Does anyone have any experience in keeping mice as pets? I got some African Striped mice last weekend. Just have a few questions!

no but i had always wanted one when i was younger
but i had hamsters

i still might want to get a mice(mouse) and freak my mom out when she comes over..
she didnt like my hamsters when i was little
there one time i had a hamster in my hand and she was on the phone and she freaked out....

Be careful, 80% of African Mice have a very nasty disease..

When I go to the pet store to pick up food for this wildebeest I call a dog. I always want to buy one of the little white feeder mice. Just to save it from getting gulped by a snake.

Oh and just as FYI to everyone. Never put a sign up that reads "Free Kittens". People will get them to feed to their snakes..very true.

I used to have mice as a pets when I was a child, and my girls did too!
Yes, learn how to tell the sexes apart or you will be giving away free mice too!!!! And you won't care if a snake is eating them.

That should be easy enough to learn. The boys wear red shorts. While the girls wear a skirt and a bow in their hair.

"Free Kittens". People will get them to feed to their snakes..very true

THAT IS SOOOOO FREAKEN SAD, GROSS, AND I WOULD BE KICKING MYSELF

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Snakes have to eat too!!!!!


Everybody Sing..........

It's the circle of Life...and It eats us all..............

I had field mice once. They came with the house I was living in, but my cat ate them.

I miss my exboyfriend's snakes so much! They are so cool. Four years ago I would have told you that you were nuts if you ever said I could love a snake. Yes, we fed them mice, rats and rabbits, but they were always prekilled to reinforce a more docile pet. No decent exotic pet owner would consider feeding their snake a kitten. I'm sure some people have done it, but those are the same kind of jack*sses that buy what they think is cool without doing the research to care for them properly. I'd love to have my own reticulated python, his was so sweet and full of personality. But I know that they get too big and strong for me to handle alone so it wouldn't be fair to buy the baby I want knowing I'd have to give it up once it outgrew my ability to care for it properly.

My girls used to have pet rats


Ugghhh


They always reminded me of "Willard". I find rats and mice creepy to keep as pets

growing up in Brooklyn I've seen my share on the streets really

I had rats... they're like a hybrid of mice and chihuahuas... I'm thoroughly convinced!

Used to have them as a pet when I was a kid. Well, 'til my mom found out about them.

I've got a mouse living in one of my sheds, he got into the toilet paper I got stored out there. So now I have toilet paper with holes...

Maybe the mouse got mad at you for not having the cotton soft 3 ply variety?

Dropping you an email.

I've had mice, spiny mice, and rats as pets. They were a lot of fun, though short lifespans (except for the spiny mice). I ended up getting into the rats, since they were bigger and a bit more mellow then the mice, though all were sweeties and affectionate.

I was basically wondering about the following:

What can you give them as treats that won't hurt them?
How long (roughly) does it take for them to become tame? Ans what approach do you find best?
They're two males from the same litter and for a while they were fine together. However one of them seems to have become an alpha and seems to like chasing the other. There's no biting or fighting that I can see but I don't want the other mouse to get too stressed. Any ideas?

Okay. A lot of this is trying things out. Find something to act as a treat and use it only for the treat. Being from Africa, they're water intake won't be so high. My spiny mice enjoyed the occasional apple but seemed happier with Cheerios and pasta.

Taming them down starts with a lot of patience. I always did the hand in the cage with their treat. Curiosity would bring them in and they'd eventually start to use my hand as a play area. Keeping things slow and easy so they don't spook is best. Depending on how wild they are it could be 2 weeks to 3 months. I've always had a month and a half at the outside except for 2 male rats I took in via rescue and they were so badly abused and mistreated I couldn't blame them for not coming around. They died peacefully within a week of each other about 9 months after I took them in.

Keep an eye on them but with males you will have dominance games, females do it . If they draw blood you may have to get separate them. If you ever add a female you will definitely have to or they'll kill each other or the female.

Oh, and till you are used to each other be careful about food smells on your hand. They may unintentionally nibble your fingers. They also might use you as a salt block and lick your hand or fingers.