My new mouse setup... cool!

[Lolo76]

My poor mice (1.1 breeders and 10 babies currently) had been living in a small wire cage in the closet for a few weeks, since we couldn't figure out where to keep them in our new apartment. I noticed the girl was starting to lose her hair, which was probably a combination of living in darkness and eating low quality food (all I could find). I finally decided to give them my spare 20gal glass tank, which I was saving as a display tank for my Jungle Carpet... he won't be big enough for probably a year, so I figured it may as well be used in the meantime.

I had to buy a top-hanging water dish and free-standing exercise wheel, and now it's perfect - they seem very happy! I'm keeping it in the living room, giving them plenty of natural light, and hoping the glass tank will stink less than that wire cage. I also bought some better food, which is mostly lab block with a little corn and seed mixed in... called Carefresh Complete for mice/rats. I can't afford professional lab blocks right now, so hopefully this will suffice for the time being. Here are some photos, and please let me know if there's anything I can improve. Oh, and does the Aspen mask odors well? I usually use Carefresh since I'm allergic to Aspen, but it shouldn't bother me in a glass tank.

My dog & cats won't leave them alone... but at least they can't knock this cage over, like they did with the wire one!


Daddy mouse




And their latest litter... finally a big number! (the dirty bedding & peanut shell is from their old cage, since I didn't want to disturb the nest)

[Jay_Bunny]

I would recommend putting wood pellet bedding under the aspen. I've noticed when I used just aspen, the smell of ammonia was really high and as soon as I began using the wood pellet bedding, I had to stand directly over a cage and inhale really deeply to smell anything at all.

The cage looks good! Congrats on a nice big healthy litter.

[Lolo76]

Thanks! Any idea where I'd get wood pellet bedding? Is that something you'd find at any pet store? I'll have to try that, and hopefully neither the pellets nor aspen will trigger my allergies... if they do, it looks like I'm stuck with expensive Carefresh.

[Lolo76]

Btw, I think it's interesting how the litters always come out looking like dad... he's a regular "wildtype" (brown) mouse, and the mom is solid black. Is it like snake morphs, where some colors/patterns are recessive? I was hoping for mixed patterns, like brindle, or a combo of black & brown mice - guess the brown is dominant!

P.S. Now that I have a nice big tank, I'll hold back one of the female babies to make it a 1.2 colony.

[771subliminal]

Thanks! Any idea where I'd get wood pellet bedding? Is that something you'd find at any pet store? I'll have to try that, and hopefully neither the pellets nor aspen will trigger my allergies... if they do, it looks like I'm stuck with expensive Carefresh.

tractor supply carries it pretty cheap i use it and its far better for my allergies than carefresh is

[Lolo76]

tractor supply carries it pretty cheap i use it and its far better for my allergies than carefresh is

Thanks for the tip! Now I just have to figure out what a tractor supply is, and where that would be in San Francisco... we don't use tractors here, LOL. I'm assuming a garden supply would have the same stuff, right?

[Lolo76]

Sorry, one more question... are ambient room temps (usually between 67-69) fine for them? This tank has an attached UTH, but I'm thinking it won't be necessary to use here.

[Jay_Bunny]

That temp range should be fine. Mine stay in 70-74, but the room has gotten colder than that on occasion.

The wood pellet bedding can usually be found at farm supply stores. Where I am I get it from Southern States but I do not believe you have that store where you are. You could go onto Tractor Supply's website and look up a location in your area.

As far as their colors. I'm just learning about mouse genetics and my most recent mouse litter was from an agouti buck to a black self (all black) doe. All the babies are agouti. Agouti is written as A/A. Black self is a/a. So unless the agouti is A/a (which would still display agouti), all the babies should be A/a (display agouti self, carry black self). If the agouti is A/a, you have a chance of getting black self babies in the litter but just like with ball pythons, each baby has a chance and its not guaranteed. Judging by how many babies you have and the fact they are all agouti, I think its safe to say he is A/A and does not carry black.

[771subliminal]

Thanks for the tip! Now I just have to figure out what a tractor supply is, and where that would be in San Francisco... we don't use tractors here, LOL. I'm assuming a garden supply would have the same stuff, right?

you can also use wood pellets made for wood burning stoves its the same thing just less ash in the ones for stoves higher quality but cost about the same. you should be able to pick that up at lowes

[boasandballs]

We have a large rodent farm, and we buy them from home depo at the begining of the winter when it is on sale.