Question for you mouse people! :)

[MamaMandy]

My 12 year old son is wanting a mouse for a pet. We've done the hamster thing and they either don't live very long, or are mean or both! LOL I remember reading on here where some of you said that mice were much nicer than the hamsters. Is that true? Also, do we need to get a particular type of mouse? The pet stores seem to have feeder mice for around $2 each. Is that what we need? Some of them are all white, but others were butterscotch colored and broken. I really know nothing about mice. LOL Other than I don't like them in my cabinets! Haha!

Also, are they like hamsters and are better kept alone so they don't kill each other? Or are they more social?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dood]

Much nicer than hamsters. I've never been bit by a mouse.

Don't live very long - usually less than 3 years but I had one for 5 and 7 months

Feeder mice are not bred for longevity or temperament. I would recommend some one who breeds pet or show mice but I had feeders and they were still nicer than hamsters, but they can be prone to tumors.

Females are social and do better in a pair/trio. Males can live togeather, I had a buck tank, but usually they fight.

 

[Silver Willow]

:yeahthat:
Basically what Dood said

We currently have 5 female mice living together in a very big set up, so they get to spread out it they want. Haven't had any fights yet from them... apart from when we put one almond in their cage :lol:
I would recommend females for pets though as I have heard that the males are really smelly? We've only ever had does before though so no personal experiences with the bucks, please correct me if I'm wrong

 

[ladysown]

Mice make lovely pets. They can generally be hand-tamed nicely. Get from private breeder who handles them though.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

We just picked up 2 feeder mice from petco, and they're VERY sweet.

We opted for mice because last Time we got rats they uh, well they got between the couch and cushion, and one of them bit my mom hard enough to hit bone. Yyeeaaah she didn't like them much after that.

 

[Schipperkesue]

I LOVE mice as pets. Very sweet and easy to take care of. I would suggest getting females. Much less stinky!

 

[ladysown]

yes, male mice stink...

 

[JessicaR]

I prefer rats over mice. My rats are super friendly and they are big enough that I don't have to worry about young kids squishing them. :x Mice IMO are too fidgety. I also prefer male rats over females, the males while yes a bit more smelly, are also more laid back.

 

[Schipperkesue]

I would love to have a pet rat! They are so sweet!

Unfortunately I live in Alberta, a rat free province, and they are not allowed.

 

[JDWest]

I agree about rats. I love rats. Mine were lovely companions and road on my shoulder or in the hood of my hoody everywhere! The smell is far less then mice. A male rat smells better then a single female mouse.

You may find a sweet mouse in a bin of feeder mice. You can find some really pretty ones. But they aren't being selected for temperment. So it may be hit and miss. There are breeders who breed mice for pet and colour. Seen a few websites in my travels.

I used to have to breed mice to feed my snakes. I lived in a small town with no pet store so my parents got sick of having to ship in frozen mice from a pet store two hours away. I had the opposite experience then dood, in that my females, even from the same litter would sometimes fight. The first trio of mice i ever got where three gorgeous females. They were black with tan bellies and eyebrows. They were sisters and bought as pets. When they hit maturity they started to fight. Ugh!! And they love to go for the tale, bighting it off. But all mice can fight really. If kept in a large enough cage or aquarium, with toys and a wheel they do better. I had the few super friendly ones that could be handled and would sit on my knee. They were usually males though. My favorite was a pure black male and he did very well by himself in his own cage. I kept him in the family room and cleaned him daily, as they do stink.