Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there,

I just got two little 7 or so week old dormice... Two questions: 1)Will they ever become a little less nocturnal? Right now I don't see them at all... I know they come out @ night (I hear them have a good old time then) but I never see them... I knew they were nocturnal when I got them but I was still hoping I'd see them!; 2) How big do they grow? And how fast? I had them in a cage with very small bar spaces and they still managed to slip through the bars... Will they ever grow into it? I'm very disappointed because it was custom built for them and I like it if they could use it!
All right... Thanx so much!

Hannah

Hi
I have 2 door mice. They will allways be nocturnal they will wake up though some days fairly early so you should see them. They wont however ever be like gerbils that are day time rodents. I kept mine initially in a 20 gallon long tank.
The place I got them from told me as babies they can squeeze out of any tiny bar space. Now they are in a tall finch cage with small bar spacing and never a problem.
I use thick ropes and wooden shelves and a solid wheel they live to climb. They are esacape artist so as babies a tank might be your best choise but mine as got bigger got transfered to the cage and never escaped and glad I did because like I said they adore climbing but again at 1 yr and half they are still nocturnal.
Lia

Oh sorry i didnt answer all your questions. They grow fast in 2 months or so if I remember they are full/close to full grown.
They grow to about 4 inches. I am glad you got 2 mine are best friends and you can tell happy to be together.
Mine dont like being handled they are more like look at pets but I heard they can be handled mine were allways nervous,scared.
They are tho lots fun to watch.
If your bars are to wide you can put mesh on it just make sure you dont leave even the slightest area open. I am suprised that as babies you were able to get them back when they escaped you got lucky.
Lia

Hi! I have had dormice for the past eight years and i have had a little luck with making them come out during the day. I began keeping them in a dark room all day and eventually they started to become active at around 7 to 8 p.m.(better than midnight) You might also want to try enticing them with a treat at a certain time every night, blueberry yogert and mealworms are a favorite at my house, and they will associate that time as "snack time" and wake up to greet you.

They grow to be between four and five inches long and are sexually mature at about four months old. I have never had any luck with wire cages because those little guys are true escape artists. I use 20 gallon glass tanks to house pairs. I also built a wood cage with a plexi-glass front so that i could watch them. I am sorry to say that if they get out of it now they will probably always be able to escape! If you want to put toys in the cage be sure to use only natural rope and fruit tree branches that have been "baked" and stripped to avoid poisoning!

Good luck and if you have any more questions my email is DeShae_345@yahoo.com