Found 5 Mice?

[Kizerk]

hi, today mom came back from her joggin at the park, and she said she found several common white mice on the grass. so my sister and i captured them, (5) and took them back home, we only have a small container, one of those critter kind, and we have bedding in there along with food and water. can anyone give me advice on how to take care of them? i think they will survive, although it was raining earlier. how much space will they need?

[KellyMichelle]

That's nice of you to help out the little guys.

I'm not sure about the care that they need, but I am sure that if you use what you have until you know how big of an area they will need, then they will be fine.

The only thing I know about them is to make sure they can't get out. My parents used to rescue sick animals, like baby birds, squirrels, rabbits, mice, whatever came along our yard, and it was hard to let them go once they got better. But because we have house pets, we had to be super careful, because animals from the outside can make your indoor pets very sick, only because mice tend to 'break into' any food you have, and you don't know the common diseases that the mice are carrying.

But, I'm sure you already are being careful! It's sweet of you to think about the poor little mice, because a lot of people wouldn't, just because they are wild. Maybe you could call your local vet, and s/he would know when they would be well enough to release into the wild again, without having to take them in for an expensive visit.

This is kind of off-topic, but I remember when we took in a baby squirrel that was injured, and he was so little that he had to eat from a bottle. So we called the nearest petstore to see if they had little any of that kitten formula, because that would be good nourishment, and they said that one employee had a cat that just had kittens, and the cat and kittens were at the store so the employee could watch her or something, and so they let the squirrel nurse off of the cat. It was so cute! And the cat didn't even care!

Anyway, let me know what happens to the little guys!
~~Kelly

[Kizerk]

that squirrel story was very cute!

i have two hamsters, and i figured that they have to have similar care right? they seem to be doing great

but my biggest question is how did they get there? because in south california, we've been havin this huge rain storm, so i was wonderin how could they survive

[tashagurl]

The rain was really bad. Maybe they got washed out of there nest or something.

[KellyMichelle]

I don't actually know much about mice...but I looked some stuff up...

-mice are escape artists...but you have hamsters, so you probably know how to keep them in their little cages!
-they can get infections from sitting in their 'waste' so the cage has to be cleaned every day...it says that they get sick quickly.
-exercise wheels and the hamster trail cages are bad for their spines, like guinea pigs, so i guess a simple cage is best...
-they need fresh fruits an veggies with their dry food
-they breed quickly

but that was all from pages where the mice are pets...it seemed like a common factor though that keeping a mouse after it was better can be very dangerous to not only the other pets you have, but the people in your house as well. apparently, it's common for people to catch them in their house or something, and try to keep them, but they escape, and the droppings and whatever they chew on make things in the house sick. After you know that the mice are better, and the weather is better, you could put them back where you found them, they will be much happier in the wild, and it could save you a lot of trouble in the future.

they probably are cute, though, aren't they...i've never actually seen one that is white in the wild. i'm a sucker for little animals that need my help... : )
as for how they survived this long in the bad weather, i'm jut not sure. maybe they know how to survive when stuff like that happens. I found out during a rain storm that deer can swim...go figure!

[Poohbear]

That sounds like a very sweet thing of you to do

[bunnyluv17]

These mice are clearly domestic animals and should NOT be released, THEY WILL NOT SURVIVE. They were either dumped or they escaped. They are very fortunate that someone captured them and is willing to care for them. The first thing you should do is take them to the vet or a rodent rescue/shelter to sex them, 5 mice will soon turn into 50 mice.

They probably need at least a 30 gallon aquarium(if they all happen to be the same sex) or seperate them by sex into two 20 gallon aquariums (or larger). The best diet would be lab blocks supplemented with seeds, veggies, and fruits. Kiln-dried pine or aspen would work as bedding and it will probably need to be changed weekly. Mice are active so provide toys and things to chew. If they are friendy, then you can take them out to play. The only safe wheel would be a wodent wheel. They might enjoy toilet paper rolls and tissues to chew.

[Kizerk]

i do plan to sex them soon, i think these are the regular common white mouse that they have at petco as snake food...

are you sure about the wheels? i remember when i was at a pet store, there was like a bunch of mice fighting over a wheel, they really seem to like it alot

[RubyPiggie2]

Pet stores aren't that educated with any animals, I would just guess by the way they are treated. Um. Just a word of advice, mice should be picked up at the base of the tail, not the tip.

[VoodooJoint]

Once you get them sexed the mice should get along great. They are fairly social animals.

Like any pet the more room the better. They like lots of hiding spots, cardboard tubes, houses, etc... If they feel too crowded they may fight and mice can fight viciously (occasionally to the death).

Keep in mind that mice are incontinent. They leave a urine trail wherever they go. This is how they find their way around so tubes, shelves/levels and anything else that can climb on (including your hands) need to be washed frequently.

If you keep them in a set-up with bars of any kind keep in mind that young/baby mice can escape and wild mice (of any age) can get in. Nothing attracts mice better then other mice.

I know this because my family had 2 female pet mice. One day my daughter said that when she opened the cage to take them out to play a wild mouse jumped out and ran away. I had a hard time believing her until I was walking past the cage and saw a tiny brown face peering at me from the top window of the 2 story mouse house in the cage (that we had built our girls). Our two girls were spotted with mostly white faces so I knew it wasn’t one of them.

I quickly and gently carried the cage to the bathtub just in time as wild mouse, knowing the jig was up, shot through the bars and landed in the tub.

I caught him, took a peek and sure enough he was a he! I knew we were in trouble. The romancing Romeo was removed from the house (unharmed) but with the warning that if he came back he was facing a shotgun wedding.

Later I realized that I should have forced the perverted varmint to marry my girl mouse Fuzzy then and there since not long after, her romantic indiscretions began to show. Luckily her cage mate Spotty was more prudish and obviously refused the Romeo’s advances. As she retained her virginal figure.

Fuzzy gave birth to 10 (yes 10) sweet little pink bean sized babies. We handled them daily to get them used to us (as I wanted them to be social and tame). However no matter how much we handled them they became wilder and wilder as they grew. Once their eyes were open they became totally wild, running like crazy if we came near and biting if we managed to grab one (cage cleaning was nearly impossible).

Those babies never did tame down. They were adorable too. 5 were all brown like the dad and the other 5 were tan with dark brown spots.

After the unfortunate conception I covered all of the bar areas of the cage with hardware mesh. Our 2 girls lived out the rest of their lives in unmolested peace although Fuzzy was never as friendly as she was before I kicked out her boyfriend.

[joab97]

I just love the way you told your story voodoojoint. Good luck with your mice Kizert. Keep us posted on how they are doing.

[KellyMichelle]

I didn't know they were domestic...if you can keep them seperate, then go for it. I just worried that even if they were inside once, they now could have outside diseases. i'm sure that as long as you wash your hands betwen them, and they don't get a chance to escape their cage and get into anything, your other pets won't have the chance of catching anything, if the mice even have anything (i'm not saying that they do, i'm just veering onthe safe side).

But have fun with the little guys...they probably are happy to be dry and warm now! let me know how they're doin'!

They can be great pets. I have a friend that had has mice for a long time. She loves them just like any other pet. She also has a rat; the cutest thing i've ever seen.

maybe when you get the chance, we can see some pictures!
~~Kelly

[bunnyluv17]

Mice do love wheels and if you can't find a wodent wheel then try to find a solid-based plastic one or maybe a wire mesh wheel.

[All4Cavies]

Hi, Kizerk. I have 2 pet mice. They are also the common domesticated white mice. I keep mine in a sterilite tub. Too small for guinea pigs I know, but perfect for small mice. I drilled plenty of holes into the lid, because as stated before, they are WONDERFUL escape artists. Let no one fool you, mice are smart little creatures. I do NOT recommend a store bought cage for them. I had one, and they chewed a hole into the bottom and found their way out. You will probably have to make a hole in the side of the cage w/ the drill only large enough for the water bottle nozzle to poke through. I cant keep my water bottle in the cage. The mice chew through them. They have gone through three waterbottles and finally I said enough is enough and I got smart. Their bottle is now on the outside of the cage. You can buy rat and mice food at pet stores. My store sells it for .99 cents a pound. NEVER buy food w/ corn in it. Corn gives mice terrible diarrhea. If you were to have to feed them hamster and gerbil food because you cannot obtain mouse food. Make sure you pick out the corn. My mice enjoy vegetables as treats. A common myth is that they like cheese. Actually most mice do not like it. Goodluck w/ your mice. If you have any questions, please feel free to get back to me, I'd be happy to help.

[My Baby Mu]

You shouldn't pick them up by their tail because it can rip the skin off and end in tragety. Pick them up by their bodys. Like you would a guinea pig.

[RubyPiggie2]

You pick them up at the base of the tail, more up by the body, where the tail connects. That's just a suggested way to pick them up if they aren't used to you or anything like that.