Decorative mice. The white mouse is an excellent decorative pet. Feeding and care

Almost every person has acquired a pet at least once in their life. Some prefer common types of pets such as cats and dogs. Some people like exotic reptile species. Well, some owners keep a white mouse as a pet.

It is worth noting that the white mouse has been considered a pet. The origin of these cute animals is controversial. Some sources indicate that the decorative mouse existed before our era. But the more familiar description of the origin of these mice points to the breeding decorative species rodents in laboratories for experiments.

Previously, in many countries there was a belief that if there is a white mouse in the house, it will protect the house from other rodents that are capable of a short time leave the owners without food supplies. Our ancestors also associated these cute animals with joy. To this day, many people have a favorable attitude towards this decorative animal.

Character and size

According to its size white mouse similar to its brothers. Their weight is about 30 grams. The length of the body and tail is no more than 11 centimeters.

Absolutely all mice of this species are active. Despite their excessive activity, they are absolutely harmless both to their owners and to other decorative rodents in the house. To have several individuals of this species, the owner does not have to acquire several cells. Mice will live in harmony and agreement even in the same territory, provided that they were placed in a cage of the same age. When a newcomer moves in, the mice will show him with all their appearance that this is their territory and he is clearly a stranger here. Often such settlements end in tears for a new mouse. But this case may be the only act of aggression on the part of ornamental rodents.

In addition to its activity and kindness, the white mouse differs from its relatives in its strong parental love. In addition to the female, the male also takes care of the newborn mouse. This phenomenon is rarely seen among animals.

How to breed decorative mice

Pregnancy in a female lasts no more than 21 days. One litter can have up to 7 mice, weighing about 1.5 grams. Like many newborn animals, children of the decorative rodent are born not only blind and deaf, but also completely bald. After a few days of age, little mice develop a small fluff on their backs. After a week after birth, their bodies are completely covered with hair.

The female feeds the offspring for 4 weeks. But, despite this, already two hours after the female has given birth, she is ready for another fertilization.

Upon reaching one month of age, decorative mice can take care of themselves without the intervention of their parents. Three months after birth, rodents are able to have offspring themselves.

The average lifespan of rodents is 2-3 years. There have been cases where a white mouse has crossed the threshold at 5 years.

This decorative rodent from the white mouse family is very easy to train. Once the mouse gets used to its owner, it will not hesitate to come to its owner's arms. When letting a mouse go for a walk from its cage, it is better to keep an eye on it with both eyes. Because if she hides somewhere, then finding her will be a difficult task.

House for a decorative mouse

Although these pets are not particularly picky in terms of their maintenance , it is worth knowing some mandatory things regarding housing:

Some owners believe that decorative pet Can be placed in an aquarium. This idea is not the best, since glass walls tend to fog up quickly. And cleaning such a home will take much longer than a cage. Even if the owner decides to place his pet in such housing, then he should purchase a metal mesh with small holes. This will allow the pet to breathe deeply and protect the owner from escaping his little friend.

What must be present in the cell?

• Small pieces of chalk. If there is a shortage of chalk, then you can place parts from branches in the cage. A rusty piece of bread also works well. These things are necessary for the rodent to sharpen its teeth and to prevent further growth of the incisors and add the necessary food to the diet. minerals for healthy mouse growth.
• Litter. The most common bedding material for rodents is paper and sawdust. A good alternative to these materials is hay.
• Wheel. This is perhaps one of the important attributes for the health of a rodent. Due to their activity, mice will not be able to sit still. And exactly running wheel will remove all the accumulated energy from it.

White mouse food

To keep your pet healthy, the owner should remember that the diet must be balanced. Daily norm consumption is 50 grams of food feed. You can use it as food:

To summarize, we can say that these peaceful and active animals do not require excessive care when living as a pet. Periodic change of bedding, arrangement of the house and balanced diet, this is all you need for the healthy growth of a decorative mouse. If you do not neglect these rules, then a happy animal will, without a doubt, thank its owner with love and curiosity, and will become best friend, which will not be easy for a pet, but also part of the family.

Scientists have been able to identify a lot of different rodents, they live in different parts planets. They are not found only on the coldest continents, but on the rest they live.

Among them, people's favorites are hamsters, since they are often found at home, although they live freely in nature, as well as rats, which are also often pets or live in people's houses without their permission, voles and ordinary mice.

The latter are especially disliked by people, since they often destroy winter supplies and are considered dangerous carriers of diseases.

Usually people have difficulty distinguishing rodents and cannot always tell exactly who is in front of them. But this is not surprising in the case of mice, since among them there are approximately 400 different species.

Outwardly, they are all very similar, and behave almost identically. The animal mouse is famous for its incredible cunning and is difficult to catch. People have been fighting for centuries, primarily with this representative of rodents.

What are the external features of the mouse?

Nowadays, many photos of mice are taken, and they are easy to find on the Internet. Due to this, it is possible to accurately determine what species a mouse that appears on human territory belongs to.

Usually its body does not exceed 10 cm, moreover, about half the size is the tail. This small process is always bare, and it is difficult to detect the presence of hairs on it. At the same time, the body is completely covered with hair of a uniform color.

Mice are brown, sometimes brown, and gray ones are common. Scientists have discovered mice that have stripes running down their backs.

However, there are two unique species that have spines that replace fur. We are talking about Elliott the mouse and the so-called spiny species. The fur of these strange creatures is replaced by needles similar to thorns, like those of a cactus.

What are the features of a pin mouse?

The types of mice are very diverse, however, this mouse stands out noticeably among them because, in addition to its unique coating, it has almost no neck, and its paws, although short in size, have fingers that help to stay on various surfaces.

How are mice different from other rodents?

If you carry out detailed description mice, it is important to note that they have excellent hearing, allowing them to detect sounds of various tones. To do this, they use ears that are rounded in shape.

On the small pointed muzzle you can notice the presence of antennae called vibrissae. Thereby important body Mice can navigate perfectly, even in the dark. However, they do not have pouches behind their cheeks.

Most species of mice do not like to climb trees, however, they easily move on the basis of grass stems growing in meadows. And also for this they use reeds or small branches of bushes.

Among them, the smallest individual was identified; it was named “baby”, since it has a body size of only 5 cm.

Where do different types of mice live?

Due to the characteristics of the body, this animal was able to take root in any place. In most cases, they use the surface of the earth to live, however, some species have good skills in moving along vertical surfaces.

Where do mice live and how can humans meet them? Usually, people most often encounter two types of these rodents, since only the Cairo or house mouse lives near human buildings.

Some mice like to live near various bodies of water, and they swim tolerably well. They do not like to have couples and usually live alone.

However, a subspecies of the house mouse, called the Kurganchik mouse, likes to start a family of up to 20 individuals living in a common burrow. They create common reserves for wintering and build nests necessary for life.

Most mice like to live in a permanent place. They leave their inhabited area only if necessary due to some changes environment. However, they usually do not move far, since they do not have the desire to look for a long time for a new place to live.

What do mice like to eat?

In cold weather, it is difficult to detect at least one mouse, since they are under a layer of snow, which creates protection for them from frost. Usually their reserves are not enough for wintering and mice have to look for food even under the snow.

Trying to answer the question of what mice eat, it is necessary to immediately identify their favorite food in the form of seeds and various plant fruits.

Because of this different kinds meadow and steppe mice are considered serious pests of grain reserves of various cereal plants grown by people.

However, mice that prefer to live near various sources of water mostly feed on lush greens, various root vegetables and even insects. And wood mice use nuts and discovered seeds from deciduous tree species for food.

Although for the most part they can use everything for food, and even products from the set of ordinary human food. They often settle in barns, various storerooms and use grains, cheeses or other products as food. Sometimes they even take a small bite of sausages and dried fish.

Photo of a mouse

Decorative house mouse(Fancy mouse) is a domesticated descendant of the House mouse (Mus musculus), one of the most widespread and numerous species of mammals from the order Rodentia of the House mouse genus.
In the wild, House mice are crepuscular and nocturnal animals that, when settling in a human home, easily adjust their daily routine to new conditions. Wild mice they set up a home in the ground, digging out complex labyrinths, in trees, in old hollows, bird nests, under stones. House mice are omnivores and are content with almost any available food.

The house mouse is a rodent capable of overcoming any obstacle, adapting to any conditions and getting food everywhere.

Mice are very fertile and multiply all year round, live in a pack, building entire hierarchies with a leader male and several dominant females. Adult males are quite aggressive towards each other, females show aggression much less often.
Female mice are more popular as pets because they are easier to keep in a group and do not have as strong an odor as male mice.
The domestication of the House Mouse is believed to have occurred in China. The first written mention of keeping mice as pets is found in the oldest Chinese dictionary from 1100 BC.
House mice have been used for laboratory research, as live food for animals, in sports competitions (mouse racing) and as tame pets. House mice show significant physical changes compared to their wild ancestors. Decorative mice appeared in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. The first English National Breeders' Club was founded in 1895.
Thanks to the work of breeders, many varieties and breeds of ornamental mice have been developed, which differ in:

• type of coat (short or long, smooth or curly),
• coat color,
• options for the location of contrasting spots in the color (markings),
• color distribution schemes in painting (patterns).

Animal size and lifespan

The body length of the Ornamental mouse is from 6.5 to 9.5 cm, the tail, which makes up at least 60% of the total body length, is covered with scales and sparse short hairs. The weight of mice is from 12 to 30 g.
In nature, the lifespan of the House Mouse usually does not exceed 12-18 months.
The lifespan of decorative mice is 2-3 years. In 2005, a record was recorded for the lifespan of a laboratory mouse - 1819 days (almost 5 years).

Features of animal cellular maintenance

Decorative mice quickly get used to the new owner, become tame, sociable and recognize the owner by smell. Only females or females and a castrated male can be kept in a group.
It is believed that the optimal options for keeping Ornamental mice as pets are keeping 3 females or one male. It is advisable to buy young animals - they adapt more easily to changes in environment, transportation, and are tamed faster.

To create optimal conditions for keeping ornamental mice, you need a special cage or terrarium with minimum sizes bottom 40x50 cm. In the case of a terrarium, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation - sufficient air circulation.

Closed plastic or glass containers can only be used for transporting Decorative mice due to insufficient air circulation and high humidity.

Decorative mice are most active at dusk or at night and this should be taken into account when choosing a place for the cage; drafts and direct exposure should be avoided sun rays in a cage with mice.
Special fillers for rodents, hay, sawdust or shavings of non-coniferous trees are used as bedding. Undyed napkins, paper towels, or unscented toilet paper can be used as bedding and house material for the mouse.
Special high-quality hay is not only a food product for Decorative mice, it helps wear down teeth and is used by mice to build their houses (nests).
The following are highlighted necessary equipment and accessories for places where decorative mice are kept:

• hole-house made of ceramics or plastic;
• two feeders for dry and succulent food or treats;
• automatic drinker with ball valve;
• special wheel for jogging;
• a sufficient amount of entertainment and toys (swings, hammocks, ladders, ropes, labyrinths, etc.).

Decorative mice constantly grow teeth, to grind them down it is necessary to offer a mineral stone, special wooden blocks or branches of fruit trees.
Special complete food for mice can be supplemented with various vegetables and fruits (succulent food): pumpkin, apples, carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, zucchini, pear, apricot, peach, melon, eggplant, cauliflower, Jerusalem artichoke, broccoli. From berries, you can offer ornamental mice currants, raspberries, and strawberries.
It is necessary to ensure constant access to clean and fresh drinking water.

What should you not feed decorative mice?

The following products are believed to be dangerous for home decorative mouse::

• any cooked food containing salt, sugar or spices;
• chocolate, sweets;
• raw meat;
• onion garlic;
• cabbage, potatoes, rhubarb, vegetables with increased content acids;
• large quantities of tomatoes and beets;
• peanut, walnuts, raw beans, wheat, corn;
• oranges, lemons, citrus and exotic fruits, raisins, grapes, any sour fruit.

Average prices (RUB)

	Price, rub.)
Decorative mouse	200-300

We continue our conversation about decorative mice at home. In our previous article we have already discussed the characteristics and characteristics of breeds of small rodents; today in our article we will talk about keeping domestic mice.

Setting up a cage for mice

To make your mouse cozy and comfortable, you need to purchase a spacious cage, which can be made from both natural and synthetic materials. The best option there will be a rectangular cage with metal bars and a wooden base. The height of the cage is at least 50 cm, and the floor dimensions are 40x40 cm.

This space is enough for one mouse seed to sit comfortably in the cage. To observe the life of your tailed pets, it is best to install transparent houses and tunnels in their home.

The cage must be equipped with a feeder and an automatic drinker. This will allow you to maintain a certain cleanliness in the mouse house, since your pets will knock over food and spill water. It is best to fill the bottom of the cage with fresh sawdust.

When choosing a place to install a mouse house, focus on lighting. The fact is that house mice cannot stand bright sunlight. Due to the abundance of sunlight, pets become lethargic and may suffer from overheating, suffering from heatstroke.

If there is only one pet in the cage, then the smell from it will be almost invisible. But when keeping a mouse family, it is best to use a false bottom in the cage. In this case, through small holes on the floor in the cage, feces will be poured onto a special tray, which will allow you not to bother yourself with daily cleaning.

Nutrition for domestic mice

The diet of domestic mice should contain grain crops, such as:

• Millet
• Wheat
• Barley
• Corn.

In addition, your pet's menu must include protein foods (unsalted cheese, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese), as well as bread crumbs.

You can purchase ready-made grain mixtures for pet mice at any Zoogalereya store.

You can offer your pet seasonal fruits: pears, plums, apples. Don't forget to cut them into small pieces.

Just like degu squirrels, the care of which we have already talked about in our article, mice need to grind their teeth. Branches of birch and fruit trees are suitable for this purpose.

Because the metabolic processes rodents pass through very quickly, make sure that your pets do not go hungry and have round-the-clock access to food.

Reproduction of decorative mice

If your pets live in comfortable conditions, then already in the third month of life an adult female can give birth to her first offspring of 6-9 pups. The pregnancy of domestic mice lasts only 3 weeks, so a mouse family can please you with offspring up to 11 times a year.

To slow down the reproduction process, it is necessary to separate mice of different sexes, otherwise in a few months you will be able to open your own mouse nursery.

Be attentive to your pets. House mice are very gentle creatures that quickly get used to their owner. But if the mouse escapes, then over time it may go wild. That's why you shouldn't let your pets walk unattended.

Decorative mice will become you great friends, the main thing is to comply necessary rules care and maintenance of tailed pets.

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General characteristics

The first thing you need to know about these rodents is that they live in families. Therefore, estimate in advance the amount of time you can devote to your pet. If you spend most of your time at work, then it is wiser to have several individuals at once so that they can entertain each other in your absence. If you decide to settle on one representative of the mouse family, you need to often pick it up and talk to it, otherwise it can quickly go wild. In addition, if you choose one rodent, it is better to choose a female - she does not have such an urgent need to mark her territory as a male, which will undoubtedly affect the smell in your apartment.

If you decide to get two ornamental mice, it is better that they are of the same sex, otherwise you will suddenly have a whole bunch of little babies. The female is able to become pregnant almost monthly and give birth to up to 6 babies at a time.

In general, the animal quickly gets used to the owner, to the smell of the hand that brings food. After completing the taming process, you can teach your pet simple tricks using tasty dishes. After some time, the baby begins to respond to his nickname.

If you already have mice and want to add another one to them, then do not forget about the laws wildlife: All animals defend their territory. In order for your pets to safely accept a new neighbor, you need to do the following before moving in:

1. Carefully wash the cage.
2. Lay down new bedding.

This will completely destroy the smell of the guests already living there, and will also turn the marked area into an uninhabited one. Thus, all pets find themselves in the same conditions and begin to mark their territory again. If you do not take these measures, then the mice already living with you may not accept the newcomer and kill him.

Where to buy a decorative mouse?

How long do decorative mice live?

This question also worries future owners before purchasing a rodent. On average, these mice live 1.5-2 years, but we cannot ignore the fact that the life expectancy of a pet will depend on main degree on how you will maintain it. With proper maintenance, the life expectancy of the norushka can increase to three years.

Where to keep decorative mice?

Before bringing the animal into the house, you need to equip it with a place to live. It could be:

• cell;
• vivarium (glass or plastic).

Whatever you choose, don't forget to buy a metal lid with lattice inserts at the same time. It is needed so that the pet does not go to study the world without supervision, because mice are masters at jumping and climbing, and catching them is quite difficult. In addition, a tame mouse can easily go wild after living for a couple of days outside the cage without the attention of its owners.

When choosing a place for a rodent's future home, consider the fact that mice have a very weak immunity and the correct location of the house will save the baby from many illnesses, and you from the hassle. Here are some guidelines for cage placement:

1. It should stand in a dry place, completely protected from drafts.
2. It is recommended to install the cage near the walls, but it is not advisable to place it on the floor.
3. It is contraindicated to place the cage near heat sources. The proximity of a house to radiators and heaters may not have a very good effect on the pet.
4. The location of the future home should be chosen so that direct rays of the sun do not fall on it.

You need to clean the cage at least a couple of times a week, and from time to time you need to wash everything in it with soap. This, if it does not rid your apartment of the smell of rodents living in it, will at least significantly muffle it.

What should be in a mouse's home?

Comfort in the home is important to all of us, and animals need comfort too. In order for your pet to be comfortable, the housing needs to be arranged in such a way that it contains:

• feeder;
• drinking bowl;
• house;
• wheel;
• mineral salt stone.

Do not forget that the animal is quite active by nature, which means that the more ladders and branches you put there, the more comfortable the animal will be there. The size of the vivarium depends on the size of your apartment and how much space you are willing to share with your baby, but what bigger size it will be, the better the animal will live in it.

What to feed decorative mice?

At their core, mice are omnivorous creatures and, being in natural environment habitat, they can even eat what is completely unsuitable for food. But house mice require much more attention and care. When choosing food for your pet, you need to remember the following:

1. Food should be varied and balanced. The main component of the diet of these animals is grain crops.
2. The food should be alternated, alternately giving the baby a dry and a juicy variety.
3. They can be fed food intended for other animals. Your rodent will happily eat not only food for mice, but also for rats, guinea pigs, birds, cats and dogs.
4. Food and water must be available 24 hours a day.
5. It will be beneficial for the rodent to periodically feed it with different insects.
6. From time to time you can feed fruits cut into small pieces.
7. You shouldn't feed your mouse anything you haven't eaten yourself. She's not a pig. And almost everything that people eat is harmful to her. Salt, nutritional supplements, spices - all this is unsuitable for a rodent.
8. To maintain your baby’s health, do not forget to give him vitamins at least once a month.

Breeds of decorative mice

These representatives of the mouse family differ from each other in both the type of hair and body length. But the easiest way to qualify them is by the color of their fur coat. Based on color, they are divided into the following types:

• Self Fawn (solid fawn);
• Broken Marked (broken marked) is a mouse with dark inserts of any color;
• Banded (ribbon) - such a rodent must have paws white and a small area of ​​white fur against a background of any other color;
• Black Tan (black tan);
• Rump White (white rump) - the main part of the rodent’s body can have any color, against which a white rump will appear, exciting back bodies along with paws and tail;
• Dove Tan (dove tan);
• Sable (sable) - distinguished by the absence of pronounced boundaries between two shades: dark brown and golden;
• Rex (rex) - short curly coat of regular color;
• Astrex - long curly coat.
• Argente - the most uniform mixture of light brown and silver shades;
• Pearl (pearl);
• Silver Fox (black-brown fox) - the belly is white, and top part body brown, lilac, black or bluish;
• Silver Tan (silver tan);
• Longhaired (mouse with long hair);
• Blue Tan (blue tan);
• Red (red);
• Chinchilla;
• Silver Gray Tan (silver-gray tan);
• Agouti (agouti) - the color of the fur coat is like that of a wild mouse;
• Variegated (variegated);
• Siamese (Siamese) - beige or bluish color;
• Dutch (Dutch).

For a more accurate idea of ​​what was written above, it is worth looking on the Internet or specialized literature for photos of decorative mice, because it is better to see once than to listen endlessly.

Summarizing everything written above, we can conclude that decorative mice are quite a good option when choosing a pet.

They do not require too much attention, are unpretentious in food and do not take up much space. At the same time, they are quite active, constantly frolic and are able to give a lot of gifts. positive emotions to their owners. Taming it small miracle, you will make a friend who will greet you every day with a joyful squeak, and what could be nicer than knowing that your little pet is waiting for you at home?