As of right now, I have my pair of mice in one of those HARTZ play city models. It already contains a water bottle, wheel, and house. I had a hamster in it before, so the wheel was chewed to bits. Now, I have a mini-sized metal wheel in there. But, just to be careful, you should tape a piece of paper around the wheel to avoid damaging their tail. You should also have a little house, possibly cardboard, for them to sleep in, because they like dark places. I seperated the boy into a 7 1/2 gallon plastic cage with a small wheel. I use aspen without the corncob. I also tear little pieces of tissues for them to sleep on. Mice aren't into chewing quite as much as gerbils. If you place TP rolls in their cage, they'd more than likely sleep in them than chew them up.
For the main course, I fill their food bowls with those mixtures made especially for mice that you can buy at pet stores. I also give them treats, such as those seed sticks and dog biscuits (make sure you do not give them too much, in fact very little) , which last forever, because they have to chew them. I also give them lettuce and carrots for treats, and also some of their water source. Of course, they have a water bottle, which is very essential to any habitat. Update: I received an email stating that lettuce is harmful to mice. It causes diarrea and stomach aches. I have given mine little amounts, and that caused nothing, but don't take risks. If you do feed your mice lettuce, do not give them too much. (updated 03/14/02)
Alright, I finally had a litter of mice. I took out the male before she had the babies so she wouldn't get pregnant right after she had them. That is really stressful on her body. She had ten babies, and they all seem to be doing fine. You should have a little house for the mother to have her nest. I have a little plastic house which is kind of see-through, but is also dark for privacy. Some things you could do for the nursing mom would be giving her bread soaked in milk or other soft foods.
Nov. 10, ten little pink wriggly things are born (of course they are baby mice!). The mother stays with them all the time, and nurses them often. You can even see the milk in their tummies. At only I few days, I could tell the black and white one's markings. I could also make out the brown markings. At about a week, I could tell the colors and exact markings, although their eyes are still closed. I know they are black, though, because when they were first born, they had black spots where their eyes are. At two weeks, they started opening their eyes, and had definate colors. They also began to walk around at this age.
