# temperature range for mouse cage?



## scrapheapchallenge (Sep 17, 2012)

Hi all, I'm new to keeping mice, Monaro is my first one and I want to make sure I do everything right. With winter coming on I'm a little worried about keeping his habitat at a stable temperature.

I'm wanting to get a thermometer or two so that I can monitor the temperature in his cages, I was thinking of those stick-on ones that you use for fish tanks or vivariums that adhere to the outside of the tank?

Does anyone use thermometers to monitor their mice's habitat, and what would you say is an acceptable upper and lower temperature reading to keep mice healthy?

He has a couple of bedroom pods and a nest turret, with various bedding materials in them (shredded paper, rodent safe biodegradable fluff, natural meadow hay), and he appears to prefer his cardboard turret with shredded paper and a little fluff in it. He lives on his own so doesn't have other mice to snuggle up with.

I worry because in my flat I have night storage heaters, which tend to cause what I would consider extremes of temperature throughout the day, so I really want to keep an eye on his environment so that I can learn to adjust how I heat the room to suit him.

The problem with the night storage heaters is that they come on at about 3-4am to charge up, so from 4am-8am ish the room is pretty hot. It is then ok from morning to afternoon, but then the temperature (when it's cold outside) starts to drop in the evening until about 11pm or so it can get pretty chilly.

Does anyone have tips for keeping temperature stable, warming pads that can be used under plastic tanks etc? (I was wondering if I can get some kind of warming pad and put it under one part of his complex, if it is too warm for him he can always move to a different, unheated part of the complex instead?)

I'd appreciate any suggestions, thanks!

Kirsty


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## scrapheapchallenge (Sep 17, 2012)

By the way I haven't turned on the night storage heaters yet this year, if it gets a bit chilly in the evenings I've been boosting the temperature in here a bit by putting on the halogen bar heater for a little while (not facing the cage), but I'll probably be wanting to fire up the night storage heaters in the next week or two I'd think.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

my mice live outside in a shed and they have so far done well with no heating, i do give them extra bedding though. Ive been told heat is more of a problem than cold for mice. 
They put Plastic pens on reptile heater mats for the small/baby exotics so i guess you could try a small one if you realy want to but it would need a thurmerstat i would of thought.
As for a thomiter id just get a normal one and have it sitting next to his tank.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Heat is absolutely more of a problem than cold.....but the biggest issue for them I think is rapid temperature changes that don't allow them to adjust.....they have tiny little bodies....and their matabolism just isn't going to be able to easily adjust for large jumps in temperature outside of their ideal temperature range over short periods of time.....and such rapid shifts puts a lot of stress on their bodies and can weaken their immune systems.


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## scrapheapchallenge (Sep 17, 2012)

thanks for the feedback. I had read that overheating is more of a problem than cold, but also had a friend with pet rats, one of whom perished from cold one winter when the house boiler broke, the other only survived because she cuddled him in bed until he came round from the warmth.

The thermometer idea is more to make sure he doesn't get too hot in the mornings once I need the night storage heaters on. I have had to put the one on in the lounge already this week, but I've been cautious. Before I used to only heat the lounge and bedroom, and keep doors closed to keep the heat in so it didn't get wasted in the hallway etc, but with Monaro in mind this year I've started differently:

I put the heater on 1 & 1 - that is input of 1, and output of 1, and left the door open to the hall to make sure the room didn't overheat. I checked in the morning - the heater was pretty much stone cold, so I have learnt that setting 1 does nothing.

Next night I set it to input 2, output 1, and left the hall door open. It was neither hot nor cold in the morning, but got cold in the evening so I had to use the halogen heater again.

Last night I put it at input 3, output 1, door open, and this morning it was pleasantly warm, but not hot, in here. It hasn't got unpleasantly cold this evening either, so I think I've hit on the right balance, although in a couple of months things will be different!

The reason I want a thermometer in the tank is more to make sure he doesn't get too hot, what in celcius or farenheight, would you say is the maximum heat level before I should worry? I don't have the option of putting him outside by the way as I live in a flat.

Thanks again, Kirsty


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