# Newbie with lots of questions



## Jordan's (Apr 12, 2010)

We have had a good read of the forum and seen the pics of other peoples set ups which are fab by the way. Now first thing is houseing our mice, I have seen some home made tubs on here which are great but I am not sure we are able to make them so if we were going to buy plastic tanks from the pet shop what should we be looking for? Some tanks seem quite high and it seems this space is wasted, so i have seen the Geo large flat tank, is this too small? its 48 cm x 30 cm and 17cm high. Whats the adverage space for a single mouse? At the moment we have 2 girls and 3 boys, the boys are living in 1 pair and a single and the girls a pair. whats the standard furnishings for a cage/tank, would it be say a house food bowl water bottle and a wheel? is a wheel needed to help with exercise?

Sorry for all the questions but I didnt find anything that matched our questions on the forum as the size of tanks really seems to range


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Hello 

Lots of people have a lot of rather different ideas on these things - it's down to personal preference and what works for you. Mice are very happy little souls generally, I've noticed that as long as they are clean, fed, and have other mice to play with they don't really care what you decide to keep them in.

I use lab cages about the same dimensions as the Geo flat tank you've described. In one lab cage I'll keep four adult does, one buck and his wives, or a doe and her litter. The geo large flat tank you've described is perfectly fine for housing breeding mice.

My mice don't have toys in their cage, just a big pile of hay. The smell of wee is greatly decreased without toys so their environment is healthier and the mice are just as happy as the pet mice I used to have in a big aquarium with loads of toys.

Sarah xxx


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## Jordan's (Apr 12, 2010)

Thats a great help thank you sarah


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## Matt Haslam (Mar 13, 2010)

I use plastic tubs, no toys either. Keeping them clean is my main priority.


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

That's interesting that less toys smells less - why is this?

I use the flat tubs and they comfotably hold 5 mice, little smell.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Less toys = less wee covered surfaces, nooks and crannies to keep clean, and more wee being soaked up by the substrate. It doesn't sound like it'd make that much of a difference, but it really does! Plastic toys are not _so _bad, but wood ones reek.

Sarah xxx


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I alternate between having the tank full of things to having it very nearly empty. When I clean out a tank that was full of toys and put the meeces back in with just clean bedding, they often literally jump for joy, and I think they really like the change. Mousies seem to love novelty and I try to give them something new and different every time I change the cage. When I'm feeling less energetic the tubes and wheels and other stuff may just sit clean in the hampers I have for storage. I love to watch my mousies play and give them every opportunity to do so. thought, I have to say that I also use cardboard, both little boxes and paper product tubes of various sorts, egg cartons, and so forth, and they have the virtue of being broken down into bits which adds to the bulk of the bedding, and is absorbent.

For tanks though, I favor plexiglass tanks, which are easy to clean, and give me a good view of my little darlings. Watching them is often the high point of my day.


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## Elven (Apr 18, 2010)

I keep toys for mice that dont have babies. But with litters its easier to watch them grow if they are clearly visible. I mean not hiding in a nest. And taming young ones is easier when you dont have to catch them from hiding holes.


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## Erica (Apr 18, 2010)

I keep my mice in plastic sterilite containers that I buy from walmart... they have the locking, flip-up sides, so they are easy to get into, and close quickly in an emergency (i.e. one escaping!). As soon as I buy them, I burn holes into the tops and sides with a small soldering iron. I give them each a mini igloo to hide under and it keeps the mommys feeling safe, though they dont all use them. I keep them together in pairs or a mother with her little ones. I then keep smaller containers for the males who are separated for mommys to have their babies. I give occasional toys to the mothers with babies, but I rarely see anyone playing with them.

The only thing that I don't like about the sterilite containers is the lack of room for water bottles, my mice all eat and drink out of condiment cups, which fills up quickly with substrate and food, so I have to clean their water about 3 times a day.


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