| Before You Get a Mouse FAQ |
| Male or female? Male and female mice both make good pets but they are quite different in behavior and a few other things. So here is a few basics you must know before choosing one or the other. Female mice like to live in pairs or groups, they are docile, peaceful, and are generally more lazy and mellow than the males. This is a sharp contrast to their rat counterparts. Male mice tend to be more active, more people oriented but are rarely adopted out as pets because they smell really bad. Female mice smell too but male mice are about 5 times more potent. If you don't mind that then a male makes a fine pet, however they tend not to get allong with other males unless they were raised together from birth and are kept in a fairly large cage. Some males will get allong in group settings but these are large groups and huge cages! Before choosing on a female one also must make sure you get her from a place where the males where seperate from the females as she will come home pregnant if she is over 4-5 weeks old! And their litters can be quite large! How many should I get? Female mice generally get allong fine in groups or pairs and really should not be kept singly as they are very sociable but males tend to do well either alone or in large groups. Where should I buy/adopt a mouse from? You can get mice at allot of places. Petshops are probably the most common place to get a first mouse. But I advise people to ask local rescues, humane society's, and even dog pounds to see if they have any mice in need of homes. Also look in newspapers, internet adds, etc for people who had accidental litters or for mouseries. If you get from a petshop please be aware that these mice are often not handled, were probably bred to be food, are most likely inbred, and just might not have a good temprament. Also buying from feeder bins supports this cruel practice. However if you resort to a petshop ask if they have been handled, if the females are separate from the males, what bedding do they use, are they friendly, etc. Petshop mice quite often come home pregnant as well as some shelters and rescues where people drop off the mice with both genders mixed in one cage, etc. Allot of people will say mouseries is the best place to get mice (especially small mouseries that only breed 1-3 litters at a time) because GOOD mouseries handle the mice since they're young, feed them the best food, breed for good health and temrament, and have a wide variety to choose from. I will add some internet links to other mouseries on here soon but if you need them before hand just ask e-mail me! |