House mouse cage setup

Question
Hi Tamarah,

I have an male house mouse living with me for the past seven months or so. I saved him from a trap and brought him home last year. I've recently ripped out my carpet and threw a lot of trash out. In the process, I had to dispose of a few cardboard boxes with one being a second home to my mouse. The other is under the oven.

After the apartment is painted and the floor sanded, I wanted to get a black plastic bin from HomeDepot (picture enclosed). It's 27 gallons. I was thinking of drilling a 2-inch hole at the bottom for easy access and a bunch of smaller holes for air. I was going to line the bottom with newspaper for easy clean up and add put about two to three feet of flexible PVC tubing so he can run around and hide.

I chose black to block out any light since I know how house mice hate the light. I know he doesn't care for wheels but he does like to climb up my computer table at night and poop.

So, what can I do to make his future home more exciting and fun? I know from experience that he doesn't like to be in a cage and needs to come and go freely. Also, he prefers a lot of junk like I had in those boxes. I think house mice feel more secure when the volume of a container is full.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Answer
Hi Marque,

I'm sorry, I don't see any photo enclosed.  Light is actually very important to mice and all animals.  Even though they may prefer to sleep in a hide or nook, they should still be able to see when it is daytime or night.  This dictates many of their internal cycles ("biological clock") and even how their hormones work and when!  Even if it is not natural light, having a regular light cycle can drastically improve a mouse's health and mood.  You may decide to use a fully black bin, but if I were you, I would find a way to let at least a little bit of light in like a "window" or leaving the lid partially open.  This will also allow you to view his "home" without disturbing him (like deciding when to clean the newspaper without scaring him).

Another good reason to consider a window or just ample ventilation is that if he urinates in the box, the newspaper will not do much to hide the smell.  If there is insufficient air flow, the box could quickly become quite stinky!  This is not just unpleasant but can be hazardous to his health.

I would punch a row of small holes in the tubing if you can to keep that area ventilated as well, and would maybe try building some jungle gyms out of popsicle sticks and hot glue.  This will give the same idea as "junk" but won't be likely to fall over and injure him, plus it provides a constantly changing play environment with numerous places to hide and lots of wood to gnaw.  You can swap out pieces as they become soiled or chewed to keep it fresh and interesting.  If you do a google image search for "popsicle stick mouse toys" or "popsicle stick mouse house" you will find loads of inspiration, including some photos of toys I have built myself!  Get creative with it - use toilet paper tubes, tissue boxes, anything light weight and safe to chew on.

I hope I helped!  Please let me know if you have any other questions or anything I can assist with.

-Tam