The Rodentarium

I notice I usually talk about the activity of my mice, but how about some fun facts? #1: Mice will eat almost anything you put in front of them, including spaghetti! They even eat meat and sometimes flowers #2: The ideal humidity and temperature for YOUR rodentarium, is a range from 70-80 degrees in temperature, and about 45-60 percent in humidity. To sustain a good amount of humidity level, I usually spray once or twice a week with a misting bottle, NOT A SPRAY BOTTLE. Misting bottles make a thin layer of moisture over the area, spray bottles create much larger droplets of water which could make the mice less healthy. Mice aren't made to have water baths. It is best for them to have dust baths. #3: There are 3 body types, 12 possible coat varieties, 19 self-colors, 7 other less likely self-colors, and 24 less likely colors/patterns found among fancy mice. Chadex is an English, with standard fur, and his coloring is silver, but his pattering is roan. Roan means that the patter...

Gyfu has decided that the vivarium is the place to make tunnels, which is a really interesting thing to watch. When my mom and I bought the soil from TheBioDude, we got Terra Firma which is a soil mixture for burrowing creatures, and it seems we have made the right choice. Gyfu has currently made at least 2 little caves that have their own entrance/exit. Another interesting thing we have seen is that Gyfu puts in air holes in the sides of the burrows.  When the condensation builds it is harder for them to breath, rather than escaping the burrow he decided to make tiny tunnels using his nose.  This created airflow in the burrow  which helped him to breath easier, and it allowed him to continue working on his burrow. Today we added isopods into the environment. Isopods dig a lot, reproduce quickly, and eat most biodegradable matter. This includes, the Sphagnum moss and dead leaves that are mixed into the soil,  and our hope is they will be able to keep up with t...

As, I said before, we put together the tank last night, and we took pictures! Take a look.                                                      Send in the test subjects!!!                             A bit of an audience                                                                The final product.

Last night, my mom and I set up a bio-active vivarium for mice.      Vivariums are usually for reptiles and sometimes amphibians, not furry mice. One of the main problems while I was researching this, was finding a way to get rid of mouse poop without human involvement. Mainly because with a vivarium, it's supposed to mimic their natural habitat which means you would have to dig through the ground to get their poop out. Not to mention pee. The reason getting rid of the mouse poop was a problem was because mice poop way more than snakes do. Humans poop a few times a day. Snakes poop almost once or twice a week. Mice can poop at least three times in about five minutes.      The mouse on the left with the gray spots is named Chadex. He was named that because those are the short versions of charisma and dexterity in pathfinder. Charisma is charm an dcompelling attractiveness that can inspire others. He was the first one to give me nose nuzzles and he trusts...