# bare bottom tank??



## jburgess (Mar 23, 2011)

Hello wondering if i could have a bare botton tank with a small box on one side, like a litter box full of litter( not cat litter, carefresh or aspen?) that would reduce the dust factor and make cleaning a breeze! the poop could get vacummed up and the litterbox thrown out twice a week?? Thoughts??? my mouse seems to not nest in the bedding i have in there now... she likes her fleece cozies!


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## thekylie (Mar 6, 2010)

I couldn't imagine my mice not being on anything at all. They poo and pee too much outside of their corners for that. I'd want at least a layer of paper towels down, but honestly, even if they aren't nesting in it, that bedding is doing the very important task of absorbing moisture and keeping the cage clean. Mice have very little control over their bowel movements. In my experience, if they have to go, they'll go. They might have one corner that gets more use than another, but there is always some waste left in other parts of the cage.

Edit: I know a lot of rabbit, cavy, and rat owners keep their animals with just a litter box and it works for them. It's how I keep my rabbit in fact. Mice just don't have the control the larger animals do. I have heard some people say mice can be litter trained, but I really don't believe it enough to not have any bedding at all, after observing all of my mice and how messy they can be.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

They would get very dirty indeed from walking all over their poo and wee on the bottom of the tank, mice are not as clean as some other small pets!

Sarah xxx


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## jburgess (Mar 23, 2011)

ok sounds good! i have lots of questions as you can see! i just went to my pet store all they sell is kaytee aspen, and carefresh ultra. the horse bedding is pine..yuck! so i picked up a bag of the aspen... hope i made the best choice! there is way to many options on here! and same with food making! haha i have lots to choose from i guess! thanx again for the help!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Aspen is generally good. Many of my meeces use one corner for pee and I scoop it out every night in those cages, which really helps to keep down the level of ammonia in the mousery. Some of the meeces (especially nursing does) also poo or carry the poo to the same end of the tank, leaving a relatively clean surface over about a half to a third of teh tank at the end with the nest.


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## cjdelphi (Mar 23, 2011)

I noticed that now she's feeding the babies she uses the corner opposite to go the toilet, one corner everywhere else is clean, so she toilet trained herself


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