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Mice - Housing
There are a number of things to consider when looking at pet mouse cages for your mouse or mice. Mice are social animals and, because of this, we would recommend keeping at least two mice together for company.
Mice naturally live in communities, colonies or family groups. If you do keep a singleton mouse then you will have to interact with it two or three times a day and provide your pet with stimulating activities.
Mice are generally happy in just about any style of mouse cage from the simplest box shaped cage to an elaborate multilevel adventure playground.
Be sure to make sure your mouse has bedding materials and at least one nest box available at all times. As nest building is a mouse's favourite hobby given enough material it will never be bored. With that, an exercise wheel and maybe a maze this is a good start.
Mice can climb and squeeze through the smallest of openings - if they can get their heads through a gap then their body can follow! Ensure the cage you are considering is suitable for mice, with a secure door and bars close enough together to prevent escapees.
Mice can gnaw their way through almost any material so this rules out cages made from wood, cardboard and those of plastic construction. Metal, glass and plexi-glass are the best materials. The ideal pet mouse cage should be easy to clean with good ventilation (but draught protected). You can get quite a cheap mouse cage made from these materials.
Allow a floor area of around 900 square cm (30cm x 30cm) per mouse, and height should be around 20cm. The floors should be solid. There should be a play area, sleeping area, feeding area and toilet area.
Place your mouse cage in an area out of direct sunlight, where the temperature is not going to fluctuate too much. Mice like it like we like it - warm with good humidity, 20 - 22 degrees Celsius - not hot and dry. Be aware that your mouse/mice will begin to die when the temperature goes over about 37 degrees Celsius.
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