# Harvest Mice Help please



## FurrySweet (Aug 29, 2013)

Hello,
I am going to be getting 2 harvest mice as pets in the near future and I was wondering if I could get a guide on:

The cage- what it's like and where I can get one, price etc.
Food- what they like most and where to get it
Handling
pretty much everything there is to harvest mice, I know this is a big ask but if you could write me a guide it would be VERY helpful, thanks for any help

extra info, i'm thinking of getting 2 young males because apparently they get on well together.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

I wouldn't get two males as my friend has 5 and they all had to live separate in the end as they were biting each other tails off due to aggression!

Females are much better to live together.

My friend has hers in exo terra vivarium with willow sticks, apple tree branches, around 5 inches of substrate (megazorb) at the bottom plus hay to burrow and nest in.

She feeds her wild bird seeds, mealworms and some nuts.
And for water she uses bird water feeders or shallow bowls with pebbles in so they don't fall in and drown.

That's as much as I know as they are my friends not mine.


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## AnnB (Nov 6, 2011)

Blade has already given some good advice there. I wouldn't recommend a pair of males either unless you're prepared to split them up and cage them separately if they fight.

Harvest Mice are tiny so you'll be better off with a tank style cage and a fine mesh lid, otherwise they may well escape. They like to climb so the cage should have plenty of branches or stalks of wheat. As long as they have a reasonable sized cage, they don't need cleaning out as often as fancy mice or hamsters and they hardly smell.

They can be fed a variety of grains and seeds (wheat, barley, millet etc) with a small amount of animal protein like mealworms or dog kibble. My Harvest Mice used to love fresh grass seeds (washed first).

They're not all that easy to handle unless you get them used to it from an early age. The most tame mine ever got was to take a treat from my hand and maybe if I was lucky, sit on my hand to eat it before leaping back to the safety of their cage.


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

FurrySweet said:


> Hello,
> I am going to be getting 2 harvest mice as pets in the near future and I was wondering if I could get a guide on:
> 
> The cage- what it's like and where I can get one, price etc.
> ...


All I can say is, you lucky duck - they're fabulous little things.


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## FurrySweet (Aug 29, 2013)

Hey, thanks that helps me alot,

So females is a better option?
I was rather to my liking to get males because I have it stuck in my head that I must call one of them 'Ted'

Heh, anyway I was thinking, what would you all think about to male Harvest mice that are brothers? maybe they wouldn't fight each other and introduced at a young age?

Anyway thanks for your help so far!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Still not a good idea. My friend was given two what she thought female harvest mice but one was male and so a few weeks later she gave birth to 6 babies one was a girl the other 5 were males. So she put all the male babies in one tank with the dad so father and sons. The mother and daughter lived together,they got on great. HOWEVER father and sons began fighting and as I said ate each other tails! So no I would still not get two brothers housed together.

Oh and my friend has 4 inch silent spinner wheels in her tanks for all her harvest mice.


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## FurrySweet (Aug 29, 2013)

Crikey!

I dont want 2 tail less mice!

Hmm I will look into that, thanks for all your help you have been very kind!

I fell in love with harvest mice when i went to a place which had harvest mice in the cafe, they were running around like mad and i could'nt take my eyes off them they were so cute!


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## magnolia (Sep 27, 2013)

Harvest mice are fascinating pets to watch. I have 5 females all living happily together. They are mum and 4 daughters. They get on great together.
I found they wouldn`t drink from a water bottle so i use the tiny glass tea candle holders. They are ideal.
For a bed i use the fat ball holders you buy for feeding birds. Filled with straw it makes a great bed for the mice. Mine all huddle together in the top of it


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

I just died of cuteness overload :001_wub:


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## magnolia (Sep 27, 2013)

The harvests are cute. Mummy harvest mouse is the biggest in my group. The others go down in size to a really tiny girl. My theory is they haven`t developed into full adults as mummy is the dominant mouse in the group. They sometimes push each other for a particular seed one has but they don`t fight at all. They get on far better than i expected.

This is mummy mouse ( Honey)


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

magnolia said:


> Harvest mice are fascinating pets to watch. I have 5 females all living happily together. They are mum and 4 daughters. They get on great together.
> I found they wouldn`t drink from a water bottle so i use the tiny glass tea candle holders. They are ideal.
> For a bed i use the fat ball holders you buy for feeding birds. Filled with straw it makes a great bed for the mice. Mine all huddle together in the top of it


That pic is wonderful! They are exquisite little creatures, aren't they?


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## magnolia (Sep 27, 2013)

They are delightful animals. So sweet when they wrap their tails around branches when climbing


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