# Toys and Homemade Stuff



## Kage Davies

What toys do you guys give your mice? Apart from the wheel, I mean :3. There never appears to be much for sale save for houses and wooden blocks .

Do you ever make anything from scratch, or old household stuff? What's safe to use, and what's not? I know PVA glue is recommended, and child safe should be okay... And no cotton wool o.o. Is all kinds of cardboard okay?

And lastly, what do you let your pregnant does keep? I know that too much climbing and wheel running is bad, but... What can they have instead?

N00b questions alert, but I'm curious ~


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## Angelmouse

Some of my mice have hammocks but unless you can make them your self its expensive, I dont, apart from that old toilet rolls kitch rolls obviously, empty cereal boxes or snack boxes, wood is not good as it starts to stink after a while...it just wont wash out, I have just thrown away 2 large wooden ladders and 3 wooden houses now my mouse room smells sweeter 

Apart from that not much else not sure about corrugated card (if thats how you spell it  )


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## SarahY

Mine get a plastic house, which i think is called a hamster igloo (the lid comes off), a small wooden toy to chew, but I have to replace them regularly because they stink after a while, cardboard bits and pieces, and black tubes from Wickes, which I cut up. Only the tame mice get these, as I can't get nervous mice out of them!

Sarah xxx


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## Maplewood Stud

my mice are quite spoilt when it comes to toys  they have the obvious stuff such as loo rolls etc. ive always found that wooden tubes are really good as it gives them something to chew and therefore keeps their teeth healthy but as mentioned before it does begin to stink after a short while, also wooden stuff can be quite expensive.
the toys my mice have in their cage is stuff designed for kittens or small birds as the mouse stuff as u said is *swear word*.
the things i have brought include a scruffy budgie toy that is made of raggy material and wood that has a hook so can be hung up - my mice love playing with this as they can hide in it as well as chew it etc.. they also have a few balls that are made up of string - these are good as it doesnt matter if they get chewed as they are only cheap and wont hurt the mice in any way as wont get any sharp edges etc, my mice particularly smokey loves the string balls as they are quite small and he can pick them up and carry them - which he does alot as well as trying to post it through the wire to me so i can play too lol 
erm what else... ah... my mice also have a twiggies wicker ball that has treats inside.. these are brilliant as when the mice have chewed the ball to get the treat out they can nest in side it or u can continue to put other treats inside.. 
thats about it i think, hope it helps, x


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## Cait

If you're a craft type person you can crochet nets and ladders for them to climb. Personally I wouldn't know where to start and I've forgotten how to knit, but when I had pet mice my mum made me some stuff by crocheting and they loved it, including a hammock. Other than that cardboard in general, like packets, tubes and egg boxes, a solid wheel, ropes etc.

I don't use toys and wheels for the mice because it's not practical as a large scale breeder (approx 45 cages at a time) but even when I did I didn't let pregnant does keep the wheel or any tubes for safety reasons. They can have cardboard but make sure that you offer a house with no bottom for them to have babies in as you'll want to be able to lift it off easily to inspect the litter.


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## Kage Davies

Aaah, well I bought two houses, and both of them have lids that come off, instead. Will that be okay?

Eugh, knitting. I tried that once, I think. I ended up doing something unholy with the knitting needles, and never trying again . I was going to try and rig something with some sock. I'll just cut holes in it and use some cable ties imaginatively, and see what happens.

Alrighty, no wheel and no tubes. Not even big tubes? I guess she might decide to make a nest in too big a tube o.o.

See, I always felt a little squicky about using loo rolls, but we use kitchen roll in the bottom of they're cage/box (Remi loves nothing more than digging up all the carefresh so she can systematicall shred the kitchen roll on the bottom. Then she'll replace everything in one of the nests with it, piece by piece. I tried just putting kitchen roll in the nest, but it dosn't work XD). So kitchen rolls are always good. I looked at the bird toys, but they all seem to have bells on . That would drive me insane, as they live in my bedroom. But kitten toys, never thought of that.

Wicker ball with treats in?  I think I need to find one of those. Especially if its still useable afterwoods.

Hamster igloos! I use those. I bought the semi opaque ones so I can tell if its occupied, after I picked up the wooden house and Uri literally pinged herself to the floor o.o.

Wood is good for chewing. I have to keep wood in with the geckos. The only way to really get it clean is to soak it with boiling water, then scrub it repeatedly with soap and a toothbrush (non toxic hand soap is best) and then soak it in more water, over and over again, until the bubbles stop coming up. This can take hours. -_-;

So does anyone use like... ropes or anything? I think someone suggested that to me before, but I've never seen any thing enough to attatch properly....


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## Maplewood Stud

heres a few



















and i got mine from pampurred pets  x


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## Cait

Kage Davies said:


> Aaah, well I bought two houses, and both of them have lids that come off, instead. Will that be okay?
> 
> Alrighty, no wheel and no tubes. Not even big tubes? I guess she might decide to make a nest in too big a tube


Not really, you'd be better with one with no bottom - hard to get your hand into one where only the lid comes off. Whereas lifting it off means you can get to all the babies easily.

Tubes = mum might make a nest in one and you don't want babies in a tube where you can't see or get to them. Of course the mothers would also squeeze themselves through even when golf-ball-like so not the best plan :lol:


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## Kage Davies

I'll find something bottomless then. I need some more anyway :3. And no tubes XD. I'm so glad there are people who I can ask stuff o.o.


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## daisy

yes yes, dont make the mistake i did once! gave a pgtips box as a nesting box which is a good size but i think it was xfactor distracted me and i forgot to cut the bottom out then the mouse droped her sprogs in it and i couldnt get to them didnt know what kinda babies i had for quite a few days before i had to mess up the nest much to her annoyance


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## Cait

My mice don't actually have 'houses' as I discovered they prefer a huge pile of bedding that they then weave into a really good nest. I'm not suggesting anyone else do this but it works well for my lot  Be careful that any house you use has enough ventilation as they can get a bit 'sweaty' with condensation inside otherwise. It might be a better idea to use a strong cardboard box cut in half (so no bottom) with a door cut in. Disposable, cheap and perfect for the job!


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## daisy

i have seen this with ians mice that make the most beautiful nests from hay and other bedding materials, quite impressive! i have fashioned a nesting area in some of my RUB's recently where i melt a cut-out section of plastic into the end creating a little wall that keeps all the bedding in without having a top which ive found better as makes sense from what u said cait about getting sweaty so i might not bother with little houses again for litters


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## Kage Davies

That sounds like a plan to me. Plastic gets sweaty easily, as I found when all four of my meese slept in the igloo all at once :3. Mine tend to make their nests where they want anyway, and sod the boxes/houses/igloos. They take out all the paper and find somewhere else :lol:. I had a whole back corner half of the cage nest once o.o.


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## Cait

Well there you go, Daisy, you have seen them in action (since Ian's are descended from mine)  The divider you have made sounds like what is put into traditional wooden breeding boxes - it's been working for over 100 years so no reason why it wouldn't now


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## SarahY

With regards to litters, when I was breeding rats I used to take the house away when the kittens reached 3 weeks old - I found that they could become quite skitty if they had somewhere to hide but got used to us walking by or peering in much more easily if they had to put up with it, and they became lovely relaxed adolescents.

Sarah xxx


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## Dragonfly-Stud

Already replied once but vanished when I clicked submit ?????
Anyhows I use plastic pipe cut into rings approx 4" wide for nesting works great ...did use wood dividers but got far too stinky. 
Great to see and handle nests, if it's warm the nest are open if cold they go under the bedding to form a solid roof also I'm able to pick up the whole litter in one hand for inspection.


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## ian

Yes, Daisy's new tanks are like a plastic version of the old style wooden breeding boxes, it does look really good. I'm saving up for a soldering iron so I can start doing some more adventurous conversions.

I used to use wooden bird nesting boxes for my mice to litter in, they were big and had a hinged lid. It worked well in the summer but now the weather is colder the condensation builds up too quickly, also mine live in a garage so I'm not too fussed about the smell. Now I just let them build their own nests, I find if the does are given a good load of hay about a week before thye give birth they ahve time to gnaw it all and they make it really soft and safe for the pinkies.

I give my bucks a wheel usually, but I wouldnt buy any new ones but I did buy about 5 on the cheap when I started out as I had few enough mice to warrant having wheels. I give the groups of young does tubes and things and they shred them and add them to their nests.

This isnt a toy as such but my new blue does spend huge amounts of time and absolutely love eating big dog biscuits, it takes up loads of their time and must be good for the teeth.

I have a big tank of my old pet shop and a few select retired does which I love chucking stuff in to see what they do with it. I really like tall tanks which you can hang stuff from and watch the mice climbing. I have used a lot of parrot toys and ropes. I also have a long bendy tube and chains and stuff, they seem to have a really good time.

Mice can find use with almost anything, you dont even need to buy things, just throw in loads of cardboard boxes in a pile and let them bite their own holes in them to make a maze and it will add several levels to increase the usage of the tanks space several times over.


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## Kage Davies

Awesome, thanks for the advice :3.

I shall start hoarding cardboard ASAP then. Dog biscuits, you say? Like treat biscuits or food biscuits? I could try hanging some puppy treats from the ceiling with string.

All my mice get hay, just because I was paranoid about them running out of food or something, and I saw how much they enjoy it. They burrow in it, or drag it all places.... I'll make sure that I put some into the breeding tubs, then.

What age do you recommend reintroducing toys to does/babies then?  Four weeks, when they're seperated? Mine have a lot of toys, because they're spoilt :roll:. But my does are used to having lots of things to climb on now, but I don't want to risk any accidents....


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## Cait

Make sure any hay you use is good quality because it's notorious for bringing in mites. You can freeze it although it's not practical for large amounts or people with small freezers lol. Shredded paper is also good for nesting.

I'd say when the babies are 3.5 weeks plus they could have safer toys and a wheel. Just keep an eye on them but I'm sure they'll be fine.


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## Angelmouse

If you use hay you may want to freeze it for a few days, as mites live in hay as some of us have found out. If you take out what you need and put it in the freezer in a bag, this should kill any mites etc, just make sure you take it out to Thaw/warm up a bit before you give it to your mice


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## Angelmouse

'Mousebreeder' you beat me to it :lol:


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## Kage Davies

Freeze it, you say? I shall. I've always given my Guineas the same kind of hay, and they've never had mites... But better to be safe than sorry, all the same. I can always take it out by the handful and freeze it in a bag. They don't need a lot all at once :3.

I tend to be lazy and buy the 60p bags of petshop shredded paper bedding . That's going to get too expensive soon, me thinks.


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## Cait

If your parents/family members/boyfriend work in an office you can usually get it free. I'm a regular in our HR department :lol: When people ask what I do with it we just tell them I spend hours sticking it back together to read the confidential shredding...


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## Kage Davies

:lol: :lol: :lol: Priceless.

No, unfortunately not T_T. My Daddy is a bus driver, my mother hates me and the OH works as a notetaker for my University :3. But I wonder if the department office would let me have their shreddings....


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## Cait

Most places are happy to get rid of it because otherwise they have to pay for a company to come and dispose of it. It's always worth asking!


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## Kage Davies

The worst they can do is say no. They already know I'm an animal owning nutcase XD.

(Most of the guys on my course don't really see the point of spending money on keeping pets instead of shiny new game stuffs. Which is fair enough, considering the specialisation )


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