How to Choose Bedding for a Pet Mouse

Once you've added a pet mouse to your household, you want to provide the best care possible for your new little friend. Purchasing the required housing, water bottle, food dish, food and toys is an easy task, but don't forget, it also needs bedding material. Not all bedding material is the same and some bedding can actually be hazardous to its health.

Things You'll Need

  • Mouse cage
  • Water bottle
  • Food dish
  • Sleeping box
  • Appropriate bedding
  • Mouse toys
  • Exercise wheel
  • Gnawing blocks (to wear down teeth)
  • Mouse food
  • Treats
  • Patience and gentle touch
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Instructions

    • 1

      Visit your local pet store and get the opinion of the pet shop owner or manager. Most shops will offer a few choices and can give you advice on which would be the best for your pet. If you bought your pet mouse at a pet store, then they should have advised you of your bedding options.

    • 2

      Read books about caring for pet mice, paying close attention to the suggestions they provide as far as bedding is concerned. "Mice: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual" by Sharon Vanderlip, D.V.M. and "The Mouse: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet" by Stephanie Shulman are two good choices to start with.

    • 3

      Research different bedding materials to ensure it's not made of a substance that can be harmful to your pet mouse. Wood shavings are a popular choice, but cedar and pine shavings are noted to be toxic to a rodent causing organ damage and respiratory disease. Shredded newspaper is another option, but again conventional newsprint can be toxic unlike papers printed with soy-based ink. You can learn more about bedding toxicity by visiting websites like the one provided by Drs. Foster and Smith that go into detail on how to care for pet mice including information about bedding issues.

    • 4

      Place the bedding material you've chosen in your pet mouse's home. The type of bedding you choose, as well as, how you place and replace it is important. You should fill the entire area with about one half to one inch of bedding material and supply a separate area for sleeping, which you can place a sleeping box or larger pile of bedding material.

    • 5

      Change heavily soiled areas of the bedding daily to keep your pet mouse's housing sanitary. When choosing your bedding material, picking one that is easy to replace, absorbent and dust-free makes this chore more convenient.

    • 6

      Clean the cage and all the pet's accessories at least once a week with hot, soapy water to ensure a healthy environment. Be sure to rinse off any remaining soap and let the cage air dry. You can sanitize the area using mild bleach or a disinfectant. Once everything is thoroughly dry, place everything back inside. Again, when making your bedding choice, keep in mind the material should be convenient to clean out weekly.

    • 7

      Discontinue using any bedding material that seems to affect your pet mouse's breathing. If the mouse is sneezing a lot and has a wheezing sound when it breaths, it could be a sign of a respiratory illness, which could be caused by its bedding. If this occurs, you will have to go back to step one and choose a new type of bedding material.