# multimammate mice



## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

Hi i have 3 female multimammate mice that i got from a pet shop that told me they were just a little bit bigger than an average mouse. I currently have them in a hamster cage and feeding them on mouse food.
I have found out they grow to 26cm but don't know anything else about them really.
I was wanting to know what type of cage they will need, what to feed them including any treats they can have and some general information about them.
Thanks emma


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

26cm is wrong.my adult rats are of that size if a bit more so whoever told u that is wrong.
wouldn't it have been a good idea to research about them and there needs before you went out and bought them??

crittery.co.uk - Multimammate mouse


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

i got 26cm off the internet and the rest of my information from the pet shop which is wrong, i have had normal mice before so i thaught these were not a problem.


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## Guest (Feb 7, 2012)

Surely you should have done this research before you got the mice


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Research really should be done before you buy But seeing as they are here Hopefully we can help

They are abit bigger then normal fancy mice as ive seen them housed with fancy mice before. So to be honest i dont think the care is much different to fancy mice 

I would feed them my own mix with selective science mouse food because thats what my own mouse likes. Id stay away from peanuts but thats about it really id give them the same treats as would fancy mice 

Ive read on another forum they are pretty fiesty and are able to chew through cages like rats!


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

LostGirl said:


> Research really should be done before you buy But seeing as they are here Hopefully we can help
> 
> They are abit bigger then normal fancy mice as ive seen them housed with fancy mice before. So to be honest i dont think the care is much different to fancy mice
> 
> ...


thanks. do you know what size these grow to including tail.


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks lost girl. Do you know what size these grow to including tail, all the websites are saying 26cm i wanted to make sure this is right.


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## Sarah+Hammies (Jul 20, 2009)

blade100 said:


> 26cm is wrong.my adult rats are of that size if a bit more so whoever told u that is wrong.
> wouldn't it have been a good idea to research about them and there needs before you went out and bought them??
> 
> crittery.co.uk - Multimammate mouse


Quoted from the link you gave _*'measuring around 15cm. Tail length is 11cm'*_ so 26cm is right but that includes tail.

emma20 you should have researched them before you got them however since you have them already we will do our best to help 

A little while ago I looked into getting some but read that they were harder to handle than regular fancy mice and at the time were still quite wild. (This was a few years ago) so I stuck with fancy mice.

You should feed them on a nutritionally adequate food for rodents (you are probably best making your own mix which you can find examples of by googling) they also need proteins and vegetables to supplement their normal food. (hard boiled eggs, small cooked bits of meat, insects etc)

As for bedding I would treat them like I would mice and rats so i'd stay away from wood shavings and use something kinder to their respiratory system like finacard.

Can we see any pics of your little fur babies?


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Most say around the 15cm as been said I'd love to see pics aswell


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

Care is the same as for fancy mice and the two can live together well. My smallest has grown to be 15cm (inc. tail) and the largest 28 inc. tail.) Some can be very destructive so in most cases an all glass enclosure or an allmetal cage with bar spacing no larger than 1cm. Not all are destructive though as my girl Cinnamon lives in an ordinary hamster cage with Trouble one of my male fancy mice. You need to provide large amounts of space both in terms of floor space and climbing room as they are very active (So something like a Freddy 2 works out well for a trio as plenty of height and floor space.) 

They have a reputation of being feisty and biters but this is only because they have not been domesticated as long as other species. I've had them for 2 years and been nipped once, only because the girl was deaf and didn't see me coming towards her. They need huge amounts of toys and chew toys to keep them stimulated and love to learn tricks and work for their food. 

As for main food, get a good quality rat or mouse specific food as they need around 16% protein which should be standard in most of the mouse foods. Again, I can't stress enough that it needs to be a specific food, they will not get everything they need from hamster, gerbil, mouse mixed foods. Making your own mix using the shumamite diet for rats works well with mine. Mealworms make great treats as does broccoli, parsley, carrots and sweetcorn (check out the internet for a list of what foods are safe for ordinary fancy mice - I'd recommend that you do this on a mouse forum and not trust google as you will get varied results.) Walnuts also make fab treats and they love them to still have their shell (just make sure that you crack it a little otherwise they think it's a football and throw it around!)

They can be prone to stomach tumours so you need to get them used to being handled now so that you can check for things like this as they get older. There are a number of websites that show you how to train your ASF (they are called numerous names including: natal rat/mouse, African Soft Furred rat/mouse, Multimammate rat/mouse) so google those for tips. 

Stay away from woodshavings or sawdust, stick to cardboard or paper based bedding as they can still develop respiratory infections like mice and wood based beddings (except hardwoods like aspen) can set this off.

They can make a clicking type noise if they are annoyed so if you hear it when you are near them be careful as it can be them telling you to back off or them developing a resp infection so you will need to get them to the vet everytime. 

Beware these mice are very, very intelligent. If you do not give them enough to do they WILL escape. I hadn't finished the cage for mine when i first got them so put them in a rody overnight. They chewed out the rody in less than 24 hours and then chewed through the plastic box the rody was inside as well. You MUST provide toys and make them work for things (so things like hiding their food, putting their treats in a box and hang it from the roof so that they have to figure out how to get it down then inside) otherwise they will take out their frustrations on you and each other. Them chewing off bits of one anothers tails is common, as I found out when i made the mistake of taking my girls dolls house away. 

And piccies would be fab


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

thanks everyone, i will try and get some pics for you tomorrow


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

is this the kind of cage i should be looking for
EXTRA LARGE RAT / FERRET / CHINCHILLA CAGE RRP £99.99 on eBay!
and would wire flooring be uncomfortable for them


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

think iv added a picture of 1 of my mice if not ill try again


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

aww gorgeous!x


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## Sarah+Hammies (Jul 20, 2009)

Awww cutie! Look at that little inquisitive face.

I wouldn't personally use a cage that has a wire bottom, Also when you look at a cage you need to look at bar spacing so you get one with suitable width between each bar. The cage you have linked to has quite wide bar spacing doesn't it? xxx


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2012)

emma20 said:


> is this the kind of cage i should be looking for
> EXTRA LARGE RAT / FERRET / CHINCHILLA CAGE RRP £99.99 on eBay!
> and would wire flooring be uncomfortable for them


The mice would slip right out of that cage, the bar spacing is huge.
For mice you need to work on the rule or bar spacing being 1cm maximum, ideally you would want it smaller.

Also wire flooring is out as it can cause bumble foot.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

With these kind of mice they chew excessively so as in the link that I supplied in the first page on here it says they should be kept in tanks as they can chew through plastic no problem.


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

female rats can get through those bars so a MM would defo be able to get out  I'd personally look at getting a second hand Large fish tank for them so there is a very little possibility they will end up walking around your house!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

LostGirl said:


> female rats can get through those bars so a MM would defo be able to get out  I'd personally look at getting a second hand Large fish tank for them so there is a very little possibility they will end up walking around your house!


Lol sorry but female rats would not at all get out of a critter 3 cage.
The bars are small about 1inch squares if that.
I've had female rats and babies in then cages but as others have said I wouldn't keep mice in it.


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

I saw a different cage to a critter in the link odd?, the ones with plastic shelves?

Critters are pants cages not worth the money they ask


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Yes in the link it's a critter how weird.

Yeh I hate them they rust and smell and scratch u to pieces.


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Just tried it on my phone it takes me to a critter on the lappy it has "original
Sold for £59.99" then a pic of a cage with plastic base and shelves the ones with bar spacing of 2.5cm I think it is 

I find they smell after a while they seem to soak pee up!


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

im going to look for a large glass tank but i was hoping for a wire lid or something so i can dangle their toys off but most of what iv seen in shops near me have lights in them so its going to come off the internet iv seen a few i cant have danglie toys in so i might have to have one of them there not chewing at the min tho


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

There are some rodent tanks you can get with mesh lids they also have levels in them, I forget the name of them. I'll go have a look see if I can find any.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Here u go but the one you would need is the 3rd one along which is the biggest
Small Animals - Starter Kits & Packages - Perfecto Small Animal Habitat (2 Shelves) - Bobtail Pets - UK Online Pet Store and Manchester Local Pet Supplies

They often come up on eBay second hand for really cheap.


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

blade100 said:


> Here u go but the one you would need is the 3rd one along which is the biggest
> Small Animals - Starter Kits & Packages - Perfecto Small Animal Habitat (2 Shelves) - Bobtail Pets - UK Online Pet Store and Manchester Local Pet Supplies
> 
> They often come up on eBay second hand for really cheap.


think im going to buy 1 but do you think it will be big enough for 3


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

just found some bigger ones so im going to get 1


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Cool, yep the biggest one will be fine for 3 so long as u put in lots of toys etc.


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

blade100 said:


> Cool, yep the biggest one will be fine for 3 so long as u put in lots of toys etc.


iv got 1 thats 30"x12"x15" they have lots of toys but im going to have to get them a new wheel as the 1 they have is built into the cage and they love the wheel


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

I'd get them at least 2 wheels and make sure they are around 8 inches any smaller and there likely to hurt there backed due to bending there spines if too small.
You can get the savic rolly wheels from pets at home or online or eBay.


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