Post by Flora on Feb 16, 2021 20:12:56 GMT -2
Introduction
This is a collaborative document made by the staff and members of “Mouse Care Forum” (MCF) The information in this article is based on data in an attempt to better mouse care standards. Specifics on how to care for mice are not included, the article will cover: floorspace, wheel size, and amount of bedding needed for mice. These standards will be based on studies conducted on wild house mice as they are the closest relative to the modern day fancy mouse as well as data from breeders, labs and the AFRMA.
Floorspace
Mice need to have considerable room to move and explore. The bare minimum for a single male mouse or a group of 2-3 female mice is 360 square inches. A house mouse group territory can be up to 194 square feet, or 27,900 square inches(König). This is about 77 times the recommended bare minimum from MCF. Keep this in mind when looking at floorspace. Remember that 360 square inches is the bare minimum and bigger is better. When housing more than three females at a time it is necessary to provide above the minimum preferably by another 100 square inches when adding 1 or 2 mice. For every additional mice from 6-7, and 7-8 add another 100 square inches. Also make sure that you only measure continuous floorspace. Levels or connected areas do not count.
Wheel Size
The goal of a minimum wheel size is to prevent lasting damage due to mice compensating for a small wheel by curving in their backs. To prevent this the mouse must be able to run with a completely straight back and preferably a straight tail. To find the correct size an average length of the pet fancy mouse and the show fancy mouse were used. The average for a pet mouse was 6.5-7.5 inches(King). The average for a show mouse was about 9 inches (AFRMA). The recommended wheel size (from MCF) for a typical pet mouse is a 7-8 inch wheel and for typical show mice a 9-10 inch wheel. Though wheel size can be larger than the minimum make sure that there is not any difficulty for your mouse to push the wheel.
Bedding
Burrowing is an important for survival to the average wild rodent. Mice are no exception. In a study done on the burrowing tendencies of common lab animals mice were found to move 100g of bedding overnight in a variety of different substrates (Deacon). When converting grams to inches for a typical cage of 360 sq in of floor space the recommended amount of bedding is 6 inches though 4-6 is acceptable.
Sources
König, B., Lindholm, A.K., Lopes, P.C. et al. A system for automatic recording of social behavior in a free-living wild house mouse population. Anim Biotelemetry 3, 39 (2015). doi.org/10.1186/s40317-015-0069-0
King, Peter. "Pet Mice Size and Weight Chart." Pet Mice, Peter King, 21 Dec.
2020, pet-mice.com/pet-mice-size-weight-chart/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.
"AFRMA Official Mouse Standard." American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association, 19
Mar. 2016, afrma.org/stdsmse.htm#msize. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.
This is a collaborative document made by the staff and members of “Mouse Care Forum” (MCF) The information in this article is based on data in an attempt to better mouse care standards. Specifics on how to care for mice are not included, the article will cover: floorspace, wheel size, and amount of bedding needed for mice. These standards will be based on studies conducted on wild house mice as they are the closest relative to the modern day fancy mouse as well as data from breeders, labs and the AFRMA.
Floorspace
Mice need to have considerable room to move and explore. The bare minimum for a single male mouse or a group of 2-3 female mice is 360 square inches. A house mouse group territory can be up to 194 square feet, or 27,900 square inches(König). This is about 77 times the recommended bare minimum from MCF. Keep this in mind when looking at floorspace. Remember that 360 square inches is the bare minimum and bigger is better. When housing more than three females at a time it is necessary to provide above the minimum preferably by another 100 square inches when adding 1 or 2 mice. For every additional mice from 6-7, and 7-8 add another 100 square inches. Also make sure that you only measure continuous floorspace. Levels or connected areas do not count.
Wheel Size
The goal of a minimum wheel size is to prevent lasting damage due to mice compensating for a small wheel by curving in their backs. To prevent this the mouse must be able to run with a completely straight back and preferably a straight tail. To find the correct size an average length of the pet fancy mouse and the show fancy mouse were used. The average for a pet mouse was 6.5-7.5 inches(King). The average for a show mouse was about 9 inches (AFRMA). The recommended wheel size (from MCF) for a typical pet mouse is a 7-8 inch wheel and for typical show mice a 9-10 inch wheel. Though wheel size can be larger than the minimum make sure that there is not any difficulty for your mouse to push the wheel.
Bedding
Burrowing is an important for survival to the average wild rodent. Mice are no exception. In a study done on the burrowing tendencies of common lab animals mice were found to move 100g of bedding overnight in a variety of different substrates (Deacon). When converting grams to inches for a typical cage of 360 sq in of floor space the recommended amount of bedding is 6 inches though 4-6 is acceptable.
Sources
König, B., Lindholm, A.K., Lopes, P.C. et al. A system for automatic recording of social behavior in a free-living wild house mouse population. Anim Biotelemetry 3, 39 (2015). doi.org/10.1186/s40317-015-0069-0
King, Peter. "Pet Mice Size and Weight Chart." Pet Mice, Peter King, 21 Dec.
2020, pet-mice.com/pet-mice-size-weight-chart/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.
"AFRMA Official Mouse Standard." American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association, 19
Mar. 2016, afrma.org/stdsmse.htm#msize. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.
Deacon, R.M.J. Burrowing: A Sensitive Behavioural Assay. 3 Dec. 2008. Science
S016643280900031X?via%3Dihub#preview-section-figures. Accessed 15 Feb.
2021.
