Things You'll Need
- Glass aquarium with lid fasteners Water bottle Food dish Running wheel Nest house Assorted small animal toys and tubes Traditional hamster food mix Rolled oats Timothy hay Low-fat, dry dog or cat food Lab blocks for mice
Instructions
Locating Spiny Mice
While hamsters can be found for sale in almost any pet store, spiny mice are a little harder to find. As with any animal, one of the best places to start your search is your local shelter or the pet adoption site Petfinder.com. If you want to buy directly from a breeder, you can find one by going through a national association, such as the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association.
If you do happen upon some spiny mice in a traditional pet store, the same health checks that apply to all animals apply to these guys. Look for unhealthy, overcrowding situations, nice coat and clear eyes.
Unlike the Syrian hamster, spiny mice are extremely social and need to live in same sex pairs of two or more. But, make sure that the mice have already lived together. If you try to pair two spiny mice that have never met before you are likely to end up with fighting cagemates that have to be separated.
Preparing a New Home for Spiny Mice
Having the proper housing environment is extremely important. As with other small animals, spiny mice are susceptible to extreme changes in temperature and, for that reason, glass aquariums seem to make the best environment. Plus, they are more escape-proof than the traditional hamster habitats on the market, especially if you add metal lid clips to the aquarium top. Find a quiet spot in your home to place the tank, away from windows and direct sunlight.
The tank should be equipped with safe bedding materials like Carefresh, a hideaway house, water bottle, food dish, hamster wheel and some other items to climb on and run through. Spiny mice are very active and the more items they can explore and crawl through, the better.
The diet of a spiny mouse is much more detailed than that of a hamster. In addition to hamster feed, they require lab blocks designed for mice, low-fat dog or cat food for protein, small amounts of timothy hay and rolled oats. Mealworms are also a favorite treat, as are crickets and hard boiled eggs. Fed a few times per week, they all offer extra sources of protein.
Enjoying Your New Pets
Spiny mice are one exotic pet that, with the right amount of patience and attention, can be hand tamed, particularly if you start interacting with them at an early age. Rather than invade their space, a safe way to introduce them to your hand is to scoop them out of their tank using some tubing first and then place them on your hand. Make sure your hands are free from any food odors or they may nip at them.
Despite the fact that spiny mice should always be raised in pairs, there are times when a single spiny is in need of a home and is too mature to be safely introduced to a cage mate. These mice still make great pets (mine certainly does!) and live long, healthy lives. Daily interaction with their owner is even more important to the loner mouse, and should continue to slowly introduce your hand to them until they are comfortable jumping right in.
Spiny mice are nocturnal, which means they are most active in the evening. Watching them run in their wheels can be a very amusing form of nighttime entertainment, considering the speed they gather. You can also offer them some of the various chew toy items on the market for small animals and see whether they start to play with it right away or hide it away someplace in their cage for later enjoyment.