# Can you keep mice in a insulated shed?



## Sally (Jan 11, 2013)

Hi, I am new to the forum, and I am looking into getting some mice. I was wondering can they live happily in a insulated shed? Any advice would be great. Thanks


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## ThatCertainGlow (Jun 23, 2012)

If you are in the UK, most tend to agree it works fine. The US or other locations, it may, or may not, be really important about the insulation, plus, some places require electric for extra cooling. All depends on where you are planning to keep the shed.

-Zanne


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## littlelovesmousery (May 19, 2012)

You just want to make sure it's got a lot of ventilation. I'm in the Midwest(Kansas) and am building a shed when we move to Oklahoma this summer, so I've got the building plans lined out and my shed will be insulated because of the heat in OK during the summer. I'm not so much worried about the cold as long as they have plenty of nesting material but the heat is much more of a concern in my opinion. During the summer I'll have at least one, if not two air conditioners to keep the shed cool and the insulation will help for sure!


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## gyri (Nov 20, 2012)

I keep my feeders in a shed with electricity. It does get quite cold and the insulation in the shed is poor so I keep a heating pad on the low setting under one end of the tank, built a little cardboard mansion directly above the heating pad, and gave the mice PLENTY of material to insulate with. To keep the heat in the tank and to prevent the water from freezing I throw a blanket over the entire tank on cool nights. The water has never frozen, even when temps are well below freezing outside, and whenever I stick my hand inside or take apart their cardboard house it feels very comfortable in there. If you use a human heating pad to provide heat take care to ensure it will not get too hot. If the low setting is still too hot you can hook up a dimmer, commonly available in pet stores. Also, many human heating pads turn themselves off after a set amount of time. That's no good, you would need one that stays on or if it will turn off, plug it into a timer and rig it to turn off briefly and then back on every now and then so it doesn't stay off.

I live in Vermont and so far have had no issues with temps down around 15F or -10C. It can get quite a lot colder here and will keep a close eye on the setup when we get a good cold snap. At my latitude (43) I would not expect any need for cooling in the summer.


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## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

are you in the uk?


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## gyri (Nov 20, 2012)

Nah, Vermont in the US. About the same climate though.


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## Sally (Jan 11, 2013)

besty74 said:


> are you in the uk?


Yes, I am in Cambridgeshire


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## gyri (Nov 20, 2012)

Sally said:


> besty74 said:
> 
> 
> > are you in the uk?
> ...


Ah crap, for a moment there I thought besty74 made the original post and was talking to me! Haha, oh well.


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## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

a shed is fine, extra bedding in winter will help, i have mine in a garage with an electric radiator for the coldest winter nights but its not an essential.


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## Sally (Jan 11, 2013)

Thanks for your advice everyone


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