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Victorian Fancy Rat and Mouse Club |
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Mouse Care Guide |
| A Mouse House.. You must have a suitable house for your mouse or mice. Remember that male mice can not live together but females can. Various cages are available through the Vic Fancy Rat and Mouse Club as well as from pet stores, or you could make your own. This can be done using wood or placing a wire screen over an aquarium. Glass and plastic cages are easier to clean than wood ones because of the fact mice have a strong smell that can get into the wood. The cage should be simple in design to facilitate cleaning and to ensure that it is roomy because mice need to and like to excercise. The more mice you have, the larger the cage you will need. Do not overcrowd. The cage should be dry and well ventilated, but away from draughts. Although light must be able to enter the cage, do not place in direct sunlight. Keep your mice in a safe place where cats and dogs cannot reach and where wild mice are unable to get in for food, to mate or to transmit diseases and parasites. Cleaning.. Your cage must be kept clean. Spread sawdust on the floor where the dropping will fall and dry out. Mice tend to soil in the places farthest away from where they sleep, usely in a corner. Once ot twice a week depending on the size of the cage and the number of mice, the cage MUST be cleaned and the sawdust replaced. Breeders Choice paper cat litter is also a good litter as it helps to keep the odour down. Furnishings.. Mice are active creatures and an exercise wheel will be in constant use. Ladders will add interest to your cage and the mice will soon learn to use them. It is essential to place a separate nesting box in the cage. this can be made of wood, metal or plastic with a tiny entrance. Provide your mice with suitable nesting materials, but do not place it in the nesting box as mice prefer to build their own nests. Types of material suitable for this are straw, cotton balls, tissues, shredded paper towelling or shredded packing materials. Place the cardboard spool from a lunch wrap or toilet roll in the cage as the mice will either use it as a tunnel or chew it to make nesting material. Handling and Taming.. A mouses tail is an organ of balance and is covered with thin sensitive skin. The best way to pick up a mouse is to grasp it carefully but firmly in the middle of the tail and promptly place its body in the palm of your hand. DO NOT hold or pinch the tip of the tail, chase your mouse into a corner of the cage or grasp it around the bosy from above - this will scare it and it will become wary of you. Taming begins as soon as its eyes are open. Handle your pet as often as possible, always being gentle. Feed him small pieces of food from your fingers. The way to his heart is through his stomach. With patience and gentle handling, you will be able to train him using food as a reward. Health and Hygiene.. Disease in mice is best controlled by prevention rather than cure. Avoid overcrowding, maintain a high standard of cleanliness, remove sick mice promptly. If a mouse dies, remove the body and thoroughly disinfect the cage immediately. Symptoms of disease to watch for include.. * loss of condition * diarrhoea * conjunctivitis * wheezing * coughing * dull fur * dull eyes * loss of appetite * skin conditions such as scabs, lesions, ulcers * loss of hair * inflammation * swellings In addition, there are a range of diseases which specifically infect mice, including parasitic mange mites, lice and fleas. If you suspect that a mouse is sick, remove it from contact with other mice immediately. Unless you know what the trouble with it is, it is better not to try and treat the condition yourself. Take the sick mouse to a vet for diagnosis and treatment. |
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