Mice- traveling and temperature.

Question

Maggie  

Lupe   Hi Natasha,

I have a couple of different questions that I would really appreciate your advice on. How stressful is it for me to move my mouse habit from one place to another? I am thinking of moving my mouse house over to my boyfriend's house for the summer because temperatures are cooler there. I have moved them once before and they didn't seem stressed, but some people seem to think it is stressing them out immensely, even if I can't see it. How does a mouse show stress? I've also taken my boyfriend's mice to the vet and they didn't seem stressed either in the car, etc. (He has mice too, and I know that we should keep the tanks far away from one another to avoid that stress, since they hear/smell each other.) My other question is arguably the more important one. I live in a cooler part of the US; Seattle and thus nobody has AC here. The ideal temperature is under 80 degrees, right? Preferably cooler. What temperature is the danger zone?

Thanks! Mahriah

Answer
Dear Mahriah,

I have traveled with my mice a lot. They are pretty cool about it. As long as they have wheels- either one large or two small, so they can both run- they are fine. Take out the water bottle and give them a grape, apple slice, or cucumber for liquid.

A stressed mouse will freeze and not want to move during the stressful period. They are, however, at risk for illness and mites if the stress continues.

Why keep the mice apart? They are very sociable. They will enjoy chatting. Your source is overworried!

My mice will tell you that 73 degrees is their limit. After that temperature, they start lying around their cage looking like they have melted. If your mice are a little more tolerant, you may go up to 75 degrees but not more. To keep their room cooler, draw the blinds at night or close the curtain; best is a white curtain which will not draw in the heat. Of course their cage is never in the sunlight.  If it is still too hot, give them a little mouse cooler such as a cup full of ice (in a way it can't fall) or a cold pack in a way that they can't chew it. One way to use a cold pack is under part of the cage. What I do is I have the small gel packs and I stuff them into a jam jar and keep them in the freezer. I keep three or four so I can swap them out. Put a bit of cloth around it, though they may decide to lie directly against the glass.

You are a good mouse mommy!

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha