# Rehoming to Pet Homes



## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

I'm certain I've mentioned to most of you that the majority of my excess mice go out as feeders. There's a very strong Herp community in my area, and while I do find some pet homes, there simply isn't enough interest in Arkansas for pet mice. Recently, a girl contacted me (not sure of age), saying that she's had dwarf hamsters for several years, but is looking to keep mice now that all her hamsters are gone. I've been talking to her about keeping mice, cages, etc, but she's insistent on keeping them in the Habitrail dwarf hamster cage with tubes and wheels and whatnot. I know it seems odd to some that a feeder-breeder would be so concerned about good pet homes, but that's really part of why I mostly feeder-breed. I've seen so many poorly-kept mice being accidentally killed or tortured by their owners, I'd honestly just rather them euthanized properly after a happy life here.

I'm a little concerned about her age, and also quite concerned about the cage. I know some folks here have mentioned the Ovo cages, but does anyone use the bars-and-tubes cages for mice? Are any of them appropriate for mice? Also, how do I find out about her age/parental involvement without being rude?


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

uhg tell her to get a new cage. I used one once, worst mistake of my life. Mice rip them apart. Atleast in my experience. Its been bitten to shreds and it was the reason one of my mice got mauled by my dog.


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## Galaxy (May 25, 2011)

I totally disagree with you Salemouse. My mice are in a habitrail ovo and they are all happy. They have plenty of things to chew on so haven't been interested in the cage and I inspect it daily just in case. I don't agree with feeder breeding but that is my opinion and each to their own. As to the girl ask her outright how old she is. If shes on the straight and narrow she'll tell you the truth, Laigaie but go with your gut instinct when and if you get a response. At the end of the day its your decision.


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

True! It didnt help I got mine secondhand, the girl didnt take good care of it, so that was probably the reason. :/ I'm sure they work well when well cared for.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Lagaie, parental consent is super important. Just mention casually that all adoptors must be 18 or have parental consent. I'm sure she'll say something.

Just the fact that you are the breeder and she will not listen to you in order to get your mice is concerning to me, however. I tell any breeder I adopt from "hey! how can I best keep your mice?" I also would deny adoption to anyone who went against me so strongly. I don't like crittertrails but it would be anything I cared about, you know. It's up to you...if you feel you would rather see the animals go as pets in a potentially bad cage than as feeders it's your choice as the breeder.

...but don't let her boss you.


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## jadeguppy (Jun 4, 2011)

I have a 10g set up in my classroom and one of the students brought two crittertrail cages and lots of tubes to add to it. I hooked up one of the cages via the tubes. The mice love it. They run all over both cages, use both wheels, and go up the tubes into the two differetn "hidden" compartments. They sleep in different areas throughout the day, but I nearly always find them in the same nest in the morning, especially if I'm the first one inn the room. The crittertrail tubes have ridges on the inside to help with grip. I've also heard of people usiong the dwarf tubes, which are smaller in diameter and have smaller ridges if from the ovo brand.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

As I said, *Galaxy*, I know several folks who're happy with the Ovos, but they're mostly plastic, not the old-style barred habitrails that this girl is talking about. I just don't know enough about them to be comfortable, what with the variable bar widths and the not-terribly-ventilated tubes.

And *tinyhartmouseries*, I definitely feel you about it being a reason for concern. I just... I think it's my gut telling me something is wrong here. I'm used to adult pet owners, adults adopting for children, and herp owners. All of those are very direct with me, so seeing a potential owner who makes me uncomfortable is just unusual.

*jadeguppy*, I'm used to the crittertrail/habitrail stuff being connected to a 10g, but this girl just has the habitrail stuff, no tank. They're normally marketed toward children owners of dwarf hamsters.

I'll keep talking to her, and see if I can meet with her. Worst to worst, she shows up to pick up mice, and I say no. I've definitely had to do that with foster kittens before.


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

Well, age can deffinatly be a factor (I being still seventeen have no room to talk) but even if you don't giv her the mouse, I would try to educate her on mice care. If she is perserverent, she will find ehrself to a mouse, and its best if she was prepared. :/ I know I wish I had been in the begining.


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## Galaxy (May 25, 2011)

Ok Laigaie I guess I misread your 1st post (I was tired etc) I agree with you about the old style cage - I personally don't like them , if its the habitrail mini it isn't really big enough for 2 mice - I have had this particular cage and it is now in the bin. The top pf the cage kinda just rests on the base and if you forget everything falls on the floor. I
f she is being soooo very insistant on knowing best then I would avoid her with a ten foot barge pole. She probably doesn't have parental consent if she is under 18 and could possibly be being sneaky. You could try and educate her as to the best mouse care but I think you might be wasting your time. But again it is your decision - we can only give our opinions etc. She might listen.
Salemouse - all my cages are brand new. I did think about getting a 2nd hand cage but decided against it & am relieved that I did so. But even though you are 17 you sound like you are lookig after mice.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

One time I had a little girl call to adopt and then the mom called me and asked what kind of hamster it was. The girl and I had clearly talked about mice. When I told the mom it was a mouse, I got "ick no way!". So she could definitely be trying to be sneaky here.


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## mousery_girl (Nov 13, 2011)

hey hey! whoo there lol. I have habitrails... i only use them for males tbh but they are great. She won't torchure her mouse just because its not in an ordinary square box give her a chance!


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## Galaxy (May 25, 2011)

My point was that the habitrail bottom & top come apart really easily as the top section just rests on the bottom & if you forget & pick it up in like a sideways sweep everything falls on the floor & that was what I found was the big downside to me about them. If they had clips or something it would be a better design.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

My point is that I have no intention of selling mice to someone who has no interest in the opinions of the breeder, and who has no intention of spending even a very small amount of money on getting an appropriate housing for a pair of females. The cage she described wasn't big enough, and wasn't safe enough, as I found out later she had younger siblings and cats. She stopped contact shortly after I told her I refused to supply mice to live in that cage. I still assume that she bought from a petstore instead (or convinced her parents to), but at least I did what I could do.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

I'm glad to hear that. I personally don't like tube cages- mice can pull bedding in and get trapped. :/ And it's hard to get them out in an emergency. I have a critter-trail ish thing that came with a rescue doe, but even if Augustus would like it, I won't put him in it because they're so risky and tough to clean. It's empty right now.

Young isn't nessecarily bad. I'm 16. 25 pets of my own, all healthy and happy, and my family. I give them everything I can give them and my life is dominated by what THEY need, not what I need. I rarely spend money on myself. This year's christmas list is a pair of flying saucers and money for vet care. If I can pull it off I might try for some videogames or something else fancy from one side of the family, but only after I'm sure there will be enough money to keep me going for a while.

The problem happens is when teenagers are being both young and belligerant. Often we seem to think we know everything and refuse to learn. I'm in it for the animals. Some people I know (and cannot stand) consistently mistreat thier pets, BYB, do irrisponsible and stupid things that they KNOW not to do, and try to tell me a popsicle stick will kill my mouse. They are loosing sight of the reasons behind pets. I mentioned today how frustrated I was that my mice have mites, and a girl went, "MY animals never get sick." I couldn't help but wonder if she even knows what sick looks like in a rodent. Then proceeded to tell me about a rat getting ciggarette smoke blown in his poor sweet face. :'(

Anyway, point being- there are good young owners. Sometimes they seem few and far between, but they do exist. This person just wasn't one.


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

Moonfal, at the risk of sounding patronising (which is not my intention), can I say what a pleasure it is to meet such a sensible and caring teenager.

I agree with you about the tube cages. Mice can have a lot of fun in them, but someone I know lost a pet because it got trapped. Also, they are very hard to clean and can get very smelly, especially if a buck is kept in them. But that is just my personal opinion.

I have only just started breeding, so am not really qualified to say much on the matter of selling for pets. However, I would like to share this experience: I posted pictures of the litter on another site (one mainly for pet owners) and, to my delight, have found possible homes for the surplus mice. They will be just pets, yes, but the owners concerned are all very caring. I would not let them go if I was not satisfied that their new owners knew what they were doing.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

Aw, thank you! It means a lot to hear that. I try to give them the best life I can, they deserve everything I give them. They bring so much joy to my life.

The one I have was nasty when I got it. I gave up on it, there's no way to get it apart, removed the mouse after QT, and put her in a tank with my other does. It was a battle to keep those tubes open, I checked twice, sometimes three times a day to make sure she was alright and remove the bedding she'd stuff in them. She never got stuck but she could have. The wheels are not safe either and they get SO smelly SO fast, and poop rattles around in there. Then they're running and breathing in ammonia, and all sorts of nastiness. I could see the cages as working in an emergency or with someone committed who checked the tubes often and cleaned it very frequently. I wouldn't have the patience for that, it's much easier to dump out a tank and give it a good wipe down, then put new stuff in. I rarely re-use toys, I almost always have cardboard cage furniture so that they can destroy it and I can throw it away when it gets peed on.

Oh, I'm glad they have good homes lined up. I'm such a big softie.


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## Fraction (Aug 29, 2011)

MoonfallTheFox said:


> Young isn't nessecarily bad. I'm 16. 25 pets of my own, all healthy and happy, and my family. I give them everything I can give them and my life is dominated by what THEY need, not what I need. I rarely spend money on myself. This year's christmas list is a pair of flying saucers and money for vet care. If I can pull it off I might try for some videogames or something else fancy from one side of the family, but only after I'm sure there will be enough money to keep me going for a while.


Hello, me!  My money is spent on my dogs and my mice... anything left after that goes to video games. I haven't bought any clothes, had my hair cut, got any makeup, etc, for at least 6 months. According to my friends I'm crazy and obsessed, but my pets seem happy and that's all that matters.


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