Want to know more about caring for mice? Got questions and not sure where to start? Don’t get your tail in a spin – we’ve got you covered in this handy guide!
From accommodation to diet, you’ll learn how to look after mice in the best possible way. And you’ll have all the information you need to decide whether pet mice are right for you.
Mice are fun, busy pets who are great at climbing and love exploring their environment. They may be small, but you’d be surprised by how fascinating they are to watch!
If properly socialised, they can be very friendly and easy for the whole family to handle – the perfect little furry friend.
Although mice are very small, they’re super busy and energetic. They absolutely love to climb and explore their surroundings, forage for food and dig in their bedding. So the cage you choose will need lots of floor space for them to live their best life.
The ideal cage setup for pet mice, filled with toys, ropes, and exercise wheels
Set up a comfortable home for your pet mice, with various enrichment items like wooden sticks, tunnels, branches, hammocks, ropes, a water bottle and water bowl and an exercise wheel.
When you’re choosing a location for your mouse cage, make sure it’s:
Mice need lots of toys and enrichment to stay happy and healthy – so make sure you provide these things in abundance. Whether it’s ropes for them to run across or items for climbing, you can get really creative with their environment – starting with our suggestions below:
Your mice will enjoy:
A large blue and black wire cage with various colourful toys for mouse enrichment.
It’s important to use the correct bedding and substrate for your mice, otherwise it could have a negative effect on their health. Wood shavings or sawdust can be extremely harmful to your mouse’s skin and airway (see common illnesses for more detail), and can give you an allergic reaction too!
*Avoid cotton-wool type bedding – this can be very dangerous as it can get get tightly wrapped around their body, tail and legs.
Two mice, one black and white and one white, are on a wooden structure inside a cage. They are eating food atop the structure, which has shredded card substrate and soft white tissue paper bedding for the mice
Like us humans, mice need a clean environment to live comfortably and safely. Keeping your mouse cage clean isn’t just about making it look nice, it’s also key to preventing serious health conditions such as respiratory problems.
This may need to be done more often depending on the number of mice you have in the cage:
* Place any large and heavy items into the cage first, before the substrate.
This will help to prevent them moving or falling and potentially harming your mice, if placed on top.
Mice are very sociable and enjoy the companionship of other mice. They’ll spend hours grooming one another and exploring their enclosure together. If you find yourself with a lone mouse of any age, contact Woodgreen or your local rescue centre to help find your mouse some companions.
Mice live happy lives with a little help from their friends. In the wild, they live in large colonies and spend lots of time exploring and sleeping together. It’s important that pet mice are housed in trios or groups so they can do the same. Having more than two can help to prevent a mouse from being left alone if one passes away.
If you find yourself with a lone mouse, or you’d like to increase the size of your group, please contact Woodgreen, as we may be able to help! We have an onsite mixing service where we can help you find a companion for your mouse either by mixing onsite or by giving you advice to enable you to mix them at home.
To increase the chances of your mice hitting it off, always introduce them to each other in neutral territory. This could be a cage that has been thoroughly cleaned and contains neither mouse’s scent, as this reduces the chance of potential fighting.
Start any mixes early in the morning, so you have plenty of time to monitor their initial interactions.
There are a couple of different mixing methods you can try (learn more about each off these methods):
Neutral space method
Carrier or Small Space method
Mice are omnivores, so they need both protein and vegetables in their diet. There are limited good quality diets available for mice, but you can find a great mouse mix available from ratrations.co.uk. A less ideal alternative is a good rat or gerbil mix instead. Whatever you choose, make sure it has a selection of grains, seeds, pulses and a protein source such as dried meal worms.
Some owners choose to make their own food to make sure their mice get everything they need. See ‘Housemade mouse food recipe’ for a simple homemade mouse food recipe we use at Woodgreen.
Feed your mice around 5g of dried food each per day (around one teaspoon each). Mice are foragers – they love to dig and search for food and tasty treats. So try scattering their daily allowance around their cage and hiding treats in toys or interesting items. You can also make your own toys to hide some of their food in, like this tube enrichment feeder.
There’s always room for treats – but quality and quantity is key to keeping your mice in good shape. Avoid colourful chew sticks, mineral and salt blocks as these can in some cases be harmful. Instead, stick to healthy, natural food options, adding a variety of treats to their weekly diet:
Find out what to feed your pet mice and what foods to avoid.
Daily fresh water is extremely important. Although many mice prefer to drink from a bowl, bottles are also suitable and can be provided in addition. But take note that these can be tricky to keep clean, and often leak. Make sure your mice can easily reach the spout by having it close to the base of the cage, or place toys underneath that they can easily climb on to reach it.
If you’d like to have a go at making a healthy mix for your pet mice, below is a basic (and brilliant) recipe we use at Woodgreen. Once you’ve made your mix, store it in a suitable container with an airtight lid. Note down the date you made the mix, and aim to use it within three months.
A mixture of the following:
A mixture of at least three of the following:
A mixture of the following:
A mixture of the following:
If you follow our advice, your mice will become very friendly and easy to handle. They’ll even enjoy coming out of their cage for an hour or more each day! But as much as you’ll want to get to know your new mice straight away, avoid handling them for a day or two to allow them to settle in.
Mice can feel very threatened at the sight of a hand suddenly hovering above them while they’re resting. Ideally, handle them during their active periods, and…
Never try to pick mice up by their tail – this is very painful and can result in damage or even loss of the tail.
With the right things in place, your mice will love their cage environment. But they will also enjoy having extra space to run around and explore each day.
To do this safely, either:
Place lots of toys and hiding spaces in the chosen space for them to explore. You could also sit in there (carefully!) with them. This is a great way of them getting used to you and will also provide a safe place for handling.
Never allow predators in the room whilst you are giving your mice free roam time and always supervise young children with them.
It’s vital that you always have a suitable pet carrier available in case you need to take your mice to the vet, or to use whilst you clean out their enclosure. Cardboard boxes are a big no-no, as they can quickly and easily be chewed through – leading to escapees.
Hard plastic carriers like this one are perfect for your mice to use. To keep them relaxed and happy, place some of the bedding from their cage in the base of the carrier. Also include a small amount of food scattered, and a little house or tunnel for them to hide in.
To help keep your mice in tip-top condition, make sure you health check them weekly. Look out for changes in their behaviour every day too – they can be very good at hiding any health issues until they’re really suffering. If you have any concerns, act quickly and contact your mouse savvy vet.
Watch our video on how to health check them and what to look out for here.
While it’s our aim to make you an expert in mice by the end of this guide, there’s a chance you’ll still need the expertise of a vet at some point. So make sure you find one reasonably local to you who has heaps of experience with caring for these furry creatures. Many will see cats and dogs all the time, but species such as mice will rarely be seen by most vets. These top tips can help:
Unfortunately, mammary and intestinal tumours are fairly common in elderly mice. They can grow very quickly and will most likely be cancerous.
When you handle your mouse, always check for any unusual lumps and bumps on their body and abdomen.
Parasites, such as fur mites, can also be common in mice. Incorrect bedding is one of the most common causes of this, as well as stress. Signs they might have parasites include:
If your mice are showing any of these symptoms, take them to your vet.
A mouse with fur loss.
Sadly, respiratory infections can be a common illness in mice too. These are caused by bacteria in the respiratory tract, which makes them unwell. Pre-existing respiratory conditions in mice can also be worsened by stress, poor ventilation, dusty bedding, changes in temperature, predators in the home, bullying by other mice and old age.
Along with medical support from your vet, there are lots of things you can do to help prevent and manage this illness. These include choosing suitable bedding, cleaning the cage to a high standard, washing any hammocks and bars of the cage, and having a cage that is well-ventilated.
We cover a range of different topics on our website – and not just for your small furry friends, but cats and dogs, too!
Not only that, but we also offer phone appointments, workshops, training classes, webinars and courses.
Call 0300 303 9333 or email info@woodgreen.org.uk
The essential online course covering everything you need to know about keeping mice healthy and happy.
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