I am trying to figure out how to stock mice for breeding...

If you've never owned mice as pets, you should not be breeding them yet. Take 6 months to a year to perfect caring for mice before you breed. (but be aware you should not breed older mice) It will make a big difference in the quality of their lives.
I'd also suggest you do a lot more research into it before you breed. Do you know how long a female mouse stays pregnant? Do you know what to do to prevent cannibalization of the babies? When do you separate the young mice to avoid unwanted litters? Ideally you should know the answers to questions like these before breeding. I'm sure others will have other good websites to refer you to for information.

MUST
-habitat (by this I'm guessing you mean a cage or tub of some sort)
-bedding
-mice
-food (If you're unsure about food, just go buy generic lab block mouse food from a pet store. It will be fine, especially for pet store quality mice. Some people may disagree with me, but making custom food is not something a beginner usually wants to deal with. If you do though, by all means, go for it!)
-water bottle mounted to the side of your enclosure.
-hard object for chewing (I use cardboard tubes, they love to rip them up. You can also get wooden blocks.)
-TONS of attention (of course!)
- A hide (I think you should add this to must. Mice need a place to sleep at night, to stay warm and feel secure.)

Males should not be kept together. There's always a good chance they will fight. If you're buying mice from a pet store, there's no way for you to know how old they are, if they've been exposed to females before, if they were in the same litter, what their temperaments are like etc. I see males with torn up ears and wounds in pet stores that house them together all the time. This is not safe. Males are very territorial and are not usually (there are some rare cases) "friends."

Keeping more than one female together is fine for breeding, and as pets.

There is no way to prevent back to back litters with only one cage available to you. Another concern I have is what are you going to do with the babies if no one can take them? You need to be prepared to keep them ALL. They're your responsibility if you breed them and you can't find homes for them. Your cage or tub will probably only be able to hold 3 females OR 1 male.

Hope this helps you! Feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions and I'd be glad to give you more specifics.

TheDarkGoby said:

I have permission for 1 mouse setup.

Click to expand...

Then you cannot breed is the short answer. Breeding pets (I assume these will be pets only) requires a minimum of three cages. One for the does and their litters pre-weaning (all does including baby does post-weaning), one for the baby bucks post-weaning and one for the adult buck. Even if you 'borrowed' a buck from a friend to impregnate your does, you'd still need a second set up for the baby bucks.

I am guessing that when you say 'permission' that this is from your parents? If so it might be a good idea to get them to read up on breeding mice so that they know what to expect, since they seem to have said that you're allowed to breed but have not realised what you will need in order to do this. Oh, and I also agree that buying a mouse 'ball' for exercise is pointless - mice would rather run around on you or in a safe area than inside a plastic ball.

Wait....I can keep a male by himself?? That changes everything! I can make room to provide space for a buck. As far as the babies, are mice Ok to raise outside? I know that they will need their mother for the first few weeks, but after they are weened?

As far as keeping mice before I breed them...I want to get 2 really young does and raise them for about 4-6 months so I get the hang of mouse care. I am not going to breed until I think I am ready. Right now I am sort of in the "research" phase, then the "practice" phase comes next, and then maybe the breeding "phase".

I am sorry, I guess I have been reading mostly on care and breeding ethnics instead of actual breeding care. This is not something that I am wanting to imediately rush into by any means. I want to be very responsible for me (possible) buck and doe. Technically, the "permission" thing was really more of a goal. I am clearing out some fish, though (like I was going to do anyway), so I will likely have plent of room to support the does, buck, and pups.

I have a local pet forum that often distributes pets. I also have a local pet store (independant) that keeps tons of mice, so I will run by there to see if I can sell/give them some. They take pretty good care of their mice as far as I can tell.

Thank you guys for helping me with the list. I have heard some people say that "their mice love balls", but I guess if they can't see, then the balls wouldn't be a good idea. I will get my mice one of those "solid" balls.

Also, has anyone used PVC in their mice habitats? I am wondering if they can climb straight up for short distances, of if I will have to do some kind of weird layering.

Thank you all, FancyMiceBreeders!

Ok, so it is sort of a personality-thing, I guess. I'll probably pick up a ball after I am possitive that I have everything I need, and can afford an emergency item or 2.

Also, I have been wondering. I saw this video on mice are the other day, and this person says that you *need* mite & lice spray for your mice. Is that true? I haven't heard from any other source that that should even be a *want*, let alone a *need*. What do you guys think?

As far as setups, I would need a setup for 2 females, a setup for 1 male, and a setup for all the 6 week old newborns, right? Do I have to separate all the males indiviually, or can I keep them all together since it is the same litter? I would also need to separate the females from the males much earlier than that point? Ok.

Sounds affordable, and doesn't sound like it would take up too much room. I am wondering if the small mice would eat through a plastic bin/tote if they were kept in one. I went to Petsmart the other day and saw tons of plastic hides with "extra doors" in them lol.

Anyway, I saw this habitat at Petsmart. I may do this for my females (if you guys think it is Ok.) and give my male an empty 10 gallon tank if that isn't too big for 1 mouse. Here is the setup I am looking at; http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753349 You can check out the dimensions on the page. It looks like fun. I may be able to get something a little bit bigger than this, if it is *needed*.

I would like to keep a buck in my (soon-to-be) empty 10 gallon tank, but I need to know if PVC is climbable for mice. If anyone knows if it is, or is not, please post so I can get an idea of the cost. Thank you.

PVC tubing is far too smooth and slippery for mice to climb up but it's safe to have in their cages. I'm afraid those crittertrail cages are no good for any animal, you would be better off with a fishtank.

As a minimum you'd need one tank/cage for your male, one tank/cage for your females (if this is big enough you can keep your young females in with their mums for life if you like), and one tank/cage for your weaned males. Males should be weaned at four and a half weeks (or one calendar month).

If you keep all of your males you could end up having to house each male seperately when they're older if they start fighting, so bear this in mind.

Don't waste money on a ball, they're not good for much. Mite and lice spray or powder is not necessary but still handy to have around.

Sarah xxx

Very helpful! Thank you!

I can house females in a glass aquarium, no problem. What about housing a male, though? What kind of setup would I need to get for that? Would one of those Crittertrail setups work for a male? I want something bright and colorful for him if that is possible.

btw, does anyone know where to find a male fancy mouse? I can't find one at Petsmart. All their rodents were females. I don't think I have any breeders in the area. Another question I have is, how much does mouse shipping usually cost? Just an estimate? I can tell you that fish keeping (overnight) generally runs about $30, frog shipping (overnight) usually runs about $40 (depending on the frog), etc. I may look into getting a mouse shipped to me if it isn't too much of a proplem to the mouse's health.

Is there any kind of tubing like PVC that wont cost me an arm and a leg? I like to be thrifty when I can be. I can certainly understand that PVC would be way to slick for mice. If only there was a way to texture that so that the mice can climb it.

Does anyone know what kind of silicone will work well with mice? I understand that some type I silicone works great with fish in aquariums, while some type II silicone works better with tile for geckos and stuff. Would there be a way that I could silicone an extra floor in a 10 gallon tank. I could use Plexiglass if that would help, that stuff is nearly indestructable. Maybe silicone on a floor or 2. I don't know where I would get the ramps, though.

Sorry for all the questions. I just don't want to be unprepared, or have dull, hardly usable setups.

Thanks again guys!

Males can be kept in tanks just like females, or if you want a critter trail you can do that, just be careful of bar size. It's generally less of an issue with bucks than with does, but you do need to be aware most bucks pee a LOT and those colorful cages can be really hard to get clean, and they like to pee on the bars, coating them with gunk. Nearly all my males did when they were in wire cages.

If your petsmart doesn't have males, one in a neighboring town might. You can call them and see before you make the trek. Local pet stores usually have mice, and if you ask someone who works there if they have mice and if they have any colors other than "white or brown" they might bring you some fancies. Shipping within the states costs around $300 because they can't be shipped like fish and reptiles and such, they have to be flown from place to place.

I haven't read to see what you want the PVC for, but if it's just for entertainment purposes, paper towel/ toilet paper/ other cardboard tubes are fun for them and they get to destroy them. Using Popsicle sticks and hot glue to build structures is a lot of fun, and if they get too dirty you just toss them and build something else. You can get tons of popsicle sticks from a craft store or sometimes walmart for like $5.

Any sealant used for fish aquariums is acceptable for mice. As far as ramps, you really don't have to use them. You can use bird ladders or make climbing ropes out of hemp rope that's been braided/knotted, or even fleece.