Should I get my new pet mouse a companion???

Question

I just got a pet female mouse - her name is Hermoine and she is so cute and sweet! I set her all up in her cage and everything that I got from the pet store and had to return that day to exchange her water bottle. Well the girl at the register, upon hearing about my new pet, insisted that I buy her another mouse as a companion. She said that mice can get very depressed and anxious alone and even die. I've never heard of this before... is it common? I'd really rather just have the one mouse but if it will keep her happy, I'll get a 2nd one. Thoughts and opinions?

Answer 1

If you did you would have to use the split-cage method. It's intended for gerbils but it could work with mice.

Answer 2

no she's completely wrong. mice are territorial and while females CAN live in the same cage, they don't really like to. If you don't hold her she may get lonely, and stop being tame, but she's not going to get depressed and die. enjoy your furry friend

Answer 3

Mice are very social and do better with companions. Two female mice will be much happier than one.

Answer 4

Male mice should be kept alone because they are territorial and will fight. So if you had a male, I would say that he is all fine.

However, you have a female, and that's different. Female mice do better when you have at least two of them, and they can indeed get depressed if you only keep one alone (males can too, that's why they require more human attention and play).

Depending on your cage dimentions, you might want to only get one more female, as overcrowding a cage can lead to some more fighting between the females (but it's usually just a domination thing and nothing serious). Just for size comparison, a habitrail mini is basically just big enough for one mouse, two tops (especially if you don't have any add-ons and everything is inside the cage).

Don't forget to put any new mouse in quarantine for 3 weeks before introducing the two mice (do you have a second cage?), just to make sure your new mouse doesn't carry any disease or parasites from wherever you get her from.

Also, if you get your mice from a pet store, make sure you know how to s*x mice yourself (many pet store employees are clueless about sexing small rodents), you don't want to put a male in with your female! Also, be wary of mixed bins at pet stores... many pet stores put males and females together in the same bins, so it is well possible that you take a female home and end up with more mice than you can handle a few weeks later (mice pregnancies last 21 days).

You can find more info about pet mice on the Rats and mouse club of America website (cited as source below). There you can find tons of info about how to take good care of your pet mice, including social behavior, sexing, food, bedding, health, etc...

Answer 5

YES i have heard they get bored easily so your mouse will have a good time with its new friend!

but make sure its the same gender!!!

i thiknk you should