Mice are not the most common pets. Nevertheless, these small rodents are quite unpretentious, easy to tame and may well be pets. The main thing is not to let them get too close to the wires.
Mice prefer soft bedding, which in nature is replaced by grass. If the litter becomes infected with parasites, the mouse leaves and looks for another nest. Therefore, if the domestic mouse does not want to sit in the cage, it is necessary to carry out a total cleaning.
Nutrition for mice is quite simple: almost any plant seeds (sunflower, cereals, rice, and so on). The indicator of satiety is the accumulation of reserves, which also occurs in natural conditions in the presence of a sufficient amount of food. Water for mice is also important, but you need a little - about 3 ml per day. It is important to make sure that the water is constantly, otherwise the mouse can die quickly enough from dehydration.
Mice breed well in captivity. They need warmth, humidity and food, then the breeding period may not stop. This must be taken into account when keeping mice of different sexes. In a year, one female is able to give birth to about 120. Blind and naked mice become covered with hair in 10 days, open their eyes by the fourteenth, and on the twenty-first day it is quite possible to find a brood of mice running around the rooms in search of a personal nest. In nature, despite high fertility, mice do not breed too much, as they become prey for predators, but in residential buildings this can become a problem.
Appearance
Satin mice are very beautiful. They have a delicate, very fine coat. Hair to hair, shimmers with gloss. In general, it seems that groomers worked on the mouse's coat, it looks so neat.
In all other respects, a mouse with satin hair is no different from its counterparts. She is small (weighs barely 30 grams), with an inquisitive elongated muzzle, large eyes and large, widely spaced ears.
How long do mice live at home?
The lifespan of mice is not very long - as a rule, 1.5-3 years. In impeccable conditions of detention - maximum 5 years.
With the average life span of a domestic mouse in mind, let's think about expanding its time frame. This requires:
- provide the pet with the most comfortable living conditions;
- balance the diet, and, as best as possible, bring it closer to the needs of a small organism;
- protect the animal from domestic predatory pets;
- monitor the health of a pet, which directly depends on the conditions of detention, cleanliness and the intake of nutrients into the body.
Follow these guidelines and your mice will be very lively, active and healthy.
Content requirements
Keeping satin mice is not very expensive. The only thing you have to go broke is the cage. The mice are small, but they are daring. They are active, love to run and jump, willingly climb tunnels. And how they run in the wheel, you must see it. Due to their size, they sometimes climb into the wheel together. One mouse runs to one side, the other to the other. The wheel sways from side to side, and satin mice begin to sort things out without leaving it.
We return to the vital topic.
- The cage is two- or three-story. Tunnels, ladders and wheels are required. The minimum size of the cage is 40 x 50 x 35 centimeters.
- House. Now there are a great many houses for rodents. You can buy the cheapest one, the main thing is that the entrance to it is convenient for the pet.
- Filler. Someone advises taking wood or using sawdust. We recommend corn. The fact is that woody is very large. And the little mouse is very uncomfortable to walk on it. In addition, it crumbles when wet. This means that the urine begins to evaporate. The impurities contained in it are harmful to the health of the mouse. Sawdust starts to smell on the second day after they were changed. If you can't buy corn litter, cover the bottom of the cage with plain white paper.
- The simplest feeder. Take the smallest, plastic one.
- Buy a suspended drinker. You can take it with a metal mount, or you can give preference to a wire one. The latter is not particularly convenient, because the wire tends to break.
Here is a basic list of the needs of a satin decorative mouse. Now let's talk about how to take care of her.
How many mice live
Mice are not the most common pets. Nevertheless, these small rodents are quite unpretentious, easy to tame and may well be pets. The main thing is not to let them get too close to the wires.
Mice prefer soft bedding, which in nature is replaced by grass. If the litter becomes infected with parasites, the mouse leaves and looks for another nest. Therefore, if the domestic mouse does not want to sit in the cage, it is necessary to carry out a total cleaning.
Nutrition for mice is quite simple: almost any plant seeds (sunflower, cereals, rice, and so on). The indicator of satiety is the accumulation of reserves, which also occurs in natural conditions in the presence of a sufficient amount of food. Water for mice is also important, but you need a little - about 3 ml per day. It is important to make sure that the water is constantly, otherwise the mouse can die quickly enough from dehydration.
Mice breed well in captivity. They need warmth, humidity and food, then the breeding period may not stop. This must be taken into account when keeping mice of different sexes. In a year, one female is able to give birth to about 120. Blind and naked mice become covered with hair in 10 days, open their eyes by the fourteenth, and on the twenty-first day it is quite possible to find a brood of mice running around the rooms in search of a personal nest. In nature, despite high fertility, mice do not breed too much, as they become prey for predators, but in residential buildings this can become a problem.
Care rules
It all starts with hygiene. Just don't think you have to bathe your mouse. They cannot stand water and hardly want to swim.
It's about washing the cage. This is a mandatory and time consuming procedure. It is necessary to wash not only the bottom of the cage, but also its contents. Spin the tunnel to flush its parts. We will keep silent about the feeder, drinker and house. And so it is clear, no comment.
The cage is washed once a week, provided that corn filler is used. If the owner prefers paper, then it is changed daily and the bottom is rinsed. General cleaning is done weekly.
What care do satin mice need? Correct cleaning of the cage, first of all:
- We release the bottom from the filler.
- Remove the mouse supplies from the tunnel and the house.
- We pour out the water from the drinking bowl, remove the food from the trough.
- Soak all small parts in hot soapy water.
- Wash the bottom of the cage with a disinfectant.
- Be sure to rinse with boiling water several times.
- Let the bottom drain.
- While it is draining, we rinse the feeder, drinker, house and tunnel parts in running water.
- We dry and wipe everything thoroughly.
- We collect the cage in its original form.
- After the manipulations done, we put the pet in place.
By the way, what to do with satin mice during cleaning? The easiest option is a jar with a lid. Holes are made in the latter so that the mice do not suffocate.
Folk methods of struggle
If the tailed "neighbors" are annoying, you can go the simplest way - contact the sanitary station. This service is engaged in the destruction of pests, and not only mice, but also bugs, cockroaches, ants. A procedure that involves removing rodents from an apartment or from a house is called deratization. If you intend to deal with pests on your own, learn about the effective methods of exterminating rodents, presented below.
Scare plants
There are many folk remedies that can fight tailed rodents. Which one to use - decide for yourself. Most importantly, do not forget that you are waging a war with rather cunning and tenacious pests. You can scare off mice with the following six scents.
- Bay leaf. Rodents cannot stand the smell of laurel. Place fresh, fragrant leaves on the shelves in your closet. You can be sure that uninvited "neighbors" will not stick their nose on the shelves.
- Peppermint. A strong spicy scent can ward off tailed pests from your home. If you can't get fresh peppermint, use essential oil. Soak cotton pads in it, spread in places where mice are expected to gather.
- Blackroot medicinal. This herb is considered the most effective rodent control agent. It is not for nothing that the people nicknamed her "the rat-racer". For pest control, you can use the plant fresh or dried. It is recommended to spread the grass in closets, in secluded places, near the baseboards. Blackroot will drive mice out of the cellar, attic, pantry. To enhance its effectiveness, first scald the herb with boiling water, and then spread in the selected places.
- Elder. This is another plant that can scare off tailed beasts. Mice do not tolerate the smell of elderberry, and the root of the plant has hydrocyanic acid, which is a poison for rodents. Since ancient times, in order to protect the barn and outbuildings from the invasion of mice and rats, people have planted a red elderberry nearby. Such a simple "neighborhood" made it possible to keep the grain intact. If you live in an apartment, then just cut the branches, decorate the room with them.
- Ledum. To get rid of rodents, clothes moths, harmful insects, you can resort to the help of wild rosemary. Spread out the grass near the intended burrows and in the corners of the room.
- Sagebrush. The plant has a strong bitter-tart aroma that can drive away many pests, including mice. To protect your private property, it is recommended to plant wormwood around the house. And if you need to drive the mice out of the apartment, cut the wormwood (or use dry grass), tie it into small bouquets. Hang these "ikebana" all over the house.
Destructive methods
If there is a need for the immediate and radical destruction of rodents that poison the lives of household members, you can resort to more aggressive folk remedies. Such methods are not distinguished by humanity in relation to rodents, but they allow to avoid the spread of infection, reduce the risk of infecting humans or pets with serious diseases. There are three remedies that can be used to combat mice.
- Wood ash. This substance will help get rid of mice in the cellar, basement, in the attic or in the closet. Grind the ash to eliminate pests. Fill the floor with the resulting component. Wood ash contains alkali that can corrode the walls of the digestive system of pests. In order for the poison to enter the stomach of the rodent, it only needs one run on the sprinkled floor. Then the mouse will lick the ash from its paws and receive a lethal dose.
- Plaster of Paris with flour. Mix gypsum with sugar and flour. Spread the resulting mixture on small sheets of paper near the holes of the mice. Be sure to place a saucer with clean water nearby.The rodent, having eaten the poison, will wash it down. Gypsum will harden when exposed to water. This will lead to the death of the rodent.
- Soda with sugar and flour. Combine 150 g of soda and flour, add 100 g of sugar. Spread the poison out on paper sheets or disposable plates near the suspected mouse burrows. A poisonous mixture will provoke increased gas formation in pests, leading to death.
The extermination of mice is a procedure not without drawbacks. A poisoned rodent will climb into its hole or hide between the panels, and die there. If this happens with one mouse, then you are unlikely to smell the smell. But if the whole colony dies, you will have to tear off the baseboards, break the wall.
Feeding
If we figured it out with leaving, then we did not say anything about feeding. Let's fix this oversight.
Satin mice love to eat. You cannot overfeed them, because animals are prone to obesity. And where there is fat, there are health problems.
Pets are fed twice a day. The morning meal consists of a special food. You can buy it at any pet store, there are a lot of brands. Starting from cheap domestic, ending with elite foreign feed. The packages indicate who the food is for.
In addition to the dry product, the satin mouse (pictured) needs additional nutrition. It includes:
- Fruits, excluding grapes, kiwis, citrus fruits, and bananas.
- Vegetables other than potatoes.
- Oat flakes, millet, buckwheat. All this is given raw.
- Boiled lean meat. This includes chicken and its by-products (except skin and fat), beef, veal, turkey.
- Low-fat cottage cheese.
- Boiled fish without bones and skin.
- Wheat and rye croutons. One piece a week is enough. No spices, of course.
- Tree branches.
- Chalk for grinding teeth.
Never give your mouse sweets, smoked meats, pickled vegetables, fried foods. Banned sausages and sausages, as well as cheese. Contrary to popular belief that mice are very fond of it, this product is dangerous to their health.
Rodents and fresh cabbage are not allowed. Its juice has a bad effect on the work of the gastrointestinal tract of babies.
Varieties and names
If you have an intention to have a small rodent at home, information about what kind of mice are and how to properly keep them will be useful for you. These animals are very popular among breeders. They have bred a huge number of species of mice and we have plenty to choose from.
Varieties of mice by type of coat
- Shorthaired mice - have a smooth, dense and short coat with a natural sheen.
- Satin mouse - has a satin coat, with a special, bright shine due to hollow hairs that reflect light.
- Rex mouse - has a wavy coat with thick curls distributed throughout the body.
- Abyssinian Rosette Mouse - has at least one socket on each side of the body. These rosettes have a prominent center point and a smooth, rounded shape. Such a mouse can have short or long hair.
- Angora - has a long, even coat with a smooth texture all over the body.
- Texel - has a long wavy coat of equal length.
- Hairless mouse - completely hairless, naked creature with wrinkled skin.
- Fuzz's downy mice - have a soft and thick "afro" curl, which resembles the wool of a small lamb.
Decorative rex mouse
It is customary to distinguish miniature mice not only by the type of fur, but also by color.
The following colors are especially popular:
- Monochromatic - all hairs are of the same color. Color should be consistent throughout the body, including skin, ears, nails, tail and belly.
- Tan - the mouse has one main color, on which red spots are placed.
- Fox - the mouse has a basic color with white markings.
- Marked - there are spots and zones of color on the pet's fur, creating a certain pattern.
- Mixed - characterized by a special pigmentation of the coat, and each hair alternates with dark and light stripes.
A variegated color is quite common, when colored blotches are located on the main white background.
Some of the most popular types of mice
- Micromys minutus. In young individuals, the coat color is dull, chestnut. After the first molt, the animals acquire a fiery red color.
- Japanese dwarf mouse. The white fur is decorated with randomly scattered black spots. These spots are quite individual, and each mouse takes on its own interesting and unusual shape.
- Needle mouse. It is very funny how this mouse looks: on its back there are long hairs that look like needles, reddish-brown or black-reddish in color.
- African striped mouse. This mouse has light and dark stripes along the entire length of the body.
- Gerbil mouse. The color of gerbils is yellow-sandy with a black admixture in the form of individual hairs.
- White mouse.
White mouse rex
Owner reviews
The glossy mouse is a great pet. It is easy to buy, unlike the satin curly mouse. It is not so easy to get it, and it costs an order of magnitude more expensive than usual. The difference is in wool - in curly hair it sticks out in all directions.
Distracted again. We return to what the owners of these crumbs say. For the most part, the people are delighted. Loving owners speak of their pets as very intelligent and affectionate animals. Some breeders claim that a satin mouse is much better than a dog. It is pleasant to watch them, mice are real little "lively". Most owners note that their pets are very clean: they eat in one corner of the cage, sleep in another, and go to the toilet in the third. It is pleasant to hold the mice in your hands, they do not try to escape and run away. Know how to kiss. Very gentle animals.
After reading the reviews, I want to run to the pet store for a satin pet.
How is the pregnancy
The first sign of pregnancy in a mouse, of course, will be the absence of the next heat. Also, the female can change in behavior, become more aggressive or, conversely, more affectionate. Her movements will become smoother and more measured.
Did you know? The baby mouse reaches a length of only 5 cm and is rightfully considered the smallest representative of the mouse species.
Signs of toxicosis may also be observed:
- apathy;
- refusal to eat;
- convulsions;
- drooping of the eyelids;
- faintness of wool.
In this case, you should offer the mouse more drinks and favorite foods, make the conditions for staying in the cage and the room comfortable, and eliminate all kinds of stressful situations. The room should have a comfortable humidity of up to 70% and a temperature of + 18 ° C to + 20 ° C. The room should be ventilated 2 times a day, but drafts should be avoided, which can lead to colds.
You should not take a pregnant female in your hands for no reason. When carrying out a daily walk around the room, you need to observe safety measures and prevent the mouse from falling from a height, contact with electrical appliances, the mouse should not walk where you can meet other pets or small children who, while playing, can harm the animal.
Normally, pregnancy in a rodent lasts from 19 to 26 days. The average number of days before childbirth is 22 days, it is during this period that the onset of labor should be expected, therefore, a special house should be prepared for the mouse in advance, in which she will take care of the newborns. Throughout pregnancy, you need to monitor the balance of the pet's nutrition.
Reproduction
Baby mice are capable of producing up to 12 litters per year. Pregnancy lasts 20 days, after the birth of the mice, the young mother is again ready for fertilization.
When the mice reach 30 days, it is advisable to plant them according to gender. The fact is that at the age of five weeks, these eared companions can become parents. Taking into account the fact that 7–12 babies are born in the litter, it will be just right to open a mouse farm.
Childbirth
Basically, mice are born at night, from midnight to 4 am or in the evening - from 18:00 to 22:00. The process of offspring is almost always easy and smooth. Its duration is approximately 120 minutes. When the female gives birth, the male can be left in the cage, he will take care of the offspring, licking and sheltering the newborn mice.
Also learn how to name your mouse.
But during childbirth, complications can also occur that are fraught with the death of the offspring or the mouse itself, so a person who wants to breed mice needs to know for what symptoms it is necessary to immediately call a veterinarian:
- if the contractions have been going on for more than 15 minutes, but labor has not begun;
- more than an hour has passed after the birth of one mouse, and the next cubs do not appear.
Diseases
As a rule, the cause of the disease is improper care or a genetic predisposition. Any suspicious change in rodent behavior should be consulted by a veterinarian. Obvious signs of disease:
- Change in the shape of the teeth, their unequal length.
- Poor appetite.
- Low activity.
- Eye or nasal discharge.
- Diarrhea.
- Weight loss.
- Change in skin texture.
If the mouse is sick, show it to the veterinarian immediately.
Interaction with other animals
If you have other pets or small children in the house, it is important to keep the small rodent safe.
Do not leave the mouse alone with other animals, it will not be able to fend for itself
When the animal is removed from the cage, other animals should be in another room. It is worth turning away and the pet will already try to live with you.
