Tell me everything there is to know about mice as pets.

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DD2's hamster died last week. After having had hamsters over the past few years she is now on about getting some mice.
I know nothing about mice so please tell me what I need to know!

Don't get males - they stink like you would not believe

Don't get them from anywhere that mixes the males/females. I got 2 females, one was pg

They are little Houdinis.Our two ladies escaped. One of the baby mice escaped as I was putting him into the cage and lived in the kitchen cupboard until we caught him.

They are very agile and active and ours liked to entertain themselves at 3am on the wheel

They are prone the lumps and tumours

They are much , much prettier IMO to hamsters.

But I prefer guinea-pigs (more to grab) but if it was a choice of mice or rats , I'd pick rats.

Oh, and they just pee and pooh when and where they like

I prefer guinea pigs as well. We already have 3 gps, a hamster, a rabbit and a cat.
I've tried to talk DD2 into getting a different type of hamster as we've always had Syrians but she's convinced she wants mice for some strange reason.
Are mice friendly and do they like being picked up?

They have very stinky wee.

I completely agree on the get girls not boys, you'll never be able to clean them often or well enough to control the smell

I had mice as a child and while they were fairly ok being handled they didn't get a friendly as hamsters or guinea pigs. they bite if worried and piss at the same time..
they chew their house, usually when the house is quiet and then do a quick half marathon on a wheel.

they are more active than the average hamster, that is about the only plus....

Hamsters get my vote

They stink

They have no control over their bladder or bowel so pee and poop all over the place and you can't train them not to

And did i mention they stink?

We had females and they didn't stink. I once looked after a friends makes and they absolutely stank.

They are quite social. We had three at once. They are fun pets and they like to explore. They love having something new to explore in their cage.

Ours were wide awake at after school time which was perfect.

DD2 is still convinced that she wants mice. Is there anything nice about mice as I'm still not convinced.

Mice are lovely :) They are easy to handle - ours have only bitten when young and a bit scared, and their teeth are so small it doesn't hurt. Yes they can get tumours, and they do wee everywhere, but they are great to play with and fun to watch.

rats are better

I used to keep mice as an adolescent and was a bit obsessive about them truth be told but I can impart some information about them.

1. The main thing is that they have a short life span. You might get longer lived mice if you get them from a specialist as some people do show mice at small animal shows but get them from a standard pet shop and it is the luck of the draw. None of my mice made 2 years although they did come close.

1. YY to all girls but make sure there is a back up cage as if you keep mice for any length of time you will have a pregnant new arrival if they have been around makes after 6 weeks which is when they are sexually mature. Males can be separated after 4 weeks once they are weaned.

1. Best to have mice in pairs as they want some company but ensure that there is something and somewhere in the cage that is private so that they can get away from each other.

1. Mice smell and that is proportional to how many there are. 2 mice only need to be cleaned out once a week and then keep any litter which is not soiled as they will get stressed if it is all clean. Mice do wee and poo but will make their own toilet areas where the majority of it goes.

You can tell the difference between ordinary mouse smell and the stink of wee-soaked litter.

1. It is recommended to have a deep litter composed of compost with newspaper and wood shavings on top as this will keep down the smell and give the mice something to do.

1. It is best to have 2 cages so the mice have somewhere secure to go when cleaning out. Do not underestimate the ingenuity of mice when it comes to squeezing though gaps.

1. Mice do well on a standard small animal mix but resist the temptation to feed them junk food. Avoid feeding fresh fruit and vegetables as it can give them loose stools.

1. Check out friendly neighbours or if local catteries/kennels do small animal hotels. You might not be able to stick a RotaStak cage system in the front of the car when going away as others may take a dim view of mice.

1. Use water bottles rather than open pots as they will put bedding/food in them and contaminate the water.

10. Always be prepared for the unexpected such as a complete change of litter at 8am due to leaky water bottle. Or a sudden death.

Good luck with your critters!