Mice As Pets

The most commonly available type

of mouse available as a pet is the domestic

 pet mouse. These pet mice have been

selectively bred to enhance the desirable

qualities of the mice. There are also spiny

 mice (which are desert creatures that are

 a bit trickier to care for), but for the purposes

of this article we will discuss the ordinary

domestic mouse.

Ordinary does not mean boring, however.

If you have ever seen a group of pet mice playing,

 you realize they can be quite entertaining pets.

 They are a bit skittish and harder to handle

than some of the lager rodents such as rats,

but they can become quite tame and will take

food from the hand and allow themselves to

 be handled if started at a yound age.

Mice are quite ideal as small pets that are

entertaining to watch, are easy to care for

and make very few demands on their owners.

Life Span

Their short life span is one of the biggest
drawbacks of mice. On average they live
for about 1.5-2 years, although they can
sometimes live up to 3 years.
Habits

Mice are nocturnal and very social.
They will be very active in the evening and night,
but don't expect to do much with them during
the day. Being social, they are best kept in groups.
A pair of females is the easiest, although larger
 groups are fine if you provide the cage space.
Pairs of males should be avoided, unless they
are litter mates, never separated, and given
a large enough cage that they can have their
 own space (unfamiliar males are very likely to fight).
 Keeping males and females together should be
 avoided unless you want lots of mice in a short
amount of time.

Choosing Healthy Mice

When picking out your mice, look for active

bright mice, with smooth clean coats and pink

clean skin on the ears and tail. The eyes and

nose should be free of discharge, and the

mouth and anal areas should be clean and dry.

Their breathing will be relatively fast, but should

not be labored or noisy. Check the cage as

well - it should be clean (the mice have been

well cared for) and the droppings should be formed.

Look for a pet store that separates males and

 females at a young age (good breeders will do this).

 Mice can reproduce by about 6-8 weeks of age,

 although this is very stressful on the female and

should be avoided. If your pet store doen't separate

mice at a young age you may well end up taking home

a pregnant female. To tell the difference between

young males and females check under their tails for

the distance between the anal opening and genital

opening - this distance is shorter in the females.

A breeder or pet store should be able to do this

for you, but it can be hard to do in young mice

unless you have males and females to compare

to each other. In older (6-8 week old) male mice,

the testicles are usually readily visible.