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Anonymous
Are pet mice anything like rats? I used to have rats, but my huge ass rat cage finally broke; however I have an aquarium+tanktopper in my possession (originally to be used to quarantine sick rats, but luckily they never got ill) that would be perfect for a couple of mice, I think.

Any info/tips?

Pic related, it's exactly what I have.
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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Mice are similar to rats, but not as much as people think.

I'm a huge mouse person myself, and think they're infinitely cuter than rats, but I realize people appreciate the "dog-like" quality of rats.

My mice do very much enjoy my company and come out to see my and jump into my hands readily and enjoy a good cheek scratching. However, if you get a mouse from a pet store, it's probably going to be some poor, frightened, mistreated thing, and will most likely definitely need some taming.

On the plus side, mice don't like to bite very much. They give you lots of other cues to buzz off before they'd ever even think of biting you.

A 10 gallon without the topper would be perfect for 2 girl mice. That topper is not mouse-safe and would certainly lead to escapes or injuries while trying to escape. Just get a mesh lid for it and you'd be grooving.

Pic related, it's my fat little baby girl from my last litter :D
>> Anonymous
>>340733
You're my favorite /an/onymous.
>> Anonymous
I had that cage topper thing for my rats when they were younger, and I think the bars are too far apart for mice. They could squeeze out. I had two mice in a ten gallon and I think they were fine. Just give them stuff to play with/hide in, and keep it clean and they'll be fine.

Anyway, I've had rats and mice, and rats seem smarter and cuddlier. My mice were very sweet, but pretty hyper. Both of my mice were baby feeders when I got them, and they both turned out very well.

So yes, if you want them, get them. One nice thing is they don't seem as needy for human attention and will entertain each other when you're busy.
>> Anonymous
Thanks guys.

I loved my rats, I mean LOVED them, but it was a little irritating when I would come home from work and something in their cage was obliterated because they missed me (and their cage had tons of chew toys, tunnels, hammocks and a wheel). Even though I would always have them out playing and exploring whenever I was home, for a couple of hours at a time, they still somehow got bored in their enormous cage and would destroy the ramps or their igloo (and once even their plastic pan and ended up getting out), anything BUT their toys. Even so I couldn't be mad at them, not even the little bratty rat.

So having a pet that still appreciated me, yet didn't need constant human attention 24-7, would be awesome. When I was at the pet store the other day I saw these adorable white mice with big black spots on them (I didn't even know mice could have coat patterns like that) running in AND on top of a wheel and then getting spun around when the mouse powering the wheel stopped, I was pretty much sold.
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>>340736
Aww shucks :]

>>340737
Agreed, girls are more hyper than boys and can live fine without your existence. They have intricate social structures and close bonds with one another. Definitely wouldn't call them needy!

Boy mice, on the other hand, have to live alone, and thus become much more dependent on attention from you. I have one, Little Lamb, who is just in love with me and I kind of spoil him. He probably spends about 3 hours out every day running all over me and my desk while I play on the computer. They're usually more relaxed, and "squishy" than girls and really love your attention.

Downside is they stink more than girls :[!

I have about... 8 boys right now that are each housed individually, lol, so I do a loooooot of cage cleaning!

Pic is my Little Lamb :3!
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>>340742
Those would be called "broken blacks." A very common coat color + pattern and one of my favs, I call 'em little cows!

Going to spam up your thread now with pics of cute mice!
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
>>340752
Aww! Do you breed them to have that long curly coat?
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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Here's a tri-color mouse, looks like a calico cat, soooo cute :]!
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>>340755
That one wasn't from my mousery, but yes, I have a bunch that have that long curly coat, it's one of my favorites. I want to work on making my lines have fluffier and fluffier coats.

That look is caused by two separate genes, one is the angora/longhair gene, and then you combine that with the rex gene, and get what's called a texel. Texel's are my favorite! You can even combine it with the satin gene to get satin texels, om nom nom!

The one on the left is a satin texel!
>> Anonymous
I've always found mice to be shitty pets. They smell worse than rats, and I've never met one that didn't just want to run the fuck away from you.

Plus, fuck yeah mice bite! I have never been bitten by a rat, ever. And I've handled a lot of both tame and untame rats. However, mice bite me all the time, young or old. I've had little fuzzies bite the shit out of me for no reason.
>> Mice Breeders! Anonymous
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>>340779

Like I said in my previous post:
>However, if you get a mouse from a pet store, it's probably going to be some poor, frightened, mistreated thing, and will most likely definitely need some taming.

I have mice from breeders who have been working on them for generations upon generations to be very tame and sweet. However, I also have some mice from the pet shops, who are definitely more wily, but still, not bite-y.

Anyhow, I'm sorry you've had shitty experiences with mice, LOTS of people haven't though. I, for one, have had many bad experience with dogs and really don't like them, but I don't think dogs are intrinsically bad, and I can totally see why other people like 'em. Same goes for people who don't like cats, birds, etc.

Just because you have some bad experiences with one species of animal doesn't mean the entire species is bad.

Also, you'll always be happier if you get *any* animal from a respectable breeder ;)!