Chinese mice are animals. House mice

The house mouse is a special type of rodent, which is known for its close coexistence with humans. The little gray animal can be found in the vegetable garden, summer cottage, garden, outbuildings, sheds, chicken coops, even in your own house or apartment. The annoying creature eats food supplies, spoils interior items, chews wiring, and does many other dirty tricks on humans.

Distinctive appearance

House mice belong to one of the most numerous groups of mammals on earth - rodents. About 80 are known in the world. The most common are house mice. Outwardly, the animal is familiar to adults and small children. A photo of house mice is located below.

• The body length of an adult is from 6 to 10 cm. In some cases it can reach 15 cm. How much a house mouse weighs depends on the living conditions and nutritional status. The weight of a wild mouse ranges from 12 to 30 g. Sexual dimorphism is weak. It is difficult to distinguish a male from a female by size.
• The tail is thin, with horny scales. The length of the tail is equal to 60% of the length of the body.
• Round small ears are widely spaced relative to each other.
• Round eyes, oblong muzzle.
• House mice are characterized by different colors. The upper part of the body is dark. It comes in grey, brown and black. The belly is always a tone lighter. There are ash-gray, white, and red fibers.

Interesting!

House mice live quietly in cages. Breeders have bred ornamental animals that are yellow, blue, black, red, and white. Below is a decorative house mouse in the photo.

Varieties

Brownies. This is facilitated by high adaptive capacity. The animals tolerate cold and heat relatively well and adapt to any living conditions. Close proximity to humans ensures survivability - a minimum of enemies, a large amount of food. A typical representative of mice can be found outdoors and indoors. Lives in garages.

House mice are the most common experimental specimens in laboratories. Over many years of work, breeders have intentionally or unintentionally bred many different subspecies of house mice. But several have been officially identified.

House mouse classification:

1. musculus – has become widespread in Poland, Northern and Eastern Europe, and parts of Russia;
2. bactrianus - an interesting species of domestic mice found in Asia;
3. domesticus - a heat-loving species found in Southern Europe, America, Africa, Australia;
4. castaneus is another representative of Asia, only in the southeastern part.

For a long time, there was another species of house mice - M.m.molossinus. Rodents have become widespread in Japan. However, later scientists stated that this species cannot be classified as a separate type, since they obtained the animals by crossing M.m.musculus, M.m.castaneus.

Living environment in the wild

The house mouse loves warmth and does not tolerate high humidity. Animals do not live in the Far North, the vastness of Antarctica, or high in the mountains. The rest of the area was explored up and down.

The house mouse likes to settle near people's houses during the warm season. With the onset of cold weather, it completely moves into human habitations, barns, warehouses, granaries, outbuildings. Seasonal migration is 3-5 km.

Mass relocation occurs under unfavorable climatic conditions. Fire, flood, drought, premature frosts contribute to the migration process. Some house mice remain to spend the winter in fields in haystacks, forest belts, and stacks. With the onset of spring, he leaves houses and apartments and moves to natural places of residence.

Note!

In desert areas, where the air temperature is always comfortable for house mice, mass migration into human homes does not occur. Rodents live in oases year-round and stay in places with bodies of water. In rocky areas they live in walnut orchards, causing considerable damage to the owners.

Secluded housing

In most cases, the house mouse settles on soft soil that is not prone to drying out. To make it easier to make moves, the walls of the tunnels did not collapse. They build a hole 100 cm long. There must be an entrance and 2 emergency exits. The nest chamber is built at a distance of 30 cm from the ground surface. In winter they go deeper - up to 65 cm in depth. The diameter of the nest is about 25 cm. House mice prepare a soft bedding from twigs, leaves, moss, and all convenient materials.

House mice often inhabit ready-made burrows of voles, moles, hamsters, and other rodents. Or they build a nest under stones, in natural depressions in the ground, under a mound of leaves.

In human housing, house mice place their nests in well-protected, secluded places. Prefer to settle:

• under the floor;
• between walls;
• in the attic;
• under trash cans;
• in places where food waste accumulates;
• in the vegetable store.

To build a nest, various available, suitable materials are used: straw, pieces of fabric, twigs, hair, feathers, polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam.

Interesting!

In the wild, house mice become more active at night. During the day they hide in holes for several reasons - they do not like bright light, they are afraid of predators. Housing is designed to suit people's lifestyles. They crawl out of the shelter in complete silence.

If there is constant artificial lighting in the house, house mice are active around the clock with regular breaks. There are about 20 periods of wakefulness per day with an average duration of 30 minutes. House mice move along studied routes. They leave behind feces, urine, and food crumbs.

House mice run well and quickly respond to rustling sounds and movement. The animals are capable of reaching speeds of up to 13 km/h. They climb trees and flat surfaces, jump, and behave freely in water.

Each has its own territory. The mouse does not move far from the nest; it hunts in a designated area. Males are entitled to 1200 m², females - 900 m². During the period of strong reproduction, house mice settle in families and colonies. There is a leader - a male, several dominant females.

Interesting!

The head of the family behaves aggressively towards young males; fights for primacy between females rarely occur. They raise their offspring together and take care of proper nutrition. Weak individuals try not to show themselves to the leader and begin to become active when the “leader” falls asleep. Grown-up mice are soon kicked out of the family. They create their own hierarchy.

Nutritional Features

The marks left on plastic, rubber, wood and other inedible materials give the impression that house mice are omnivores. In nature, the rodent is content with seeds. grain crops, cereals, legumes. Eats seeds of cultivated and wild plants.

A certain part of the diet is occupied by insects, worms, caterpillars, larvae, and carrion. When there is a lack of water, house mice eat the succulent parts of the plant. A rodent needs about 3 ml of liquid per day. If this rule is not followed, the animal dies from dehydration within 15 days. When there is an excess of food, rodents make food reserves for a rainy day. Occasionally they destroy birds' nests and feast on eggs and small chicks.

In a human home, the diet of mice expands significantly. Pests eat all food supplies, any products. And also soap, candles, indoor flowers, glue.

Has its own characteristics. The teeth of rodents have unusual properties. Each jaw has incisors that grow daily throughout life. The animals are forced to constantly grind them down, otherwise they will not be able to close their mouths. For this purpose, they chew hard, inedible materials - wood, plastic, foam plastic, brick, rubber and the like.

Features of reproduction

House mice are characterized by extraordinary fertility. Under favorable conditions in the house they breed all year round. In the natural environment, the period lasts throughout the entire period of warm days. Starts in March, ends in November. During the year, the female gives birth to 10-14 fetuses, in a litter of 3 to 11 mice. After 18 hours, she is again ready for fertilization. Pregnancy lasts on average 21 days.

Mice are born blind, naked, absolutely helpless. After 2 weeks, they become covered with fur, open their eyes, and at the same time their incisor teeth appear. On the 21st day of their existence, they are completely ready for independent life and are expelled from the nest. Fertilization of a young female occurs at 5 weeks of life.

Interesting!

Males attract the attention of females using ultrasound. They do not stand on ceremony in mating games, they immediately get down to business. House mice interbreed with other subspecies without problems.

Lifespan

Mice have many natural enemies - from the harmless hedgehog to the fox, wolf, dog, and cat. does not exceed 18 months. In captivity with proper care and an abundance of food, house mice live up to 3 years. In laboratory conditions during the experiment, the individual lived for 5 years.

The number of rodents is subject to seasonal fluctuations. It has also been observed that the mouse population increases every 5 years. At the end of winter, the number of animals is at a minimum; with the onset of spring, rodents begin to mate. As plants grow, the number of rodents increases. There is a decline until the end of summer. The maximum number of pests is observed in autumn. At home, there are no significant fluctuations in the number of mice; the population can increase 3 times.

Harm

House mice, with their huge numbers, spoil grain fields. They don’t so much gnaw grain as they dig tunnels and form embankments. The stem falls to the ground, the grain is damaged, and difficulties arise during harvesting.

The main harm caused by a house pest is damage to food supplies and animal feed. Pests contaminate them with feces, urine, and leave behind many bacteria and pathogens.

Undoubted harm is caused to furniture, decorative items, books, and clothing. They chew wood, plastic, rubber, and electrical wiring. For these reasons, primitive man tamed the cat, which successfully destroys rodents.

House mice are carriers of dangerous diseases:

• intestinal infections;
• plague;
• pseudotuberculosis;
• fever;
• rabies;
• tularemia;
• leptospirosis.

Benefit

For many years, house mice have been bred as laboratory specimens. One of the reasons for the mass breeding of rodents in captivity is various experiments. Decoding the genome of house mice was completed in 2002. Scientists have found that the gene is 80% identical to the human gene. The effect of new drugs is being tested on animals.

Breeders are constantly experimenting, breeding pets with original colors - red, yellow, blue, white, spotted. This cute little creature pleases the eyes of its owners and is not at all like the harmful, dangerous gray creature.

Interesting!

In the course of numerous experiments, a “dancing mouse” was obtained. Pathology in the functioning of the brain, a disorder of the motor system has led to the fact that the animals are spinning non-stop, being in one place, moving in zigzags. Singing mice were developed in China about 350 years ago. Rodents make sounds similar to crickets.

The animals are bred specifically in nurseries to be fed to other animals - snakes, lizards, hedgehogs, cats, and other predators.

The house mouse is one of the most unique, interesting, unusual creatures. There is no point in purposefully destroying animals, unless they happen to be near the house or live in an apartment.

I once bought 2 decorative dwarf mice, I think one will be bored, and after a month my little ones Do and Mi turned into huge rats... of course they were great, but they stank and were very noisy. They didn’t bite, they really loved hands and bathes, they also kissed (licked) my ears and generally made me as happy as they could... easy to care for

I had a whole family of mice. They smell like normal animals. I didn't notice a strong stench. Unless they ran around in the wheel at night and interfered with sleep

Myth 1. Mice are stinkers. We bought white mice, washed the cage and added new filler, after 1 hour they sucked everything and it stinks terribly, this is clearly not a myth.

Males - very. They mark everything, especially after washing. But the majority are tolerant. But this blue one is something. I open my terr the next day... and there

In females, if you change the bedding during the time, it is almost not felt if you keep it in the dune. And the skin smells a little.

In general, females do not smell at all compared to males.

Good afternoon. Most likely your mice have a tactile allergy. If the inoculation tank comes back negative, they must be switched to a dust-free medium, for example, corn filler or cotton fabric. Your litters are very dusty and cause alopecia.

Also describe their diet.

I have a very modest experience - I adopted a boy mouse. But firstly, the grandmother squealed at the sight of his tail, and secondly, after 3-4 hours the freshly cleaned mouse began to smell like 8 hamsters combined in a week and a half!

Good day everyone! I would like to tell you today about decorative mice. Decorative mice are relatives of ordinary pantry mice, only domesticated. I started this miracle a month ago. I came to the pet store with the intention of buying a hamster, and saw them... Small, tiny, pressed against each other. I don’t even understand how many people are afraid of mice. This creature, even if it really wants to, will not be able to harm you. In general, I changed my decision about the hamster immediately, and after 15 minutes I was already walking with the cage and the mouse towards the house.

So, meet me, this is Lyutsik

We sorted out the cage, poured in food and bedding (by the way, they recommended hemp-based bedding for us. Very strange, but that’s not the point). I released this miracle and the first thing I noticed was... the smell. Yes, it's the smell. Yes, of course, you can say that almost any rodent smells. Hamsters smell completely different and this smell, compared to a mouse’s, is not noticeable at all. After 10 minutes I could already clearly feel it. This is incomparable to anything. It is not caustic, but quite specific. The substring will have to be changed every three days to somehow alleviate the situation. Once he relieved himself on me, and my hand smelled for several days, despite the fact that I washed it thoroughly, went to the shower, and took a bath. Smell is perhaps one of the main problems.

Is this animal tame, does it get used to humans? He is much more afraid of hamsters and is difficult to pick up. When you approach the cage, he begins to get nervous and tries to hide, and when you try to take it, he may start squeaking (note that this does not cause him pain in any way). But it doesn’t bite, at least it hasn’t bitten me yet. Perhaps in a month he did not have time to get used to the house and surroundings, and maybe then the situation will change. But for now, this is it.

I wanted to talk about feeding. This may seem strange, but Lucik turned out to be very picky about food. We bought him food, and other than that he eats practically nothing. I didn't even try the apple. Other fruits too. Doesn't eat vegetables. All that we have found out so far is that he loves rice cakes and dry bread. Just recently he ate some lettuce. We try to give him something new every day to understand what he eats and what he doesn’t. Like hamsters, they are nocturnal.

In conclusion, we can say that when purchasing a decorative mouse, we received a semi-wild, “fragrant” animal that is not so easy to feed. But, as they say, we are responsible for those we have tamed. Therefore, I try to get used to both the smell and the character. With the hope that in the end it will become more tame. It's up to you to start it or not. Depends on whether you are willing to be patient. Well, Lyutsik and I continue to live together and get to know each other

she's a girl! so for now he lives in a jar, he has been fattened up a little)))))) but, of course, the mouse is not easy to handle - he is nervous...

So what did you decide - let go or leave? if you leave it, then the jar is not the best option - you need a cage, a wheel, a house...

And our gerbil, a male, has been living for three years. He runs around, rages, builds holes for himself, is generally cheerful and healthy, his old age is not noticeable at all (t-t-t-t-t)

Although when they took me, I also read that they only live for about two years...

I had hamsters, a rat, a rabbit, guinea pigs... The mouse appeared by accident. White female. I was itching all the time! Although there was no reason, maybe an allergy? But there were no scratches to be seen... Veterinarians consider mice food for other animals and refuse to treat them. And mice often get sick and are prone to tumors. Mine died that way, although it was already with a friend - she gave it away. Inbreeding has an effect; as a rule, mice are bred like this: they buy a pair, and then they breed ad infinitum. Hence mutations and diseases. It's not far from degeneration. I didn’t find anything interesting in keeping a mouse; hamsters are better in this regard! The mouse lives less than 2 years, shits directly while sitting in your hands, is not accustomed to anything, is small and fragile. I don’t recommend it for children - only the child will become attached to the mouse, and he will play in the box. They are unpretentious, of course, take up little space, do not require much communication (they only get stressed when they are taken out of the cage). My mouse was tame and didn’t bite, but I gave it away and lived with me for six months. There is no smell if you wash the cage every day. Eating rodent food is the best solution. Be sure to include carrots or something you can chew on. Mice are sold not as pets at all, but as food for snakes and other animals, hence the poor health, no one cares about good breeding. There are enthusiasts who breed new breeds of domestic mice - I advise you to look for and buy such a mouse, not a laboratory one. If you like mice)

Advantages:

Economical, does not stink

Flaws:

They don't live long and you don't want to pick them up

Details:

One day we went to the market to buy a hamster. First of all, I asked how to care for them. As it turned out, it’s not so easy, and they smell too much.” I looked in the other direction and saw a cage with mice. I thought disgusting animals and didn’t pay attention to them. But when a woman came up to us and said that she had a boy and a girl and that she really liked them. She then told us their biography and care for them. My daughter really wanted to buy a mouse. I couldn't refuse her. I bought a girl. When they got home, they remembered that they needed a cage. I went to the market and bought a cage. During this time, the mouse managed to do some mischief. We began to call her Lily. She liked the name. Caring for her turned out to be simple. It is important to clean the cage often. She eats almost everything. And oats and cereals and bread. It’s better, of course, to buy food at a pet store, but still. She has been living with us for 2 years. And she has already become a member of our family.

Advantages:

Cute and beautiful

Flaws:

They eat a lot

Very beautiful mice, I took a bunch of photos of them, two of them almost ran away around the apartment. At first we had two of them, Mom and Dad, here they are. Mom is much bigger than Dad. And she became pregnant, she was pregnant for three weeks, we waited and waited and she gave birth to four little bald, attractive mice. A week later, the first one opened his eyes and began to run, and Mom constantly dragged him into the cage. When they all started running, the first thing they did was try to grab the wheel and some succeeded. And when someone is in the wheel from their parent, if they run, the kids will fly out of the wheel. The main thing is to plant them later, or they will begin to multiply very quickly and this will cause a problem. When there were two of them, they had enough pebbles for 5 days, but now we have time to add spruce in a day and we keep them in the aquarium because they crawl out of the cage.

Advantages:

Pleasant, beautiful and unpretentious in food.

Flaws:

No cons

Very beautiful and kind, fluffy; affectionate, caring parents are very quickly tamed and get along well with all children and adults and minimal costs

Advantages:

didn't see

Flaws:

They stink, are difficult to tame, bite, make noise and fight.

Foolishly, after reading the reviews, I took three satin mice (from a nursery in another city). Very young, multi-colored females, one was black, white and red, another was chocolate with red tan, and the third was smoky with large ears. The three of them gave in, because “they were very friendly.” Positioned as completely manual. I’ll say right away that I have experience keeping rodents (there were hamsters, rats and a decorative rabbit). Now, in order: mice are completely self-sufficient creatures, they don’t need human company, except to give them something to eat, and even then they don’t take it from someone’s hand, unless they hold a plate in their hand, then they can climb on it and eat. As for their “friendship”: it is very peculiar, they constantly sort things out, often beat each other up, while squeaking, I have never seen them play with each other. Mice have one thing for fun - a wheel that rattles all night. And now about the most unpleasant moments: my “absolutely tame” purebred mice were almost wild at 3-4 months old. You could only take one in your hands. I transplanted the other two with the help of a house. one mouse bit until it bled. But the most unpleasant thing is the smell, not even a rabbit smells like that. the stench in the container appeared exactly 10 minutes after cleaning (washing the container with soap and hot water) and was exactly the same as before cleaning. I honestly tried to get used to them, it was difficult for me to love them, but after 4 months I decided to give them away, but... I ran into a problem: no one takes mice, even for free, even with a huge container and all the belongings. In one pet store, the seller said that since mice do not stink, no one stinks and advised them to be released into the field. but my hand didn’t rise and I took them to a local living corner and for Christ’s sake asked them to take them. For those who want to get mice, think a hundred times, it’s better to get a tame hamster, he’s even more sociable.

I was happy with my first mouse “Whirlwind” until I “squealed” (I was 16), after six months my eyes would not have seen them (by that time there were more than 50 of them, after 35 pieces I stopped counting them, it was no longer possible) .
“decorative mouse” was written on the price tag in the pet store; they were no more than 10 cm in length (adults). My mouse was withdrawn, constantly hiding, I decided to buy him a “girlfriend” (DON’T REPEAT THE MISTAKES).
how happy I was with the first two mice born a month later, then after 2 weeks 4 more, then another and another... There was no one to give to friends, the store didn’t accept them...
My room was a room of “squeaking”, stench and noise from a spinning wheel on which 5-7 mice were running at a time. In each corner there were “nests” where mothers fed their babies (“red worms”), 3 cm in length . It was extremely difficult to clean their house; it was necessary to somehow catch them. I was afraid to feed them, they went wild and bit my hands. It was like fleas were jumping in a large terrarium (got from a turtle), running away from it, I caught them all over the room.
One day a cat entered my room and strangled about 20 of them. but a month later there were even more of them (the old people died, the young people began to multiply more actively in the free territory).
Soon I noticed among the black and white, black and white, PINK MICE WITH RED EYES!!! Everyone advised to get rid of them, I found an alternative option - there were abandoned dachas not far from our house, we took the entire terrarium there, left them food, opened the lid... It was summer, there were berries growing in the gardens, apple trees all around, there was enough for them for the first time, but then the natural environment... I let them go and my soul became lighter... since then I haven’t got any animals...
I recommend keeping only one pet (mouse or rat)…

Advantages:

Care is cheap and not painstaking. Cute and fluffy.

Flaws:

The room will smell bad (sometimes).

So I’ll start with the fact that mice are cheaper and much easier to care for compared to a cat or a dog. But they are so cute and cute. I am sure that you simply will not leave them.

Advantages:

Calm, sweet, don’t make noise (because I have a dune)

Flaws:

In principle, they are not there, they smell, but the smell is not strong and it can be easily survived.

Mice are very cool, I read the comment above that they are terrible and stink. Yes, they smell. But they require care, after buying them from the pet store you don’t need to run and wash them, you need to wait a week or two so that he (she, they) gets used to you). When buying such soapy creatures, everyone knows perfectly well that they smell; they won’t immediately fit into your hands. If you treat them badly and immediately treat them with flattery without allowing them to get used to it for at least a week, the result will be that you will not need it. The most important thing is patience.
It is better to keep them in dunes or plastic containers; there will be much less noise and debris.
Personally, I acquired two wonderful boys (just today). Before that, I also kept other rodents, so I was ready for them both mentally and physically.
The main thing is to show love to them, then you will see their love for you.
Good luck everyone)

Very often you can find on the Internet that all animals have a smell, a mouse stinks just like a rat, a hamster, etc., no stronger and no weaker. Now, that's not true. A mouse lived with me for a week, and there was a stench throughout the entire apartment, and sometimes it seemed to me that even in the entrance there was a specific, mouse-like character of paradise only for these animals. So what if the mouse is decorative? She smells like normal.

By the way, I liked my mouse precisely for his beauty and prudence - he always took food from my hands so efficiently and slowly.

But, unfortunately, due to the unpleasant smell, I had to give it away.

Fell in love with these little fluffy balls at first sight! Even in the pet store, decorative mice attracted me with their activity, cheerful disposition and interesting color. I have never regretted that my choice fell on this particular type of rodent!! Initially I planned to take two boys (so as not to breed), but the consultant at the pet store mixed it up and we got mice of different sexes. We found out about this a month later, when we received an addition to the family - an additional 6 mice. We had to take the mother and cubs back to the pet store.

There was only one dad left. They later bought him a male friend. But the friendship did not work out, they began to fight for the territory of Drugan and gave him to his friends. Dad was left alone again.

My observations:

— Mice are very sociable, sociable creatures. They love to be among their own kind (unlike hamsters, who are loners by nature). If a mouse has no one to communicate with, they simply become depressed. So you definitely need to establish contact with her.

— Mice are very friendly, they bite very rarely, and it doesn’t hurt at all.

- They love people, they love to be held (again, all because of their sociability).

- Omnivorous. BUT!! You can easily spoil them. They are just like little children. If you get used to just tasty treats, then don’t expect to nibble on dry oats. So, everything in moderation. We buy special food and give him fresh fruits and vegetables. We give the most high-calorie things (seeds and cheese) as rarely as possible and in small portions.

- Night creatures. During the day they mostly sleep, and at night...! Activity is in full swing!) He rushes around the cage, turns everything upside down, runs in a wheel so that the whole cage is shaking... In general, he finds entertainment for himself

FLAWS:

- Boys STINK! They really stink because they mark the area all the time (that’s why I took off one star). We wash the cage every few days, and there is also a room deodorant granule nearby that absorbs odors. In this combination everything is quite tolerable.

- They live short, as do all rodents.

But these mice bring happiness and joy...!!!

Our first mouse in the house came from good hands. The neighbor's kids played enough, and that's it, the mouse became unnecessary in the new apartment. So we got a new tenant, they named him Semyon Semenych. He was a “mouse” of considerable age, a sort of venerable old man. With his own quirks and habits., sores.

The biggest problem was that Semyon Semyonich’s teeth grew quickly and he constantly had to grind them down. The previous owners, apparently, did not know about this, and Semyon Semyonich developed a problem with his teeth, which pierced the gum and grew outward. He even stopped eating. They took him to the vet, who performed surgery.

Then we constantly monitored the health of “our mouse” so that he always had pieces of wood on which he could grind his teeth.

The mouse was funny. You could watch for a long time how he makes his hole, how touchingly he gnaws on carrots and apples. You could even talk with Semyon Semyonich and share secrets. He sat on the palm and listened carefully. He understood everything. His beady eyes said so. How much intelligence they had!

It’s a pity that Semyon Semyonich lived with us very little. In general, rodents have a short lifespan... It is very sad when little friends pass away.

Then we had a few more mice. There was even a whole family with children. Of course, it’s easy to breed mice, but if they multiply, what should they do with it? Should I give it to a pet store or feed it to boa constrictors? This, I tell you, was still the same problem.

One or two mice are good and cool, but a whole mouse farm... Every morning I had to “go to the barn.” Clean up after the livestock and provide feed. And already in the crowd of mice, individuality was lost. Communication became not very intimate, as it had once been with Semyon Semyonich.

But our mice felt at ease. They had proper care, which, by the way, required a lot of time, since the cage had to be cleaned as often as possible so that the smell did not appear like on a pig farm.

Now advice to those who have decided to get themselves a mouse. Think before you become an owner. Remember that we are responsible for the one we have tamed. Even for a little mouse!

We continue our conversation about decorative mice at home. In our previous article we have already discussed the characteristics and characteristics of breeds of small rodents; today in our article we will talk about keeping domestic mice.

Setting up a cage for mice

To make your mouse cozy and comfortable, you need to purchase a spacious cage, which can be made from both natural and synthetic materials. The best option would be a rectangular cage with metal bars and a wooden base. The height of the cage is at least 50 cm, and the floor dimensions are 40x40 cm.

This space is enough for one mouse seed to sit comfortably in the cage. To observe the life of your tailed pets, it is best to install transparent houses and tunnels in their home.

The cage must be equipped with a feeder and an automatic drinker. This will allow you to maintain a certain cleanliness in the mouse house, since your pets will knock over food and spill water. It is best to fill the bottom of the cage with fresh sawdust.

When choosing a place to install a mouse house, focus on lighting. The fact is that house mice cannot stand bright sunlight. Due to the abundance of sunlight, pets become lethargic and may suffer from overheating, suffering from heatstroke.

If there is only one pet in the cage, then the smell from it will be almost invisible. But when keeping a mouse family, it is best to use a false bottom in the cage. In this case, through small holes on the floor in the cage, feces will be poured onto a special tray, which will allow you to not bother yourself with daily cleaning.

Nutrition for domestic mice

The diet of domestic mice should contain grain crops, such as:

• Millet
• Wheat
• Barley
• Corn.

In addition, your pet's menu must include protein foods (unsalted cheese, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese), as well as bread crumbs.

You can purchase ready-made grain mixtures for pet mice at any Zoogalereya store.

You can offer your pet seasonal fruits: pears, plums, apples. Don't forget to cut them into small pieces.

Just like degu squirrels, the care of which we have already talked about in our article, mice need to grind their teeth. Branches of birch and fruit trees are suitable for this purpose.

Since the metabolic processes of rodents occur very quickly, make sure that your pets do not starve and have round-the-clock access to food.

Reproduction of decorative mice

If your pets live in comfortable conditions, then already in the third month of life an adult female can give birth to her first offspring of 6-9 pups. The pregnancy of domestic mice lasts only 3 weeks, so a mouse family can please you with offspring up to 11 times a year.

To slow down the reproduction process, it is necessary to separate mice of different sexes, otherwise in a few months you will be able to open your own mouse nursery.

Be attentive to your pets. House mice are very gentle creatures that quickly get used to their owner. But if the mouse escapes, then over time it may go wild. This is why you should not allow your pets to walk unattended.

Decorative mice will become your wonderful friends, the main thing is to follow the necessary rules for the care and maintenance of tailed pets.

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General characteristics

The first thing you need to know about these rodents is that they live in families. Therefore, estimate in advance the amount of time you can devote to your pet. If you spend most of your time at work, then it is wiser to have several individuals at once so that they can entertain each other in your absence. If you decide to settle on one representative of the mouse family, you need to often pick it up and talk to it, otherwise it can quickly go wild. In addition, if you choose one rodent, it is better to choose a female - she does not have such an urgent need to mark her territory as a male, which will undoubtedly affect the smell in your apartment.

If you decide to get two ornamental mice, it is better that they are of the same sex, otherwise you will suddenly have a whole bunch of little babies. The female is able to become pregnant almost monthly and give birth to up to 6 babies at a time.

In general, the animal quickly gets used to the owner, to the smell of the hand that brings food. After completing the taming process, you can teach your pet simple tricks using tasty dishes. After some time, the baby begins to respond to his nickname.

If you already have mice and you want to add another one to them, then do not forget about the laws of the wild: all animals protect their territory. In order for your pets to safely accept a new neighbor, you need to do the following before moving in:

1. Carefully wash the cage.
2. Lay down new bedding.

This will completely destroy the smell of the guests already living there, and will also turn the marked area into an uninhabited one. Thus, all pets find themselves in the same conditions and begin to mark their territory again. If you do not take these measures, then the mice already living with you may not accept the newcomer and kill him.

Where to buy a decorative mouse?

How long do decorative mice live?

This question also worries future owners before purchasing a rodent. On average, these mice live 1.5-2 years, but we cannot ignore the fact that the life expectancy of a pet will depend mainly on how you keep it. With proper maintenance, the life expectancy of the norushka can increase to three years.

Where to keep decorative mice?

Before bringing the animal into the house, you need to equip it with a place to live. It could be:

• cell;
• vivarium (glass or plastic).

Whatever you choose, don't forget to buy a metal lid with lattice inserts at the same time. It is needed so that the pet does not go to explore the world around him without supervision, because mice are masters at jumping and climbing, and it is quite difficult to catch them. In addition, a tame mouse can easily go wild after living for a couple of days outside the cage without the attention of its owners.

When choosing a place for a rodent's future home, take into account the fact that mice have very weak immunity and the correct location of the house will save the baby from many diseases and you from hassle. Here are some guidelines for cage placement:

1. It should stand in a dry place, completely protected from drafts.
2. It is recommended to install the cage near the walls, but it is not advisable to place it on the floor.
3. It is contraindicated to place the cage near heat sources. The proximity of a house to radiators and heaters may not have a very good effect on the pet.
4. The location of the future home should be chosen so that direct rays of the sun do not fall on it.

You need to clean the cage at least a couple of times a week, and from time to time you need to wash everything in it with soap. This, if it does not rid your apartment of the smell of rodents living in it, will at least significantly muffle it.

What should be in a mouse's home?

Comfort in the home is important to all of us, and animals need comfort too. In order for your pet to be comfortable, the home must be arranged in such a way that it contains:

• feeder;
• drinking bowl;
• house;
• wheel;
• mineral salt stone.

Do not forget that the animal is quite active by nature, which means that the more ladders and branches you put there, the more comfortable the animal will be there. The size of the vivarium depends on the size of your apartment and how much space you are willing to share with your baby, but the larger it is, the better the animal will live in it.

What to feed decorative mice?

At their core, mice are omnivorous creatures and, being in their natural habitat, they can even eat what is completely unsuitable for food. But house mice require much more attention and care. When choosing food for your pet, you need to remember the following:

1. Food should be varied and balanced. The main component of the diet of these animals is grain crops.
2. The food should be alternated, alternately giving the baby a dry and a juicy variety.
3. They can be fed food intended for other animals. Your rodent will happily eat not only food for mice, but also food for rats, guinea pigs, birds, cats and dogs.
4. Food and water must be available 24 hours a day.
5. It will be beneficial for the rodent to periodically feed it with different insects.
6. From time to time you can feed fruit, cut into small pieces.
7. You shouldn't feed your mouse anything you haven't eaten yourself. She's not a pig. And almost everything that people eat is harmful to her. Salt, food additives, spices - all this is unsuitable for a rodent.
8. To maintain your baby’s health, do not forget to give him vitamins at least once a month.

Breeds of decorative mice

These representatives of the mouse family differ from each other in both the type of hair and body length. But the easiest way to classify them is by the color of their fur coat. Based on color, they are divided into the following types:

• Self Fawn (solid fawn);
• Broken Marked (broken marked) is a mouse with dark inserts of any color;
• Banded (ribbon) - such a rodent should have white paws and a small area of ​​​​white fur against the background of any other color;
• Black Tan (black tan);
• Rump White (white rump) - the main part of the rodent’s body can have any color, against which a white rump will appear, covering the back of the body along with the paws and tail;
• Dove Tan (dove tan);
• Sable (sable) - distinguished by the absence of pronounced boundaries between two shades: dark brown and golden;
• Rex (rex) - short curly coat of regular color;
• Astrex - long curly coat.
• Argente - the most uniform mixture of light brown and silver shades;
• Pearl (pearl);
• Silver Fox (black and brown fox) - the belly is white, and the upper body is brown, lilac, black or bluish;
• Silver Tan (silver tan);
• Longhaired (mouse with long hair);
• Blue Tan (blue tan);
• Red (red);
• Chinchilla;
• Silver Gray Tan (silver-gray tan);
• Agouti (agouti) - the color of the fur coat is like that of a wild mouse;
• Variegated (variegated);
• Siamese (Siamese) - beige or bluish color;
• Dutch (Dutch).

For a more accurate idea of ​​what was written above, it is worth looking on the Internet or specialized literature for photos of decorative mice, because it is better to see once than to listen endlessly.

Summarizing everything written above, we can conclude that decorative mice are a pretty good option when choosing a pet.

They do not require too much attention, are unpretentious in food and do not take up much space. At the same time, they are quite active, constantly frolic and are able to give a lot of positive emotions to their owners. By taming this little miracle, you will make a friend who will greet you every day with a joyful squeak, and what could be nicer than knowing that your little pet is waiting for you at home?

Mice are widespread throughout all climate zones of the world. They are found in tropical, coniferous forests. Mice occupy an important link in the food chain. Rodents adapt well to environmental conditions. They prefer to live near human settlements, which is why they cause serious damage to agriculture, at the same time receiving the status of the most common pests.

As shelter, mice use natural secluded structures abandoned by other creatures or holes built on their own. The burrows have a complex network of passages with several storage rooms and a bedroom. There are several emergency exits to confuse predators.

Field mice living in the field build a shelter from meadow grass, twisting the stems into a kind of ball, where they subsequently store supplies. They can be found in the forest, in the meadow. Unlike swamp species, mountain, forest, and field rodents swim poorly. Bats belong to the order Chiroptera.

The most numerous are house mice, which live close to humans. They hide in various crevices and other places where they can crawl through. They can dig a shelter.

In winter, the vole moves under thick snow to protect itself from predators. However, this does not always save. Among those who eat mice are owls, foxes, wolves, small mustelids, and crows. For most of them, eating mice forms the basis of their diet. One of the main competitors of mice has become rats, which do not miss the opportunity to hunt them.

Rodents set up shelters where they can find a lot of food. If food is not found for a long period of time, they create shelter elsewhere.

Lifespan

The lifespan of wild rodents depends on the availability of food, energy expenditure for its production, and the danger of the area. Most do not reach even 1 year. The most common species of small mice, called brownies, are close relatives of voles. They have a short lifespan due to diseases and predators.

Since mouse genes are 80% similar to humans, they are used in laboratories. Thanks to this, the lifespan was significantly increased. The difference is obvious:

• in the wild, the life expectancy of rodents does not exceed 12-18 months;
• domesticated ones can live 5 years, but the real figure is less and is 3 years.

Such differences are associated with a serious difference in diet, the absence of diseases (in domesticated animals), and the absence of predators.

Nutrition

The diet of mice depends on the area where they live. Rodents are omnivores, capable of eating anything that seems edible.

In the wild

The diet is based on various plants and grain crops. Mice tend to make provisions for the winter: dry seeds, bark of young trees, mushrooms, grains, nuts, acorns, plant roots. The total weight of stocks can reach 3 kg.

In some cases, rodents are able to act as small predators, eating various insects: grasshoppers, spiders, worms. There are cases where mice have entered beehives. The rodents ate the dead bees, and when they ran out, they attacked the living ones. Another discovery was that rodents began to eat beebread and honey, which bees need in winter.

The activity period of the animals occurs at night, from approximately 22:00 to 6:00. At this time, they search for food, mate, and explore the surrounding areas. During the day they sleep in a shelter.

It turns out that cheese not only does not attract rodents, but also repels them. This fact has been proven by scientists.

In winter, the animals do not hibernate, but remain active, feeding on supplies collected in the fall. During this period, they practically do not leave the shelter. If food runs out, the rodent leaves the nest and begins a panicked search for food sources, becoming vulnerable to predators.

At home

Animals living near humans have a large appetite and consume a considerable amount of food.

The main food of domestic mice are grains: wheat, oats, barley, rye. They contain enough protein, carbohydrates and vitamins with a small amount of calcium. Their diet often includes black bread and crackers to wear down their ever-growing incisors. Dairy products cannot be tolerated, so they must be completely excluded from the diet.

What mice eat as additional nutrition:

• potato;
• apples;
• melons;
• grape;
• young shoots of nettle;
• dried fruits;
• cucumbers;
• raspberry branches;
• zucchini;
• green parts of plants.

Seeds and nuts play a significant role in their diet, but their excessive consumption can cause rapid obesity, which affects the health of the animal.

Pet stores sell special dry food for mice. They contain a small amount of seeds and nuts, as well as other healthy foods. This is a whole, balanced diet that can be alternated with regular food.

House mice eat cockroaches, and cases of cannibalism are also common: large individuals devoured smaller representatives of the species. This does not happen in the wild because wild mice are smaller and more agile and move more. Domestic animals are larger, live in a small area, and make much less movements. This becomes the main reason for their “sluggishness” and aggressiveness.

Reproduction

Mice are distinguished by extremely high fertility. Under favorable conditions, they are able to reproduce throughout the year. The main season starts in April and lasts until September.

One domestic female is capable of producing up to 10 litters per year (estrus begins 12 hours after birth) of 3-10 mice. This allows rodents to reproduce at an incredible rate. In the wild, females are capable of giving birth to up to 4 litters during one breeding season. Just five pairs are enough, and no mousetrap will help.

In the translation of the Indo-European language, “mouse” is translated as a thief.

The duration of pregnancy is 23 days. After birth, the cubs are helpless and blind; vision appears only at 12-14 days of age. Closer to the third week, they are able to survive on their own, without the help of their mother. From 3 months of life, the animals become capable of producing offspring. Cases have been observed where female voles become pregnant at 13 days of age and produce their first offspring by 33 days.

An interesting detail is that mice distinguish representatives of other species and mate with them. Scientists still cannot figure out how this is done.

Caring for decorative mice

The mouse is a territorial animal, this is especially pronounced in males. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the animals separately. This is the main condition of maintenance. When the litter appears, it is recommended to place it and feed it yourself, otherwise adult mice can injure the small animals or even eat them.

The main activity occurs at night. Food should be given at night. Water is added to the drinking bowl 2-3 times a day. Animals constantly need clean water, without it they quickly weaken. Lifespan without water is 3 days. In the wild, these animals replenish the lack of moisture by simply eating the succulent parts of plants. In a cage they are deprived of this opportunity.

The breed of decorative mice is highly intelligent, they are easy to train and can interact with the owner. However, it is worth remembering their subconscious fear of people; you should pick them up with great care by the tail closer to the back of the body. It is not recommended to do this too often, so as not to cause serious harm to the rodent’s psyche.

Animals require attention so that they learn to recognize their owner by smell. Pets are active and need a place to release energy. If an animal has lost its appetite, become lethargic, or has suddenly grown long teeth, this is a sign of illness.

Cage for decorative mice

The optimal size of a wire cage is 60x30 cm. A distance of no more than 7 mm is needed between the bars, otherwise the pets will run away.

You will need some filler, but plain paper without ink will do. It is cut into thin strips. The filler changes every day. The feeder and water bowl are washed every day, otherwise the pet will get an infection.

The house mouse is sensitive to ambient temperature. She does not tolerate drafts and does not feel comfortable near heat sources: radiators, radiators and electric heaters. The most comfortable place for her will be a place where room temperature is maintained.

Many people keep mice as pets. This is suitable for those who cannot have a cat or dog due to the development of allergies.