How To Set Up Mice Cages

Hi, my name's Marie. I'm the deputy manager of the Small Animal Department at Wood Green Animal Shelters and I'm going to tell you how to care for mice. I'm going to tell you how to set up a mouse cage.

First of all, you need to make sure you have got suitable accommodation for your mice. The best option is either a large glass aquarium or a large storage tank like this. Whatever you go for, make sure you're aiming for around 2 to 3 feet in length.

Although mice are small, they're very active. They need lots of space to be able to move around on and for you to have lots of space to add enrichment in there. Never house them in hamster cages where they've got bars on them.

Often, mice can squeeze through this, so the best accommodation is your glass tank. This one is a large converted storage tank and what we've done here is just cut a square out, put some good strong mesh on the front with very small holes which the mice can't fit through. So, setting up the cage, first of all, you need to make sure you've got the suitable bedding.

Place in good short shredded paper and place it on the base of the cage. You could also use Carefresh and that again is safe and absorbent for mice. Never use wood shavings as that can often cause parasites and breathing issues.

So just place in a good few handfuls and make a nice layer on the base of the cage, so it's really absorbent and the mice can have a little dig around in there as well. Then, you want to add lots of enrichment. A house and a wheel really will not do.

They need lots of things to keep them active. In the wild, they'd be climbing over all sorts of things, going through rocks and going through tunnels, so try and mimic this. Toys don't have to be expensive, so you could use children's toys quite easily as obviously, a lot of children outgrow them.

You could also go to your local sale or charity shop, and if you want to purchase actual pet toys, there are many pet shops and rescue centers which provide these. So, already in there, we've got a small children's playhouse and we've also got another children's toy here as well. We've got also some little hiding holes where the mice can climb over and sleep in there and they'll love rummaging around the nest.

So just put that in there, make sure it's nice and sturdy for them. Then what we've also got here are a couple of tunnels. Don't just be adding tunnels just on the floor.

Mice have a really long strong tail and this enables them to be able to balance and climb at different angles, so be creative when you're placing in different tunnels. Ideally place it so that they can use one end to climb from one to a different object. That way, they've really got to rummage and forage through them, and that's really quite exciting for them, and again, it would mimic what they would've had in the wild.

Then, also I've got here a hamster and mouse bowl. These are really common in pet shops but generally, they're really not that good for a pet. Often, pets can hurt themselves, they crush into things, and people can even trip over them, so the best use for these is to turn them into a nest area.

Remove the lid, pop some safe soft tissue paper bedding and pop that in there, and that creates a really nice little snugly home for them. So, you can just pop that in there. It doesn't matter if it's a bit at height because the mice will climb into there and often as they would in the wild, they'd be going up different tree areas and rocks and finding little close where they can sleep.

Another good thing is fruit tree twigs. Apple, pear or cherry, these are brilliant for these mice to chew on, keep their teeth in really good condition and they can climb on them as well. So, just place them in the accommodation.

Again, it can be a bit in a varied position, so be creative about it. Then, you need to make sure you've got a water bottle for them and this will need refreshing everyday, so make sure you also c