Hey Peppermint!
Yeah I know what you mean, it's all very confusing and hard to know what to choose in terms of all the options. My smallest enclosure is a 15 gallon aquarium and the way up to a 40 gallon breeder. I have one mouse in each enclosure! I adopted 4 males and one female. Two of my males were bonded at one time and I eventually had to separate them as they started fighting. They had been in a tall 20 gallon together, and it was hard to keep clean. I think this had to do with two males scent marking in the same space, but I had to clean it often because I was worried it would be bad for their respiration, and it did smell so strong too! The 40 gallon breeder, I'm my opinion is the best size I have. I wish I could keep them all in 40's. I think you could keep maybe maximum 6 mice in one, and with the height there is lots of room for adding levels. My mouse in this tank size seems the most content. I know the others are doing well, but they have to get cleaned more frequently, and I feel I need to take them out to give them a break from their enclosure, which they enjoy anyways! But they do show more signs of wanting to get out and chewing at mesh lids etc. So I would say of all of the tanks I have the 40 gal gives the best quality of life and does not require as much frequent cleaning.
I do agree about the solid plastic wheels being better, mesh wheels are known to cause foot problems, and I think I would avoid that at all costs. The solid plastic wheels should be wiped or washed every day or so, because they get covered in urine and poop, and this making dirty mice feet can lead to issues. I read it can often lead to ear infection. A baby wipe to clean it off everyday or two should suffice. I do it when I check the water and food bowls as part of the daily routine. Be careful with your beddings and shoot for dust extracted stuff if you can. I get a big bag of heat treated/dust extracted small aspen chips made by Nepco for $30 and it lasts a good while. I have used hemp pellets in corners where I think they might be peeing to soak up urine and absorb odors, and I buy a bag of Oxbow shredded paper for areas of soft bedding and to put in the hides and for good digging material. I throw in some Oxbow botanical hay since they seem to enjoy that. I put the hay in the freezer for a day or two just to make sure its not harbouring any bugs as it seems sometimes mites can be introduced this way. These beddings have worked well for me in terms of everyone seeming healthy, dry, and fairly low odor, along with being occupied with digging and nest building. I used an air purifier near the enclosures too because sometimes the boys can be a bit smelly!
Whatever is the biggest and best you can offer I would say choose that. Know that males seldom do well together unless neutered, and that can be a risky and expensive procedure. I keep my males tanks side by side just so they don't feel lonely, and I handle them everyday too. This might make them competitive and scent mark more, but knowing how social mice are I prefer that they see each other for some connection. Females introduced in a neutral space often get along fine but you still need to watch for bullying. But way easier to fulfill the need for socializing by keeping a few females. I'd highly recommend a 40 breeder for that purpose too!
Read lots of opinions and information and figure out what works best for you and your mice. Along with mesh wheels and mesh bottomed cage be wary of the bedding that resembles cotton batting as it can get tangles around their littles toes and make trouble. I have one boy I adopted who came to me with a bad toe, I'm not sure what happened but his toenail is pulled upwards a bit away from his toe. It could also be ingested and cause problems like internal blockages. A lot of stores still sell stuff like this so be careful about the products you choose to give them.
I hope this helps!
Sunday
Yeah I know what you mean, it's all very confusing and hard to know what to choose in terms of all the options. My smallest enclosure is a 15 gallon aquarium and the way up to a 40 gallon breeder. I have one mouse in each enclosure! I adopted 4 males and one female. Two of my males were bonded at one time and I eventually had to separate them as they started fighting. They had been in a tall 20 gallon together, and it was hard to keep clean. I think this had to do with two males scent marking in the same space, but I had to clean it often because I was worried it would be bad for their respiration, and it did smell so strong too! The 40 gallon breeder, I'm my opinion is the best size I have. I wish I could keep them all in 40's. I think you could keep maybe maximum 6 mice in one, and with the height there is lots of room for adding levels. My mouse in this tank size seems the most content. I know the others are doing well, but they have to get cleaned more frequently, and I feel I need to take them out to give them a break from their enclosure, which they enjoy anyways! But they do show more signs of wanting to get out and chewing at mesh lids etc. So I would say of all of the tanks I have the 40 gal gives the best quality of life and does not require as much frequent cleaning.
I do agree about the solid plastic wheels being better, mesh wheels are known to cause foot problems, and I think I would avoid that at all costs. The solid plastic wheels should be wiped or washed every day or so, because they get covered in urine and poop, and this making dirty mice feet can lead to issues. I read it can often lead to ear infection. A baby wipe to clean it off everyday or two should suffice. I do it when I check the water and food bowls as part of the daily routine. Be careful with your beddings and shoot for dust extracted stuff if you can. I get a big bag of heat treated/dust extracted small aspen chips made by Nepco for $30 and it lasts a good while. I have used hemp pellets in corners where I think they might be peeing to soak up urine and absorb odors, and I buy a bag of Oxbow shredded paper for areas of soft bedding and to put in the hides and for good digging material. I throw in some Oxbow botanical hay since they seem to enjoy that. I put the hay in the freezer for a day or two just to make sure its not harbouring any bugs as it seems sometimes mites can be introduced this way. These beddings have worked well for me in terms of everyone seeming healthy, dry, and fairly low odor, along with being occupied with digging and nest building. I used an air purifier near the enclosures too because sometimes the boys can be a bit smelly!
Whatever is the biggest and best you can offer I would say choose that. Know that males seldom do well together unless neutered, and that can be a risky and expensive procedure. I keep my males tanks side by side just so they don't feel lonely, and I handle them everyday too. This might make them competitive and scent mark more, but knowing how social mice are I prefer that they see each other for some connection. Females introduced in a neutral space often get along fine but you still need to watch for bullying. But way easier to fulfill the need for socializing by keeping a few females. I'd highly recommend a 40 breeder for that purpose too!
Read lots of opinions and information and figure out what works best for you and your mice. Along with mesh wheels and mesh bottomed cage be wary of the bedding that resembles cotton batting as it can get tangles around their littles toes and make trouble. I have one boy I adopted who came to me with a bad toe, I'm not sure what happened but his toenail is pulled upwards a bit away from his toe. It could also be ingested and cause problems like internal blockages. A lot of stores still sell stuff like this so be careful about the products you choose to give them.
I hope this helps!
Sunday
