Mouse or Mice?

[CatThiefKeith]

Dd has had her heart set on a pet mouse for about 2 years. She has never wavered, and makes straight for the rodent section of any zoo, farm or petting type place we go to.

I've offered a hamster, but she isn't interested, she just wants a mouse.I've read that male mice should be kept alone and females need company - but which makes the better pet for a (very responsible) 5 year old?

My dd (7) has mice - we got 4 boys and they stink...but god they are the sweetest and most child-tolerant pets we could have asked for. We were well aware that male mice can be hard to keep together BUT they are more placid (lazier) than girls. As it happened we did have to separate ours into 3 brothers and the one who was raised with but not a direct litter mate of the others. IMO they make great children's pets (my 4 yr old handles them all the time - like a 4 yr old too, I wouldn't let him near most small animals except for a supervised quick stroke!). I LOVE them so much I can put up with their stench (I kid you not, boy mice have a very powerfully scented urine which they love to share - 4 mice can be smelt throughout my house unless we change the cage every 2 days - which they hate...). We bought our mice from a breeder and this is the best way to get mice with reliable temperaments that have been handled from babies and are not afraid of people. At least make sure your mice have been handled from babies every day, most kids don't have the patience to tame mice. Our solo boy is happy but we do make an effort to give him our company and bring him out to play every day (mice hate being alone) - I wouldn't have got a single mouse by choice. But if you get boys make sure they are brothers and be aware there is a high risk they may have to be separated even then. I've had girls before and they are just as friendly but far 'busier' than the boys. We're getting 3 girls for Christmas (girls live together fine, they don't even need to be related).

You need at least 2. Girls smell better! If your DD can be persuaded then rats are far easier to handle - they are bigger and very people friendly. I started with mice around your DD's age and loved them I moved on to rats later!

Sorry, got carried away and missed the point completely there. Boys are easier to tame and handle than girls. Keeping boys together is really tricky. Bottom Line: a single mouse IS a lonely mouse; mice shouldn't be kept alone. For the well-being of your pets get a pair or better still a trio/quad of girls! Girls can be just as friendly as boys, the most important consideration when it comes to how 'tame' your mice will be is early handling and good breeding - like any other pet. Tame mice make truly excellent and rewarding pets

I had pet mice 30+ years ago.

Yes, the males do stink, and they love to outdo each other.

We got two girls, which turned into 2 girls + 6 babies . One was already pg .
The girls were lovely, even though we 'missed' a huge chunk of time with her (the mum) while she was looking after her mouselings.
They are the most accomplished little acrobats and escape artists. If it;s there they can climb it.
Curtain-no problem
Underside of your arm-they grip with their tiny claws on skin.
They whip you with their tail and wrap it round your wrist.

My dad made a 3 storey Mouse House with ladders,wheels.tunnels,sleeping area.

They were quite tidy (unlike our current rodenty people, our 3 guinea-pigs. )

Mice are colony animals, I suggest get at least 3 (single gender).

Mice are much better pets than hamsters; they are also relatively fragile for a 5yo. A dog would be better...

A dog would be better

Eh?
How do you go from "rodents for a 5yo" to a dog?

Cat - I have kept mice and like all small furries they have their pros/cons.

One of the cons (apart from the potential smell, the escaping,the fact they wee/pooh at random, they like to play on the wheel at 3am oh yes )

They aren't really long lived and one of ours developed a tumour which meant she had to be PTS for her own sake

I'd always recommend guinea-pigs but yes, they have their pros/cons.

Y'know you'll be looking after it don't cha?

Of course I know I will be looking after it.

We already have a dog, who adores dd but is very much my dog. We also have a brain damaged 3 legged cat, who turns up when he wants feeding and is absolutely rubbish as a pet.

I have suggested a hamster, or a fish, but dd has had her heart set on a mouse for a couple of years now.

Would your dog and slightly unique cat be okay with a rodent in the house?

When I have ours, I also had 2 female guineas who were very judgey and used to steal the Mouse Hay that poked through the bars .They didn't like the 3am shenanigans "Bloody noisy little critters" they whinged "They're mice not hamsters. What's with the nocturnal nonsense"

I am sure they will be fine. Ddog is a very gentle black labrador who loves all other animals, and fuckwit cat will probably just sit and stare. I rescued/fostered 3 degus a couple of years ago and he never tried to get to them, just used to sit there and watch them for hours and hours.

That said, I will of course ensure the cage is kept well out of the way of them both, I have a very large, and very solid bookcase - I was planning to keep the cage on the top shelf where fc and ddog can't reach it.

We used to give ours loo-roll tubes and theyy shredded them up into the softest bedding. Mother Mouse used to kick the dirty bedding out of the nest box and the other one (Auntie) carried in the new bedding

My guinea pigs hold no truck with making their own bedding.
I have bought a new shredder to recycle the loo roll tubes.