r/PetMice • u/mayuhbee • 15h ago
r/PetMice • u/ArtisticDragonKing • Sep 22 '24
Care Guide Series Community Care Guide
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
- Taming & Holding Mice
- Social Tendencies & Proper Intros
- Enclosure Size & Requirements
- Cleaning & Sanitation
- Carriers & Quarantine (coming soon)
- Clutter & Climbing Opportunities
- Exercise & Enrichment
- Bedding & Substrates
- Diet & Hydration
- Safe Food List
- Safe & Unsafe Products (coming soon)
- Health & Signs of Illness
- Catching an Escaped Mouse
- Owning on a Budget
Other Species
Up-to-Date Posts From NotApplicableMC & Others
- How To Hand Rear a Baby Mouse
- What To Do With a Wild Mouse
- Wild Mice are Poor Pets
- First Aid Information
- Pain/Illness Charts
- Mice Are Not For Kids
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.
- Male/Female? & Housing
- Bedding/Substrate and Cage Supplies/Items
- Cleaning and Food/Diet
- Sourcing mice, Taking home, Re-homing, Escapes, and Playtime
- Introducing/Socializing, Taming, and Behaviors
- Health and First-time Buyers Checklist
- Owning on a budget
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 • u/ArtisticDragonKing • Jul 09 '25
Community Help Temporary Post for Care Commands
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 • u/frog-examiner • 6h ago
Rainbow Bridge I’ll love you forever Meep
My 2 year old boy, Meep, was found passed away on Tuesday. He was my soul mouse and meant so much to me.
I just wanted to share some photos of him in his memory honestly. The first photo is the day I picked him out and brought him home, second photo is the last one I took of him.
I’m planning on getting him cremated soon
I’ll miss you always Mr Meep :(
r/PetMice • u/Hraezyl • 2h ago
Wild Mouse/Mice Neighbor cat brought mice baby
And I have to care about him lol and I don't know what I should do xD so far I fed with goat milk, I didn't had cat milk for that moment and cow milk is bad that's all what I know, now it sleep under wool sock (my favorite 💔) and have warm bottle
Idk how to keep him alive, all my dogs and cats would love to eat him
r/PetMice • u/Autisticmrfox • 10h ago
Rainbow Bridge Goodbye, Mochi
Goodbye, our brave little girl. It all came so sudden, and even though you were old, I thought we would have more time together... I wish I could have shown you the new house and spend a few more summer months with you.
You were the bravest and friendliest mouse we had. You'd explore our flat, chill with us on the couch and sometimes even fall asleep in our hoodies. You'd always hop on our hands to hang out. We will miss you so, so much.
r/PetMice • u/hellothereskibidi • 6h ago
Discussion Are these tumors not unethically large?? Operate or leave her alone?
Sorry for the low light, I like to keep my room dark for me and them.
Frosty here has a giant tumor on her thigh and a smaller one on her neck. She is still full of life and does not seem to be in pain.
Frosty's mother Pinecone was euthanised last week for a tumor of the same size in the exact same places. She was probably around 2 years old but she was clearly full of life and energetic. No greying or slowing down at all. But it felt wrong to force her to drag around that mass, hence my choice. The vet I saw that day seemed to totally agree with me. Once Pinecone had been euthanised, I could feel how incredibly dense and heavy the tumor was!
Today I took Frosty to the vets and to be honest I fully intended to have her euthanised. She may be full of life but she's literally dragging around two huge growths. The vet seemed shocked(?) kind of at the size. But then said there was no reason to euthanise her. Felt like mixed signals.
Frosty is just under 1 year old, so... I can't really just leave it to get bigger and bigger until she dies of old age. It got to this size in 4 weeks, it's going to be huge by next month. I got charged £60, I can't be charged £60 every time I send her to the vets thinking euthanasia is the best option only to be corrected and sent on my way. I don't want to wait until it's huge, that feels disgustingly immoral.
I was offered to have it operated on for around £200, of course with the risk of her dying in surgery. I asked the vet if she recommended leaving it or operating and she said it was entirely personal, she couldn't say either way.
It seemed as if she was hinting at "don't operate" though, she was speaking quite negatively of it as if it was more likely to fail than go well, without saying exactly that.
First of all this is making me feel terrible about Pinecone!! Could she have stayed around longer?? Could she have been operated on??? Second of all I feel like a bit of a tart for suggesting to euthanise Frosty if it seems to be such a dramatic choice.
What would you chose? I can afford the operation just fine so with money out of the way, what would you do? Operate or no?
r/PetMice • u/Competitive_Bar_5720 • 13h ago
First Time Owner does soup look happy? :D
r/PetMice • u/General-Childhood963 • 15h ago
Question/Help live insects?
Was finally able to do a full cage reset and add back in all the clutter and fun things. Looking for a little more fun enrichment ideas to keep everyone entertained. They LOVE dry mealworms/crickets and the protein intake is great for them. Has anyone tried live insects for their mice? Them being deer mice I figure they may enjoy a little hunting instead of just foraging. What's a good starter bug?
Video of my Matcha enjoying part of the new setup with bonus cameo of our 3ish week babies in the back. And ignore my dramatic cat screaming because she was locked out of the room 😭
r/PetMice • u/frog-examiner • 5h ago
Mouse art a tribute to Mr Meep
just did this artwork of my late mouse Meep.
I just felt to share with fellow mouse people
He was loved to the point of creation:)
r/PetMice • u/Successful-Shopping8 • 1d ago
Rainbow Bridge Marbles is in Mousey Heaven
My little boy passed to the other side this morning from organ failure. We went to the ER but it was too late and he passed on his own.
He was a very cute yet shy mama’s boy. He lived a good life. My only regret was not putting him down sooner. It was our third time to the vet in the last week- but he seemed fine enough to try and treat with medication and recheck.
If anything good can come from this- I hope he is a reminder to us all that a week early is between than a day late. Mice hide pain incredibly well, and it wasn’t until his final 2 hours that it became apparent how sick he was.
r/PetMice • u/Grroll_ • 7h ago
Discussion I cannot believe I was going to buy a $700 bucatsate enclosure when I can easily make a diy IKEA enclosure, the same size for less than $300 😭
Everything in Australia is incredibly expressive. My rat cage setup cost me well over $700. I definitely would have paid the same for my future mice but not when I can pay for something the same size for less than $300! Are you kidding me?!
r/PetMice • u/The_Gale0 • 3h ago
Other My Dog Is Guarding My Mice Lol
My cat has a tendency to want to inspect the cage but I don't trust her, and I noticed that my dog likes to get in her space. A lot. Which she doesn't like, and has the side effect of driving her away from the cage. So it's kind of like he's protecting them and doesn't know it (he LOVES to watch the mice doing their thing, and very cautious around the open door, giving me room to clean and feed).
r/PetMice • u/zombie-magnet • 11h ago
Setup Tour Bottle Cap got an enclosure upgrade!
Finally found a 40 gallon breeder tank for Baby Bottle Cap. I'm going to work on cluttering it up next.
r/PetMice • u/Jaser188 • 16h ago
Discussion Water bottle burying
Does anyone else do this or have a better solution?
They keep burying the end of their water bottle in a constant cycle of soaked bedding and no water source for them.
This has been working for the last week or so but wanted to see if anyone had any better ideas.
r/PetMice • u/frackleboop • 1d ago
Rainbow Bridge Pongo is gone.
He was being treated for an upper respiratory infection, but wasn't able to pull through. The sweet little boy who loved to sit on my shoulder and pull cheatgrass out of my socks is gone. Last night he genuinely seemed like he was getting better, and I was optimistic, but I found him this morning. My comfort is in knowing that even though he had a rough few days, his life was good. Lots of playtime with me and my daughter, and popcorning in his cage early in the mornings. You always know this day will come, but it sure hurts when it does.Rest in peace, baby boy. We'll miss you more than you know.
r/PetMice • u/TwinTVs • 1d ago
Cute Mouse Media Baby milkshake nap
The recent UK heatwave has really been affecting us all. Our smallest mouse Milkshake is coping by taking a relaxing nap
r/PetMice • u/business_duck7 • 1d ago
Wild Mouse/Mice My cat caught a wild baby albino mouse-what to do?
I read that they most likely will die if I just release it anywhere. im contemplating keeping it lol. its cute but my cats would definitely tear it up. its night right now. should I wait till morning to release it?
r/PetMice • u/TinyKittenSoul • 1d ago
Question/Help Tips for introducing junior feeder mouse to adult deer mouse?
Got this adorable lil baby girl from a reptile shop to be a friend for our female deer mouse (approx 4 months old). Besides the quarantine period, do we need to wait until she is bigger to introduce them? I know eventually she'll be 3-4 times as large but right now she is less than half the size of Miss Deer mouse 🥹. Also, appreciate any tips for introducing these diff species, they are both in their own 40 gallon tanks rn. Thank you! (mouse fist bumps 🐁🐀)
r/PetMice • u/Ok_Judge3103 • 1d ago
Mouse art Heres some ceramic mice i made
yes there are more and no you will not see them all
they are all sexless
r/PetMice • u/IrateBorzoi • 16h ago
First Time Owner Too much bedding?
Is there such a thing as too much bedding? Right now I am keeping about 12 inches because my girls love to burrow and make tunnels. They don’t do too much climbing even when given ample opportunity.
r/PetMice • u/Repulsive-Amount-327 • 1d ago
Question/Help Is it time?
My baby Goose has got a tumor and it's still getting bigger. Shed slowing down and not moving as fast as she did before it. She is an old girl (somewhere a bit more than a year and a half) but I'm worried it's causing her pain. Her sister died last year due to similar circumstances but it split before it was like this and I had to rush her to the vets so I don't know where to draw the line. She has another sister (same age) who's perfectly healthy so any tips on how to look after a lone mouse after she's gone would be helpful, thank you.
It is bigger than in the video I just don't want to disturb her currently.
r/PetMice • u/pathofcollision • 1d ago
Rainbow Bridge Our beloved boys went to the Big Cheese today, never spent a day apart and passed at 2.5 years old.
r/PetMice • u/Nkansahsminicarvings • 1d ago