2 questions about mice

Question one:

Is there any way to keep mice from smelling so badly??

I got in some new mice and I have been doing nothing but clean out the cages every day. I have 5 10 gal tanks with 3 mice each in them, to try and reduse the smell but nothing is working. My other mice didnt smell this badly.

Question 2:

Is there some way to make a mouse not able to have babies?

My large female mouse I got for a breeder was put with a male but nothing seems to be going on with her. she is still the same size she was when I got her. Along with the other mice I have, all the females were with the males when I bought them but none looke like there pregnant.

All but one are albino.

I know of three ways to get mice not to smell:

- add a bit of vanilla extract to their water; supposedly helps their pee smell a bit sweeter.

- keep females. males are stinkier (ain't that the truth?).

- feed them off! ;)

I use the males as food but right now Im not feeding off untill I get some babies ... but I think all the mice were starelized befor they were sold to the petstore or something... Im getting nothing from them, nor are my males at all intrested in my females.

Jessica,


Didn't you have like 300 mice when you joined us? How did you control the smell then? Or maybe I'm remembering incorrectly - I have had a bad case of CRS lately! ;)

I don't think there is any way to sterilize(cost effective) mice. But I do know it takes some time to get mice breeding when you first get them. I had some take up to a month to 2 months before showing signs of pregnancy. If I remember right, you just got these recently right?

My mice don't smell and I clean them once per week. No vanilla in the water as of now. I used to use baking soda sprinkled generously on the bottom of the tanks(mostly ten-gallons and a few lab cages), but now that I switched to a 100% hardwood bedding that I get at Tractor Supply(it's not all pine as I can tell from the smell and its lack of irritating my skin or the mice). It's around $4.50 per bag and the bag is 5 cu. ft.

I now have 2 cages(10 gallons) of 1.3 and one with 1.4, all of which have had babies(hoppers now) and are pregnant again, then I have 3 other lab cages that each have 1.1. One of the lab cages(long haired agouti/white) has babies and is pregnant again(VERY, LoL) and the other two lab cages are just pregnant and waiting.

I keep all of these cages in a small room at my school, the size may be around 6'x4.5'. There is only a smell of bedding and lab blocks when I enter the room. I have noticed though, that if there is a cage of only boys, or a single boy, then they STINK. They like to musk on everything and it is gross. If males are kept with females, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4, then they DON'T stink for some reason. No competition I guess.

Neutering mice just doesn't work well. They are too small and the amount of blood in their body is very minute, plus maintaining their little bodies under anesthesia(and constructing a mask to fit their faces) is sometimes difficult. There is only so much space you can work with. If you got them from a petstore, it is extremely unlikely that they are sterile.

If they are having problems getting pregnant, you may need another male that is older, or they may just not have gotten used to each other yet. Sometimes it takes the male a little bit to figure things out. You have checked to make sure there are males present? Sometimes when they suck those things up in their body, it can be hard to tell.

to me mice stink no matter what
when ever we bring one home to feed khan they really smell up the place.
our rats can get stinky but its nothing like those mice.

The baking soda thing works well or kitty litter box powder

The best things ive found to control mouse odor are ...

Dont keep them in plastic or glass aquariums. Tanks have poor air flow and are designed to keep in liquids. I use kitty litter pans with hardware cloth tops.

Get a good quality bedding. Kiln dried seems to be the best as the wood will readily soak up the urine.

Adding vanilla or vinegar to the water. I have tried both methods. The vanilla works better ... but in my opinion seems to make them thirstier, it will also plug up nipples on the water bottles over time. With vinegar the only improvement was my wife seemed to complain less.

Feed a good food with fruits and veggies a few times a week. Crap in ... Crap out. Ive noticed a large decrease in smell since I went to a lab block.

Males ... they do stink ... however if you keep 10-15 together the dont seem to musk as much. Usually one male becomes dominant and will be the only one who musks.

Mice could be radiated en masse to sterilize them. However the chance is remote unless it is a lab supplying the pet shop. More than likely its a young male, young females, or they havent yet established a functioning colony. Be patient ... They'll come around.

Bryan