Buying a Mouse

Buying a mouse would be a good idea for a novice pet owner as it requires minimal maintenance. They are very hardy animals and can turn out to be exciting pets if given proper nutritious food to eat. You are required to take note of the following aspects while making a decision on buying a mouse.

Tips on Buying a Mouse

• For buying a mouse you should always prefer private breeders to pet shop owners. Also find a breeder who is specialized in breeding rodents especially mice. You can also have a look at the living conditions of the pet that you choose as your pet. A good breeder would always keep the pets in glass or plastic enclosures. Buying of a mouse from a neat and clean environment would be an ideal decision.

• A well cared mouse would live longer. Make special arrangement for your mouse that can live in comfort. You can introduce some special toys along with plenty of water and food inside the cage.

• Make sure of making provisions for your pet mouse, so that it will get the opportunity to eat variety of food items. Along with regular meals the pet should also be given supplements with proper nutrition ensuring balanced diet.

• Take a sniff of the cage. The cage would strongly smell of ammonia if it is not properly cleaned and well ventilated. Male urine smells stronger compared to that of the females.

• Always make sure of keeping the male and the female separately in order to avoid birth of series of litters.

• Before buying a mouse you should try to find out the age of the pet. A good breeder would always be able to tell you the age and show you the parents of the mouse as well. If you buying a female, the age should not be more or less that 5 weeks and a male of 4 weeks of age.

• Buy a healthy mouse that has bright and clear eyes and must be physically active.

• Before buying a mouse try to hold the mouse in your hand. This would help you to make out the quality of the coat. A healthy mouse has a skinny and shiny fur. You should also see whether the mouse has the tendency to bite or not. Do not buy a mouse which is quarrelsome in nature.

• You should also notice whether the mouse has the habit of scratching itself or not. Scratching would indicate the presence of parasites in its body.

• Prior to buying a mouse make a mouse decide whether you would like to buy a male or a female. Keeping a male and a female would result breeding. To avoid breeding keep females and males separately. Keeping of female mice together in group should be preferred to males in the group.

• Do find out whether the mouse gives out loose bowels or not.

• Mice are prone to many diseases if not well maintained. So keep your pet clean and germ free. You may use some antifungal or antibacterial germicides while washing the cage of the mouse.

A mouse can have diet that is cooked for human consumption. You may also try out providing your mouse with a combination of pellets and grains and seeds. Offer more amount of food only when your pet has finished off with the existing ones. Introduce supplements to make the diet nutritious. You may provide vegetables like carrots, green leaves and fruits like carrots to your mouse. You may also pamper your pet by giving sunflower seeds to eat. They would like to have them. But be careful of offering them the seeds in small quantities as they are fatty in composition.