hand-raising mouse & playing

Question
Hi Nastasha,
Brownie is doing really well, I wondered if you could help me figure out what kind of mouse he or she is? He has alot of fur now He eats great. I notice that he poops by himself now, is that normal? I rub his belly after but while he was in my hand he pooped 3 (looked like pellets - I assumed thats normal). I did help him to go pee though With a Q-tip.

I bought a water bottle for him yesterday, he tries to bite it. Same with when I am feeding him (he can't get it the milk out fast enough then once he starts he slows down a bit). I keep the cracks in there to show them. So far nothing yet, he hasn't tried to eat some.

How often do I need to clean his bedding?

What are the different body languages of a mouse? I know that when they clean their whiskers on you it means they feel safe.

I also noticed when I put my hand in, he climbs right on my hands immediately. What else can I expect?

How big will he gets? I noticed his ears aren't completely out yet? Still on the side. You can see the inside of his ear (pink) if you brush the fur to the side.

He is all brown. I would like to know what kind he or she is?

How do I tell if it's a male? He looks like he has a penis and then a bum (where he goes poop right below near he goes pee). What do I look for if it's a female?

I heard you can get shots for mice at the vet? Is that necessary? Do I have to?

Also can you put a rat and a mouse together in the same cage? My hubby wanted to know.

When do I stop running his belly to go to the bathroom? I have seen he has gone poop himself so should I contiune rubbing his belly??

How long do they live for?

Answer
Dear Kate,

That is somewhere between 15-20 questions!  Maybe you ought to pick up a book...!

If he has a white tummy he's probably a White-Footed Deer Mouse.  Actually I don't know if you live in the country or the city.  City mice usually have white tummies too.  If he is all brown... you could look in an animal almanac of your area and see what kinds of mice there are.  Maybe he's a vole or something!  You will probably need to wait until he is bigger to identify him.  Wild mice are quite a bit smaller than pet store mice so he will stay small.  If you find him in an animal book it will tell you what to expect for size.  A Deer Mouse shouldn't get longer than maybe 3 inches without the tail.  

As for age, they rarely survive a year in the wild because they get eaten, so I don't know if he will live a long time because he is so safe, or if it won't be much longer than that because nature never had to keep a mouse much longer than that.  Regular tame mice live about 18-30 months.

Right now, since you don't have a  male and female to compare, the only way to tell sex is that girls have 3-4 rows of nipples on their tummies.  Female genitals look like a little penis too; when a boy gets bigger he looks like he has a big butt and that is his testicles.  Maybe at about 4-5 weeks.

If he poops by himself that's good.  Yes, healthy  mouse poops look like little pellets.  If he pees after you rub him, continue doing so until he completely voids by himself.  You won't have to rub him past 3 weeks of age.  

If it's the tip of the water bottle that he is biting, good; he will learn how to get the water out.  Otherwise just introduce him to it once a day.  Start to give him some cream of wheat by letting him lick it off of your finger, too.

I don't know your set-up so I can't tell you when his cage will need cleaning, but it should not get smelly.  One little mouse in a regular sized mouse cage can definitely go a week, even two possibly if it's a girl (boys stink more).  Their pee has ammonia in it, so if it gets strong, it can give him respiratory infections.

I think it's awesome that he is so friendly.  If you continue to hold him daily you can expect him to stay friendly.  The next thing would be to hang out with him on a bed and let him walk on your clothing, arms and hands.   Soon he can learn to spend time on you not in your hand, such as on your shoulder or in your sleeve.  He will learn to do this while you do other things like read, watch TV, even walkk around the house.  Later you can also make him a castle or playpen and give him all kinds of toys to play with while you supervise him outside of his cage.  Also, kissing him and holding him to your face will make him like that and he will like to go nose to nose with you.  

You can also massage him very very gently between your fingers and as time goes on he will still allow it.  My 'kids' let me play with them with my hand like I would play with a dog with my whole body.  We also play in other ways.  For instance, I cover them with my hand and let them poke me gently with their noses for a while before I let them out.  They play by not coming out where there is a hole, like between my thumb and forefinger, and push underneath instead.  Or I put them in the front tail of my Tshirt and again let them try to get out for a while before I let them out.  I repeat this. They definitely enjoy the games.  You will find you just spend time with him naturally and learn how you two will best interact.  Feeding him yummies in your hand is always nice too.

Wild mouse body language may be very different than tame mice.  Also, he has nobody to learn from.  You'll have to get to know him!  One thing all mice do is stand up and sniff the air when they are checking out what is around them.  They also wash themselves constantly.  He might nip if he is surprised, scared or hurt.  He might like to nibble on your finger when you put it in the cage.  My 'kids' like to chew on my fingernails for some reason.  He will probably click his teeth when happy or content.  You might be able to feel him purr when he's happy too.  It's just an extra vibration.

He doesn't need any shots.  Mice don't get regular check-ups like dogs and cats do.  Make sure you find a good rodent vet now, so if you ever need one you will know where to go.  They will need to specialize in small animals or in exotic pets.  Ask them how often they see mice/hamsters/gerbils.  

No, rats and mice should not mix.  Rats might bite mice and it can happen too fast to stop it.

Kisses to Brownie!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha