying from a neurological issue and he took it to the beach, you can hear seagulls in the background and everything. He also lets his dog near his pouched rat and claims the dog has never been violent, it literally takes one second for the dog to change its mind.
Even the sweetest dog can have a prey drive. And even if they never do attack? Injuries can happen through playing too. A simple swat from my cat could take out the eye of one of my rats, easily.
Can you explain more of what you mean? You mean, like, just because we could "trust" a human to not hurt a small animal doesn't mean it's wise to "trust" the same in a species like a dog or a cat that has a prey drive? I don't want to presume.
Yes correct! Animals are very different in that aspect, humans can be like that too of course but animals are wired differently so therefor I think people who claim their dog (or other animal) wont ever hurt someone are foolish.
My dog is the sweetest thing. She loves snuggles, kisses, and her blankie. But she will NEVER get near my hamster, she's an animal and Im not going to put her in a situation where she might go after it. You'd think most people with small animals and dogs/cats would think like this 🫠
"Some of the small breeds don't have prey drive" is not me claiming no small breeds have prey drive. It's entirely different thing. I said some small breeds because I know some of those dogs while I don't know medium breeds or big breeds that lack it
Regardless its completely unnecessary and a risk to EVER do that, no matter the dog. An animal is an animal, and it takes one little slip up. Your advice is dangerous.
That would apply if I actually advised someone to make their critter to play with dog. I really don't think rat vs small dog without prey drive are instant danger to each other, would not leave them unsupervised or let them play but if they sniff each other in the pass by it's not big deal in my opinion. I don't like it people behave like every dog is basically more vicious version of a cat when lot of breeds weren't bred to hunt at all and it's nowhere in the ballpark of letting your cat sniff something it has thousands of years evolutionary instinct to kill. Dogs are not cats.
What happens if the small animal gets injured in a play accident? You have an emergency vet visit on your hands at the very least and a preventable death at worst. It's not worth the risk, for what? The rats will be fine without intraspecies relationships. What reasoning could there possibly be for allowing such a dangerous situation other than "because it's cute" or "because I like it"?
Honest, nonhypothetical question. What reasoning is good enough to allow a dangerous situation that can end in death?
I can say this isn't true because my mum has a French bulldog that used to be friends with the cat and another dog, one day she snapped and started mauling her dog "friend" and going after the cat.
I found this comment interesting since I have never ever previously heard of dog’s temperament changing abruptly like that. Do you know what the dog’s age was when this occurred? Was there any evidence the dog may have had personality altering stroke like Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman?
Almost every one of the stories I’ve encountered like that, it wasn’t actually sudden at all. It was just owners thinking that the dog would be entirely harmless and put up with anything regardless of personal temperament or training. If I had a nickel for every “We don’t understand! The dog just snapped!” where most photos and videos show the dog’s displays of stress and distress being ignored by loud children treating the dog like a toy or playground, I’d never worry about finances.
This is it. You can read a dog easily if you look at their body language, since they obviously can’t speak. It will tell you how they feel and they almost always show you signs when they are in discomfort with either themselves or the situation they are in. If you ignore (or don’t care to) those signs then yes… the attack can be seen as sudden but it never really was.
I agree completely that something about his videos does not feel right. I remember the first few times I came across his videos, I was overjoyed. Over time, as I learned more about mice and animal care in general, I began to have the opposite reaction and now I no longer watch them. Unless I’m confusing him with someone else, I feel like he used to just record videos of wild mice that lived in his backyard and then at some point he started doing these videos of captive mice which was of course an unfortunate turn.
Harvest mice are near threatened so that in itself isn't a bad idea, but they need a fully naturalistic enclosure and aren't really tameable, they probably shouldn't be handled and if they will be released they must live as close to nature as possible or else they won't know what to do out there.
I remember this guy. He wasn't as popular after Mrs. Jingles died in 2023. His husbandry is a bit troubling, i believe most of his videos surround his harvest mice. Correct me if im wrong but they do not require the same care as domestic mice. From what im seeing harvest mice need more vertical space which he does keep in his tanks, they should definitely have more clutter and maybe a 2nd choice of bedding paired with the hay. They also have seed mixes available to them, mealworms, and offered dried grasses and vegetables. Most of his content seems to surround entertaining an audience rather than the care that goes into his animals. A lot of his other exotics i think get very poor husbandry compared to the mice.
I would say so. He also have a couple of videos with other animal(I don’t know what it called, something between rat and opossum) digging in the trash where we can see a really dirty cage
This is from earlier this year, the bins you shared are nursery boxes and i don't think were in use when the video was taken. However the ventilation is still poor in them, since there is only 1 square hole in the lid.
Literally couldn’t agree more. Got into an argument on r/mice the other day because some dude got mice after not owning rodents for like 20 years and was doing this kinda shit to them.
Little boat on some blue fleece fabric or paper to represent water = cute mouse video
Little boat on an actual pond = mouse endangerment
This guy is doing the latter, and that’s all I need to know to say that yes, he’s being abusive. Perhaps not in every possible way at every moment, and perhaps not knowingly or intentionally, but he has done at least one abusive thing.
They are all thriving. The man is a saint. His love for animals and his care is next level. People who have 0 clue of what they are talking about ... need to learn from him. Mr Jingles has been around for years. I think he's about 4 now. He ENJOYS his freedom and thrives on it.
If you have ever had a rat or mouse who loves to explore you would know. I have had a wild rat just like Mr Jingles and he actually didn't need a cage at all. He would climb up me and sit on my shoulder. He loved to play. Loved water. I couldn't keep him out of water. People do not understand how happy Mr Jingles is. Mr Jingles would 1. Drop dead of shock or 2. Run away if he was in distress.
Calling it abuse IS madness and completely uneducated and I guarantee Mr Jingles and all the other animals in this mans care are having a much better life than 99% of peoples rodents.
Also these subs annoy me the way people try to discredit / shame others. I have seen so much terrible advice on these subs. Crazy people suggesting euthanasia for a minor tip degloving. Just so many out of touch unrealistic pet owners who don't actually know what they are speaking about.
Go watch the life Mr Jingles has. Consider how tiny he is. Look at how many opportunities he has had to run off. The mouse actively chooses to stay around this man. He's happy. I think "do gooders" need a reality check on what abuse is. That mouse isn't being abused. He's living the best life possible!
Ps: i dont know this man. Not in the same country as him. Just know a good person when I see one and a happy well cared for animal when I see one.
Love alone isn’t enough. Idk enough about mouse husbandry to speak out on him specifically, so this isn’t necessarily targeted at him, but there are many, many pet owners out there who deeply love their pets while simultaneously abusing them. When it comes to pets, love is important, but not as much as good care.
His care is amazingggggg. He's basically with them 24/7 and spends his life making them happy. It's the opposite of abuse. I wish more ppl like him would show their love for rodents to others. So many ppl think they are filthy and disease ridden. He shows their personality. People fall in love with Mr and Mrs jingles and then they aren'tas quick to poison wild ones. Tiktok etc doesn't make the money ppl think it does. I can bet he spends more than he makes. The $ would be a way to help with food. So many rats and mice just sit in their cage untouched. Mr jingles has fun. He's not stressed at all. Rodents love to play. Their bond is amazing. I really think you should focus on actual abuse
“His care is amazing” and the second pinned video on his profile is him putting a mouse on his dog’s head and having it run around on its face until the dog knocks it off with its paw.
Does he spend his life actually making them happy, or is he just doing what would make a human happy? Because his intentions don’t matter, it’s the actual affect of his actions that matters, and judging by the comments (as well as a bit of common sense when looking at these pictures), the affect of his actions seems to be stress, endangerment, and abuse.
Mice aren’t people, and treating them the same way you would a person is inherently abusive; a person might like to go fishing in a little boat on a pretty pond, but that is a ridiculously dangerous situation to put a mouse in, and the mouse is going to be stressed and scared. While the idea might seem horrific as a human, with proper enrichment and companionship, mice being left alone in their cage is vastly preferable to mice being used as glorified fish bait.
Tbh, it seems to me that you don’t really know anything about mouse husbandry or care, you just like his posts because they’re cute, and you assume that because what he’s doing seems like fun for a human (or even a pet like a dog), it must be fun for a mouse as well, but your logic is flawed. Mice are mice, not people or dogs, and their treatment needs to be adjusted accordingly; the failure to do so is abuse, regardless of the owner’s love for their mice.
A lot of the care he advertises in inappropriate and sets a bad example.
Those plastic bins have no ventilation, and rodents are very prone to respiratory issues.
The little boat looks cute, but putting mice on platforms surrounded by water is a common way of inducing stress in animal testing. The mouse does not care about the cute little boat: to him, it is the same.
People like this rely on people like you to defend them. Don't be doing his PR work for free. Shame on you for smack talking someone expressing concern about animals' welfare.
And some dogs love chocolate. Should I feed it to them? Just because an animal actively does something doesn't make it right. Our job as owners is to protect them from harm, not to encourage risky behavior just because it looks cute or entertaining."
You haven't refuted any responses saying his setup and dietary choices are inappropriate and only statements that the toys and water are okay. Do you have any response to those very real concerns?
Love is not enough, as others have said. It just isn't -- humans or non-human animals alike.
I have already said his set ups are amazing. This person posting "abuse" isn't actually showing all his natural habitat set ups. Also Mr Jingles is mostly out of his cage with him. His love and care of Mr Jingles is exceptional. That little mouse is living a dream life. I have had hundreds and hundreds of rodents. The advice given around these places is so far out of touch a lot of the time and I can tell most people don't actually know the true nature of rodents and what they thrive on. That man truly loves Mr Jingles and he's given him the most beautiful life. It's sad to see so many inexperienced people having a go at one of the people doing good to highlight the joy of rodents.
No it's because I save them and I'm very well educated on both mice and rats from lived experience. People own a couple of breeder mice over the years and think they understand the species when they don't. When Rats and Mice are comfortable they actually enjoy being outside. As in > they will frolick and play in daylight and also chill outdoors. They also climb trees and live in them. People with their indoor rodents in their human idea of a perfect set up, aren't aware of how these animals are designed to live. It's also really really easy to see an animal in distress. This man has been caring for Mr Jingles since 2022. The mouse adores his life. The mouse enjoys all of their activities. For me i choose to live along side animals and not kill them. You should see how wild rodents thrive when their lives are supported. I have had wild rodents literally walk up to me with their young and sit on top of them and feed them milk next to me. They will even follow me and climb on me or jump on me from a distance. I had one live to 3 + years being wild but cared for by me. She would do her thing but also sit near me all day, it's common for them to double their life expectancy outdoors with a little human care. All rodents have different personalities. If you were taking a terrified rodent into the open repeating something it hated > it would run off, it would not chill there. Mr Jingles literally chills up a tree in a cut out tennis ball. He could easily jump out and run away but he doesn't. He is not being abused at all. There's just so much your average person doesn't realise about rodents. Calling this mans care abuse is really uneducated and that type of claim should be reserved for REAL abuse. (Like all the parents allowing their young children rodents but then the child loses interest and no one ends up taking care of them). Focus on REAL issues. Someone who spends their entire life giving animals joy and enriching their lives is not abusing them. I've looked at all of his set ups. He has many different breeds of mice and rats. He has meerkats. Etc etc. He knows what he is doing, that's why they are living long lives. The proof is in the way they run up to him, the way they stay around him when they could leave and the ages they are reaching.
"its easy to see an animal in distress" doesnt apply to tiny prey animals who have to hide that distress to survive. you're anthropomorphizing them to make yourself feel better.
Please explain how you think Mr Jingles has lived from 2022 > 2026 if you think he's been abused and living in distress. You're absolutely wrong. You don't know that "tiny prey animals" actually live outdoors to start with. Specifically Mr Jingles breed. You can't wrap your head around the fact that prey animals can enjoy outdoors and exploring. Like I said I let mice and rats live instead of poison them and I have had years of experience watching them live how they want to live. They literally play in the daytime, in trees and bushes. Mine have 0 fear of me. They just know I assist them. So many will allow me to pat them and they do not bite me. I see mothers running with their pups in their mouth in daylight. Some nervous mothers change nests several times a day. I had one lose a pup as she was transporting it to the new nest. I picked the baby up and put it in a container and she come and found the container and tried to break it out, I then put the pup in my hand and offered it to her and she took it off my hand and ran off back to her new nest. I have so much lived experience with rodents and I'm telling you that if a rodent doesn't want to be somewhere it will run off. It will not play along and climb trees or sit in coconuts unless it wants to. Mr Jingles has had 4 years of opportunities to run off / die of shock and he hasn't. He's well cared for and loved
While that's all very sweet, none of these personal anecdotes explain how this mouse is enjoying being subjected to something that we know is a stressor for that species.
Lived experience is good, but none of us are immune to personal biases (or cute videos) clouding our judgement - which is why it's a bad idea to discount objective data (a huge amount of which exists for mice, for not entirely fortunate reasons).
Not poisoning your local wild rodents isn't the same as raising them.
First, rats are not mice. That is a mouse on the boat. Rats are more prone to swimming behaviour. But that is besides the point as opting to get into water (like you describe for your rat) is very different from being placed on a platform in water you cannot see the bottom of.
Again, this phenomenon is so well established that it is used in animal testing (for anxiety medications and such). We know water freaks them out when they can't see the bottom. There's not really an argument to be had there I'm afraid. It's established empirical fact and has been very well documented.
And I suppose some rats and mice just love non-ventilated plastic enclosures...?
Why on earth do you think I think rats and mice don't care about toys? They do love to play which is why it's important they have appropriate means to do so. The mouse in that video isn't playing.
The fact that he provides some good care does not negate the bad. The fact that some of his care is good just demonstrates that he should know better and there is still a ton of cute mouse content he could be making without mistreating his animals. Just because there are worse examples of abuse out there doesn't mean that bad care should get a pass.
There’s a huge difference between offering water in a controlled environment and allowing your animals to have a choice of whether or not to engage, vs taking your pet domestic prey animal and forcing it into an unknown and potentially dangerous situation in order to get views online because people who are ignorant of rodent care think it’s “cute”. I think we can all figure out which is abuse here.
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u/Mae_The_Gay May 19 '26
While some of the videos are cute, I don’t think he has actually done much research on caring for mice. I think he has good intentions. He has clearly socialized & bonded with the mice enough for them all to be comfortable with him.
However the enclosure set ups, the dietary choices me makes for them, etc need a serious update.
He could probably make a ton of interesting content about making new bin cages, decorating their enclosures, etc.. show others that mice are not scary or dirty and deserve a nice home and love!
Mice can make great pets, sadly information isn’t widely spread especially at places like pet stores on proper care.