Types of Pet Mice

Pet stores typically offer two different types of mice: Feeders and fancy mice. However, variety of different types of pet mice fit into the fancy mouse category, including the albino feeder mice mass produced by pet stores, as well as those with a multitude of different coat types, colors and markings.

  1. Self Mice

    • A self mouse is a mouse with just one color, which is distributed evenly across the entire body, including the tail, ears and feet. Self mice are available in many different colors including black, blue, champagne, chocolate, cream, dove, fawn, lilac, silver and white. Darker coat colors typically correspond with black eyes, while lighter colored coats typically correspond with red eyes, though black eyes are also common.

    Marked Mice

    • These mice can have either standard coats or long hair, and have different markings rather than a self coat. Most are two colors, one base and one marking color, while some are tricolor, such as calico mice. Some varieties of marked mice include Dutch, broken-marked, even-marked, banded, Himalayan, Hereford, variegated and rump-white. The eye color for marked mice typically corresponds with the base color rather than the marking color.

    Tan Mice

    • Tan mice have a solid color coat on top, but their belly is a solid tan color regardless of the color of rest of their body. In most tan mice, there is a clear line between the two colors that runs horizontally from the jaws to the flanks of the mouse. Tan mice are otherwise similar to self mice in terms of coat, nail, feet and eye colors,.

    Satin Mice

    • Satin mice have a different type of coat compared to self, marked and tan mice, in that their coat has a high sheen with a metallic or satin gloss quality to it. Satin mice can be found in all of the standard colors and marking schemes, but many satin varieties are subclassified according to their coat type, such as Argente satin, ivory satin, dove satin and fawn satin.