thanks for the input. I ended up bringing the mouse back to the store and he did end up going into his hide later on that day. hes in a 55 gallon tank with heating pad under one side which has his log hide. day temp ranges from 88-92 night cycle is about 84-87 and i keep the humididty around 50-60. i have a couple pieces of driftwood for him to climb around and some fake leaves hanging and he likes to go under his water bowl on the cool side at times, i had i hide on the cool sode as well but he seemed to prefer under the water bowl. i also use a mix of aspen and cypress mulch for hos bedding. I'll try the ftozen rats for sure next time.