Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have recently had aquired a mouse. Her name is Tak My g/f is holding them at her house currently. Tak doesnt seem to be doing well and we dont know if anything is wrong or not. It jus sits in the corner of the cage and breathes really heavily like she is scared or sumtin. She as a friends so i dont know if she can be lonly. She was taking from a large lot of mice. So maybe she jus misses her family? is the tak she is in 2 small. she is young mouse bout lil older then a fuzzy. and they are in a small Plastic Terearrium tank. The kind ppl put T's in. Could she be pregnant possibly. They dont have a wheel jus a ball the can't push fully yet. So if we get a bigger cage with tunnel's and wheels and such do ya htink she will be ok. Feed back ASAP plz

Not sure how big tarantula tanks tend to be but for a pair of mice, a 10 gal tank is good. Or equivalent size container.

You didn't mention if there are any hides or shelters in the tank or what sort of bedding you are using. Being put into a new home does put a fair bit of stress on mice. They need places they can hide to feel secure. Huddling in a corner breathing heavy is a sure sign the mouse is very stressed. I suggest either putting in hides, even if they are just the tubes from toilet paper rows or paper towel tubes. These make good hides for mice and things to play in. As they are cheap and disposable and easily obtained, they are great hides and toys. Small cardboard boxes with holes cut into them or the opening end flaps removed, also make good shelters.

If they are fairly recent, I would also put them into a low traffic area of the house, or block the view of the outside of the cage from the mice with cardboard or construction paper on 2-3 sides, or all sides except the top. Leave them along for awhile as well, just going to the cage to feed and water them. Make sure the shaking one is eating and drinking, and not dropping in weight. Mice can starve to death very quickly if they are not eating or drinking on their own.

You did mention the mice were bigger than fuzzies, but fuzzies are mice that are anywhere between a week old to 2 1/2 week old till their eyes open, inwhich case they are called hoppers. Petstores that breed their own mice tend to remove them from the mothers sooner than they should, usually around 4 weeks of age. A small 4 week old mouse may not be fully weaned from their mother and though they can survive, they are often very slow to grow, as compared to babymice kept with their mother for another week. Mice under 5 weeks old are very unlikely to become pregnant, though it is possible.

Below is a picture of a nearly weaned mouse, about 4-5 weeks old, if I recall correctly. Been awhile since I took this picture.

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PHLdyPayne