13 replies to this topic

[Justa]

My daughter, who was going through a rough time, really wanted a pet mouse. She is a good kid, and is very responsible, so I agreed. She bought and paid for everything herself. So we picked out a mouse, and within a couple of days it died. I think it was too young. Phew, that's the end of that I thought. Nope... she wanted another one. So we went and got one. All they had were boy mice. No problem right? There was no chance that I would be bringing home a mouse and waking up to a cage full of baby mice if it accidentally had become pregnant before being seperated from the crew.

Well, here is the problem. Within a few hours of getting it home, the whole house stunk. And I have a fair sized house. I read online, and low and behold, male mice are notorious for their odor. I bought an air purifier for her room which is supposed to reduce odor, I have bought special pellets for the cage with absorb odor, I have put a special air filter on the side of the cage which is supposed to absorb odor, I have put two little dishes of baking soda beside the cage. It helped a bit, but not enough.

Does anybody out there own mice, and if so, do you have stinky boy mice, and how do you combat the problem? I can't get him to hold still long enough to put deodorant on, he won't shower, I just can't get him to do anything. I could understand if he ate spicy food, or played sports, but all he does is sit there, and sometimes runs in his wheel.

Help me pleeeeeeeeeease!!!!

Oh, for those of you contemplating getting a mouse... according to one site, one lone male mouse stinks worse than 5 male rats.

[Willow]

Tie a huge car air freshner around his neck...not only will he smell better, he'll be styling

All kidding aside, wish I could help ya hun..found this on a mouse mag website...

Quote

One particularly charming (!) characteristic of male mice is that their urine produces a very strong, extremely pervasive musky smell. This scent marks their territory, so as soon as the cage is cleaned the mice will carefully urinate over everything which they wish to label as their own. If you have them out to play, this could include you and your furniture. Once you have been scent-marked by a male mouse, you will need an immediate shower and change of clothes unless you want to smell like a very strong, cheap musk aftershave all day! If the mice live in the house and the smell becomes a problem, you can more or less eliminate it by plugging in a Remington Air Purifier (£10.75 here, probably KEEPING FANCY MICE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 cheaper in the US) near the cage. This will also remove cigarette smoke, pollen, and other pollutants so it is good for humans and mice alike.

You can also get him fixed but its a risky operation for such a small animal

Edited by Willow, 06 June 2006 - 01:36 PM.

[Justa]

Habitrail - $40
Bedding - $5
Mouse - $5
Combined cost of cutting down on odor - $130
Seeing the smile on your little girls face - Priceless.

Some things are worth putting up with


I don't know if I could really get him fixed, since they only live for a couple of years, and since he won't be breeding, I don't see the need to make the little guy suffer. (I have yet to see mouse sized ice packs)

Quote

This scent marks their territory, so as soon as the cage is cleaned the mice will carefully urinate over everything which they wish to label as their own

Umm, haven't they heard of labelling guns?


Thanks for looking for that for me Willow.

[Willow]

You're welcome

LOL You are such a great father, your girls are so lucky...my father would of solved the problem more along the lines of putting the poor mouse outside...all the fresh air it needs and it solves the stinky odor inside

[lulaboo]

Mice are some pretty stinky critters allright. I'm not even going into detail about how many I ended up with when I 'caught' my first one but enough was eventually enough and I just set the rascals free.

One thing that did help with the smell was getting some cedar bedding for their cages

[Redhead]

Man, I am not a nice person - my suggestion involves getting her a pet kitten...


Now you know why someone gave me a shirt that sez 'That's Ms. BAD_WORD to you!'

[leslie_dragonlvr]

Hi Justa,

Been there done that! One thing no cedar, it does kill the order better, but also kills the mouse in time. The cardboard pellet bedding also can harm them, they eat it and it expands in their throat. Only pine cedar is best. How often is his cage cleaned? When his cage is cleaned, you can put baking soda on the bottom. What type of cage did she buy for him? The habit trail ones are not very breathable, nor are the glass tanks. The best are plastic bottomed with small open wire sides. The cage breaths and you can put the bedding on the bottom. They must be cleaned at least 2x's a week, especially for stinky boy. His hormones will cut down soon enough and he will stop marking his cage, this will cut down the smell too.

Hope this helps! Let me know if there is anything else. Good luck and yes priceless!

[Tigger]

Maybe convince her to get a parakeet? lol I never had mice as pets.

[spooksareus]

Redhead, on Jun 7 2006, 10:00 PM, said:

Man, I am not a nice person - my suggestion involves getting her a pet kitten...


Now you know why someone gave me a shirt that sez 'That's Ms. BAD_WORD to you!'

Wicked girl!

[Justa]

Thanks everybody.

I have a cat and a budgie already. The poor cat wonders why I keep bringing snacks home for her but won't let her have them.

I didn't realize that about pine vs cedar chips Leslie. Thank you for all the info. The cage is plastic bottom, plastic sides, and wire front and back, which probably doesn't help the circulation a lot. At this point I'm ready to try just about anything. I thought about putting baking soda in the cage but didn't know if it would cause respiratory problems or make the little fella into a white mouse (he's dark gray).

[Justa]

The lil fella passed away yesterday. At least the smell is gone and we will know better for the next time.

[Willow]

Awwww, I'm so sorry Justa

[DarkPrincess]

So very sorry justa, I've not had mice either.

I have, however, had Rats, snakes, feretts, cats, dogs, birds of all kinds, rabbits, cows, sheep, pigs...welll...you get the picture, I am a animal person. Mice is just something I never thought about really having though since they were always getting into the house a wrecking havok, perhaps I am a larger animal lover.

[Must_See_To_Believe]

I'm so sorry the little fella died. That's gotta be tough on your daughter.

If I may make a suggestion... if you go for the "3rd time's charm" and get another one... buy it from a reputable pet store; i.e. PetSmart or PetCo ... they usually keep males and females separate to avoid buyers from having a fit when they come back with momma and the brood she gave birth to two weeks later; also to keep from having litters in-store as well.

Good pet stores should also offer you a refund or another female and take the family off of your hands if that does happen.

I would go so far to say that they might be able to tell when a female is preggers... but I don't know.

Would your daughter consider a hampster. I know the pet stores keep males and females separated there because female hampsters are aggressive and will basically kick a males butt when he becomes affectionate.

I love it that you are such a caring and concerned parent.

Best of luck and kindest regards to your daughter...

MSTB