# New Member (Hello!)



## NicciM (Oct 1, 2018)

Hello,

Thank you for accepting me! I'm Nicci, from the UK. I'm new to the concept of pet mouse ownership (we had some when I was a young child but never since). I'm currently looking at adopting four female babies, but I'm finding that a lot of the information online is very conflicting.

I've purchased a wooden vivarium which is 4ftx2ftx2ft. I was then told that ventilation may be an issue and that the mice may be able to push out the ventilation caps in the back, so we've decided to push the vivarium against the wall so they can't be pushed out and fit (more) new ventilation into the top of the vivarium. For hanging toys I think I'm going to go for command hooks on the top of the vivarium - hopefully this is okay? We're also going to make a few shelves that we can put in/take out and move around.

I'm currently looking into bedding that minimizes the smell as much as possible (suggestions welcome) - currently leaning towards Back2Nature but this doesn't look comfortable. Leaning towards hay and potentially carefresh as nest building/bedding materials. Is there a preference for how many water bottles four female mice should have?

I'm also getting conflicting advice on food/treats. My local shop sells Science Selective Mouse food, but is that any good? Other than that I've heard about rat food. I've also heard to add other things like dry pasta and rice, fresh vegetables and fruit, porridge oats and mealworms etc. Does that sound right?

I really want to do right by these girls, so any and all advice is welcomed!

Thank you!


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## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

Welcome,

I think you may want to consider a container/tank with a greater height and ventilation within a vivarium may be a concern.
Bedding, I use aspen- avoid pine bedding as it causes respiratory complications.

I do not know what Science Selective Mouse food contains. I would avoid too much corn, as it is a filler. I provide mine mixed quantities of bird food, dog food, cat food, egg yolks, and vegetables (mainly carrots and peas). I recommend investing in a large exercise wheel that is either for rats or chinchillas. One water bottle and wheel should be sufficient. You will want to add plenty of bedding (tissues, hay, etc) and nesting boxes.

Good luck!


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi Nicci, welcome amongst us


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

Welcome! 
Science Selective is a very good brand. It gets expensive with many mice, but for a single group of females should be good


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## NicciM (Oct 1, 2018)

Lake Mousery said:


> Welcome,
> 
> I think you may want to consider a container/tank with a greater height and ventilation within a vivarium may be a concern.
> Bedding, I use aspen- avoid pine bedding as it causes respiratory complications.
> ...


Hi! We've replaced the lid with mesh and it has vents down the back so plenty of ventilation! This is what it looks like now - I've got a big rope and some more hammocks etc to go in hopefully this evening!  Thank you for your help


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

Your cage looks amazing!!


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