# Living situations



## Jack Garcia

I am curious about something. So many of us have dozens or hundreds of rodents. Do you live with other people? And if you do, what do they think? Did the people come first, or did the rodents? Of course if this is too personal you don't have to answer, but I wonder.

Myself: I live alone and devote an entire room of my apartment to just mice. The room literally has no other purpose. I am lucky to be able to afford this. It is a mixture of a deliberate choice and a default, I find. Even if I wanted to find a roommate to lower housing costs, I think it would be very difficult to find somebody who didn't already know me, who could "get over" the fact that I have a whole lot of mice, because then they'd all have to be moved into my bedroom.

I know only a couple of US breeders who keep their mice in a separate shed (our warm weather prohibits it generally), but even they seem to be viewed as eccentric nutjobs by those they live with. 

What say you?


----------



## ian

I live with my partner, We used to live in a flat where my rabbits lived in the kitchen and mice in the spare room. I never heard the end of moaning about the smell etc. So now everything lives in our garge, its a good space for the rabbits to roam about and plenty of shelving for the mice. I still have to hear moaning but now its because when I come in form cleaning out apparently now its me that stinks.


----------



## Matt Haslam

my partner thinks i'm a nutter, but then again i am technically!

my mice live in a shed, before that our garage. its where i have kept my rats for 6 years. its the smell in the house thing.

prior to that i had a gap of about 5 years where i didn't have rodents, before that i lived on my own in a 2 bedroom flat and had one room for rodents.


----------



## The Village Mousery

my mice live in my room so i can keep an eye on them. (got kids i really dont trust) and my partners just sick of hearing about mice but since i'm sick of hearing about guitars i think we are fair. The bloke came first, but i go to bed early to be with the mice lol hmmm worrying pmsl


----------



## Matt Haslam

Artuntaure said:


> my mice live in my room so i can keep an eye on them. (got kids i really dont trust) and my partners just sick of hearing about mice but since i'm sick of hearing about guitars i think we are fair. The bloke came first, but i go to bed early to be with the mice lol hmmm worrying pmsl


this is rather worrying,

sure your ok?


----------



## The Village Mousery

yeah just sick of the six weeks holidays pmsl i think they should call it the six week parent tester. The mice do live in my room but its only coz we dont have anywhere else for them yet ( got my eyes on a shed) though i'll admit they have been moved into the bathroom on a night once or twice simply coz they are driving me nuts on the wheels lol. i do end up falling asleep watching them in there cages coz i sit on the bed and watch em and i'm a lazy bugger and nod off lol


----------



## SarahY

I keep my mice in a room in my house which doubles as my mouse stud and my art studio. I also have an armchair in there for reading. I could live my whole life in that room and be so happy! :lol: I clean out two or three times a week, so the hallway in our house always smells of fresh hay and shavings.

My husband came first, we've been together nearly 10 years. He's awfully tolerant though, I'm extremely lucky. Even though he has no interest in mice himself he's very supportive 

Sarah xxx


----------



## moustress

My meeces came first and my partner didn't like the idea at all at first. He adjusted, and no longer fears us being evicted as we bought our own house. He has, actually, become very involved in the workings of the mousery. I didn't really notice the rodent smell all that much after the first year or so. I was appalled to notice was the way the smell sets in things like clothes and books. It took a weekend trip for me to realize that all my clothes smelled. My suitcase, which had been stored in the same area as the mousery, also smelled. I noticed that my hair smelled as well. Even through a stout door in our last apartment, things in that area, the living room, and front closet smelled mousey.

Now the meeces are tucked away from the living space, which is downstairs, and they upstairs behind three different doors, first on the main level to the stairs, second the end of the hall to the west end room, and third, the door to the large walk in closet where they live. Now I have to keep a separate folder of music we play when out and about, so I don't haul the mousey smell ith me to parties. And I cover my hair when doing mousework and have separate clothes to wear in there as well.

This house was chosen as least half because of the physical layout, first because it had a separate apartment for James, my son, and a lot of room upstairs for music and mousing around. The walk in closet in the perfect size for a mousery, and situated in such a location as to keep the smell fairly well in the upstairs.


----------



## The Boggit keeper

I have a large cage(1 metre long x 0.5 metre wide) where my six does live. The cage sits on a unit in our lounge so that no one has any excuse to ignore the meeces!

When I met my husband I had about fifteen mice at the time in several cages so I think he had a good idea what he was getting himself into! :lol: Maybe he realises he's getting off lightly as I used to have Horses.We can't afford equines so I think he's happy to put up with the Mice.

I find the only smell I get from my meeces(being all girls) is the urine on plastic shelves,wheels,toys,ladders etc, as long as I clean these every day there is then only a warm mousie/hay smell( I have just changed their cage litter to Aubiose and it's great!)

I would like to have more mice but as my son is allergic to mice (typical :roll: ) I have to compromise and settle for just a few 

 Love me, Love my Mice


----------



## zany_toon

I live with my mum and my sister and all my meeces (all 36 meeces and 3 ASFs) live in my bedroom. Between 17 cages 

You know, it's only seeing it in black and white that i realise this may be why I can't be in a relationship :lol: :lol:


----------



## mousemad

Well to begin with I had a few mice tanks in our house.......much to the amusement of our cat colony!! Then we found out that the dog could open the tanks! She used to take the mice out to play with them :shock: 
So eventually the tanks became too many, and the dog refused to stop playing with the mice! So we decided to build a shed. Well the hubby had me help him build a HUGE fishpond for his koi, so I figured he owed me a huge mouse shed in return :lol: :lol: 
So we basically built a shed the whole width of our garden at the back. The rats and ferrets share with the mice at the mo, but plans are bieng made to build the rats their own shed ......hehe so then my mice will have a mousey mansion!
My hubby and I have 6 kids, 2 dogs, lost count of the cats, lots of fish tanks, lots of reps so our house is pretty crowded to have a whole bunch of mice in as well!!
It has worked out well, the mice tend to be doing better now they are away from all the crazyness. I also have somewhere to go for a bit of peace.
Heres a couple of pics!!!
During constrution!!....








And now....still need to do a few things...








And inside....messy


----------



## The secret garden

Holy christ look at the size of that thing!!!!!

Your sooooooooooooooooooo lucky!

Since joining the mouse fancy I have lived in three places. 
My first was a 1 bedroom flat in Alton where I was known as hampshire mousery, it was a large 1 bedroom flat and the front room was shared between my pets i had 13 boxes of mice, two 4ft viv's with bearded dragons, 1 4ft viv with my two corn snakes in george my house bunny and sapphire my cat my partner at the time hated mice the smell the mess i would make on clean out day etc but i didnt care my mice were here before him and the are still here after him.... things happened and i had to re-home my bearded dragons. 
I moved to weston and Phil had all my mice in his shed and the snakes and cat lived with me... 2 years down the line I have got myself a nice 3 bed house large garden and a garage at the bottom of the garden which i call the shed because I just cant get used to call it the garage. My partner now is a god send, if im ill or away visiting he looks after all the kids for me even if im just out in the shed doing it myself he come out and asks to help and he is allergic to hay but still wants to be involved. None of my new neighbours have asked what smell is lol on monday when its the day before clean out day 40 boxes of mice certainly stink! I don't think i could ever live with someone who couldnt accept my mice... Love me love my mice hay


----------



## mousemad

Hahahaha....The best bit is it's 80% recycled! We are a family of wombles, sourcing most of our stuff from other peoples rubbish :lol: I only had to buy a few of the bits of featheredge, the rest of the wood and stuff I found around our local streets, even the roofing we found dicarded down the road :lol: :lol: 
Do you think it's really that big?.....we have already been discussing plans to extend it  
My hubby doesn't mind my mice, he knows better than complain! He helps in a pet shop and our house is full of animals that other people have tried to dump in the shop!! Almost every week he brings home another pet that someone has got fed up with..people make me so mad :evil:


----------



## WillowDragon

Can I come and live in your shed?? :shock: I think its bigger than my first flat was! :lol:

How many mice have you got now???


----------



## mousemad

Honestly I didn't think it was that big  It doesn't feel that big with all the mice, rats and ferrets and stuff in there. And honestly if you came to our house...which is rather large anyway, for London....the house is rammo with animals already. Snakes and Pirhana in the front room, Terrapins and bearded dragon pluss all his bug mates in the back room, in the kitchen I have a big 41/2 ft fishtank with more turtles and fish in and I turned one of my kitchen cupboards into a viv for some more snakes, the kids have their assortment of pets in their bedrooms, our bedroom is home to a bunch of kittens at the mo, not to mention the dogs and cats :shock: :shock: 
Wow thats a lot  
As for mice I am too frightened to count them...hehe. I think since the end of July I have counted around 23 litters born, added to the mice I already had, maybe I will go out there and count :lol: :lol:


----------



## WillowDragon

23 litters since JULY??? Woo... hehehe

I need to come to your house. It sounds fabulous! hehe

W xx


----------



## mousemad

Is that a lot? and you are welcome anytime my sweet xx


----------



## Wight Isle Stud

This is a difficult subject !! sometimes the desire is so strong to keep Mice that the wishes of a partner just wouldnt count if they had to be kept in the house. It is a good indication that the relationship really was never that strong anyway. 
Lets face it, it is really not good to keep the mice in a house, after all a house is a house. 
I did know one extremly succesful fancier who had a three storey house and bred his mice in a spare room on the top floor. He had an extractor fan taking the air out when he went in the room, like in a bathroom, and draft seal around the door so that the smell did not permeate the house. It was ideal, however he lived alone and did not need the room. He was Frank Hawley, one of the most succesful breeders of all time. John Kellett had an extractor fan in his shed, this he could switch on when he left the house to go to the shed and as a result his clothes never ever told where he had been.


----------



## SarahC

I live with my partner who is not into animals.I was a single parent when I met him and he's accepted my many animals and child as well.I've just emptied my spare room of rodents to turn it into a study for my son who is now 16.The long suffering oh is having to repair the damage that escapees have done over the years.All my mice have moved into the shed and I've been in there nearly all day as well.


----------



## windyhill

I live with my husband and daughter.
I had a ton of animals when I first met my husband, so he knew from the start I was an animal lover. When we first met I was breeding rats, but out that on hold til we got settled,etc and by that time my rats were too old to breed, so they stayed pets and I got into mice.
My husband built a room in the basement for all my mice and he doesnt care how many I have (which is a good thing)
And when I say built a room, I mean he put up steel walls,etc so they couldnt c hew out (his biggest fear,lol)
Our daughter is not even a year old yet, so she doesnt mind the mice


----------



## DomLangowski

zany_toon said:


> I live with my mum and my sister and all my meeces (all 36 meeces and 3 ASFs) live in my bedroom. Between 17 cages
> 
> You know, it's only seeing it in black and white that i realise this may be why I can't be in a relationship :lol: :lol:


I bet your bedroom looks hectic :lol: would love to see a photo of all your boxes...


----------



## Lizzle

My mice live in my bedroom too, but I only have 8 individual cages! Haha, ONLY!

I would honestly hate to have a roommate other than my partner, but he doesn't currently make enough money. Also, I don't think he's ready, nor am I.
I've had roommates at college, though, years ago - since I had to. I did not have mice then.

If I lived with my current partner and he said (for some odd reason) that he couldn't stand my mice and he wanted me to get rid of them, I would tell him no. Luckily for me, I doubt he would say anything like that, ever. He knows how I am. I live as I please and although I respect him very much and all, neither he nor anyone else can make me give up my mice!

I live at home until tomorrow, actually ( :lol: ) - I'm moving to my first place. No one will live there except ME! And that's what I prefer.

There is a walk-in pantry in the apartment in which I will probably keep the mice (as long as I can make sure that airflow is adequate). Otherwise, in my bedroom they go! All except the hamster, whose wheel is incredibly annoying. :roll:

Anyway, I'm incredibly lucky to be able to live by myself, the way I've always wanted. Call me crazy, but some day once I have a house and extra money, I'm going to get a shed (with electricity, of course!). Sometimes I fantasize about it.. not in a sexual way, mind you. :lol:

(Oh, I forgot to add - my partner already knows I'm an eccentric nutjob).  I He's the opposite - very chill, and that's exactly the way I like it. We even each other out. Oh, and this is why I keep them in my bedroom - the slight mousy smell is very calming. ) I personally believe that anyone who tries to take away something very dear to you is not right for you in the end anyway. My partner is going to have to get used to the mice being in the room (I always go over his place, so yeah).. I have a feeling he'd be kind of.. self conscious. >_>

I'm glad you asked this question!


----------



## Jack Garcia

lizashley said:


> If I lived with my current partner and he said (for some odd reason) that he couldn't stand my mice and he wanted me to get rid of them, I would tell him no.


I think a lot of us here would.

I think the only way I would get rid of all my mice is if I ever became homeless again and had to, or if I had a kid who became allergic (somehow a partner/spouse becoming allergic doesn't seem as important as a child--they can always move out! lol).

That we'd choose rodents over members of our own species really says something about humans, but I don't quite know what.


----------



## The Village Mousery

> I personally believe that anyone who tries to take away something very dear to you is not right for you in the end anyway.


I agree totally liz, after all i dont ask my partner to give up his music of me even though i have no interest in a million guitars and amps and what not, why should i give up my hobbie for him. In life there are always compremises and thats what make a good relationship. I tend to find animals are a better judge of people and if my dog hadnt of liked my now partner (love him to bits) i dont think we'd of stayed together.


----------



## Lizzle

Jack - I agree, children are different. Same with the elderly; if I had to live with my grandfather for awhile and take care of him, I would give my mice away if he asked me to.

I'm so glad to have found other nutjobs like me.. I'm typing this as Mr. Jingles is sitting on my shoulder.. silly mousie. :lol:

Artuntaure - Aww, dogs seem to be good judges of character. One sign that my partner is really good for me is that even though he's never held a mouse or liked rodents before, he was willing to hold some after I said that he had to see how sweet they were. He even commented about how cute they were, and he usually doesn't do that with animals!


----------



## zany_toon

DomLangowski said:


> zany_toon said:
> 
> 
> 
> I live with my mum and my sister and all my meeces (all 36 meeces and 3 ASFs) live in my bedroom. Between 17 cages
> 
> You know, it's only seeing it in black and white that i realise this may be why I can't be in a relationship :lol: :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> I bet your bedroom looks hectic :lol: would love to see a photo of all your boxes...
Click to expand...

As soon as I've finished redecorating  And it only looks hectic if you open the door....... :lol:

And I totally agree with you all. A partner who asks us to give up something we love isn't the type of person who deserves to have any of us around. There aren't many things or people for whom I'd give up my animals but having to look after a child or an elderly family member are some of them. It's great coming on here and having like minded people to speak (or type  ) to!


----------



## Jack Garcia

zany_toon said:


> And it only looks hectic if you open the door....... :lol:


My mouse room used to have a sign tacked to the door which said "DANGER: MICE!" in bold black and red letters. It was a joke (because mice are harmless) from a friend, but I found that people who visited thought it was real and stayed away from the mouse room. When I'd ask them if they wanted to see the mice they'd say things like "are they going to hurt me?" so I took the sign down.


----------



## Wight Isle Stud

what we need is a forum dating thread- "mouse lover seeks similar". Please send photo. (of your shed). Must not win more than me at shows. Must have own maxys. maxies (?) must have reliable estate car for long distance travelling. must be prepared not to show when I am judging. Must be prepared to turn down judging engagements so that I can show. What would your requirements be ?


----------



## SarahC

I'll be back. said:


> what we need is a forum dating thread- "mouse lover seeks similar". Please send photo. (of your shed). Must not win more than me at shows. Must have own maxys. maxies (?) must have reliable estate car for long distance travelling. must be prepared not to show when I am judging. Must be prepared to turn down judging engagements so that I can show. What would your requirements be ?


love this.Going on this criteria the ideal person for me is....... well me, myself and I.Mark can make mouse boxes though and for that reason I :love1 him.


----------



## zany_toon

I'll be back. said:


> what we need is a forum dating thread- "mouse lover seeks similar". Please send photo. (of your shed). Must not win more than me at shows. Must have own maxys. maxies (?) must have reliable estate car for long distance travelling. must be prepared not to show when I am judging. Must be prepared to turn down judging engagements so that I can show. What would your requirements be ?


:lol: And don't forget the "must be prepared to spend copious amounts of money so I can keep breeding forever and get mice from anywhere in the world just because!" :lol:

And I thought of a sign saying "Keep Out: Mice" jack. But I didn't think it would work too well seeing as I need to leave the door open for the cat :lol:


----------



## windyhill

windyhill said:


> I live with my husband and daughter.
> I had a ton of animals when I first met my husband, so he knew from the start I was an animal lover. When we first met I was breeding rats, but out that on hold til we got settled,etc and by that time my rats were too old to breed, so they stayed pets and I got into mice.
> My husband built a room in the basement for all my mice and he doesnt care how many I have (which is a good thing)
> And when I say built a room, I mean he put up steel walls,etc so they couldnt chew out (his biggest fear,lol)
> Our daughter is not even a year old yet, so she doesnt mind the mice


PLus he knows better then ask me to choice between him or my mice, he knows he wouldnt like the answer


----------



## Mymouse

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with a storage room (small room with window that opens). I keep my mice in the storage room. My partner doesn´t like the smell and for now I can not have too many and MUST have the door to the mouseroom always closed and he can smell it if I open the room but when we move to a bigger place I could keep my miceies in the garage or a shed and then I can have as many as I want :mrgreen:



Jack Garcia said:


> When I'd ask them if they wanted to see the mice they'd say things like "are they going to hurt me?" so I took the sign down.


hahaha :lol: 


I'll be back. said:


> what we need is a forum dating thread- "mouse lover seeks similar". Please send photo. (of your shed). Must not win more than me at shows. Must have own maxys. maxies (?) must have reliable estate car for long distance travelling. must be prepared not to show when I am judging. Must be prepared to turn down judging engagements so that I can show. What would your requirements be ?


exactly hahaha


----------

