Zebra Mouse Care
Care Basics - Basic zebra mouse information in a nutshell from housing to feeding and handling.
Grouping - Getting zebra mice to accept each others.
Activities - How to lighten up the days of your zebra mice.
Housing
Wire cages are not suitable for zebra mice at all, as they can hurt their legs while climbing. Therefore it's better to house them either in a large glass tank with secure wire mesh top or a large plastic terrarium. Zebra mice thrive in a small group and should not be kept alone. Therefore, the tank should be at least 80 liters in size, with more floor space than height.
Place the tank in draftless place, where the sun does not shine directly. Best place is on a shelf or a table and not where your zebra mice will be constantly "bothered".
Feeding
The main diet for zebra mice is versatile seed mix. Lab blocks have all the nutrition the mouse needs in right amounts, although not all zebra mice will eat them. There are many poor seed mixes available. Unfortunately it may happen that an inexperienced buyer can not know their nutritional value.
Poor mixes are more designed to satisfy the owner's eye than the mouse's belly: we tend to believe that the mix is good when it is filled with lots of different coloured stuff. Mainly these pieces are artificially coloured corn/maize, and artificial colours are known to be carcinogenic. Seed mixes have also often too high fat content -- they are filled with sunflower seeds & nuts.
Zebra mouse buck |
Feed your zebra mice once or twice a day, giving so much food that there will be some of it left by the next feeding. Especially larger groups, like female and her babies, should be fed twice a day.
If you're feeding lab blocks, give your spiny mouse some grains, i.e. oats. This gives the zebra mouse the energy it needs. Especially growing babies can have a little "fattier" diet, so they can grow up to be as big as they can.
In addition to blocks/seed mix you can give them high quality hay, which keeps your zebra mice busy and gives something to do for their teeth. Hay also has good affect on the digestion of the mice. When you buy hay, make sure it is of high quality. Good hay is green, smells nice, isn't dusty or moldy.
Like other animals, also zebra mice need calcium (important for especially pregnant or nursing females and older rodents). Mineral stones available in the pet shops don't always have in them the exact minerals your pet needs, so it's better to buy special calcium from a pharmacist's. Ask for proper dose and do not overdo it as it will harm your zebra mice's bone structure! Eggshells have also lots of calcium and zebra mice love to chew on them!
You may have been told that you can also give homemade food to your zebra mice; like porridges, potatoes, rice etc. This is true, but there is no sense in preparing them just for your mice - lots of the nutritional value is lost while heating. If you have left overs from your own cooking, do use them to give variety to you pet's diet. Fresh vegetables, fruits etc are good sources of vitamins and you should give your mice them every once in a while.
Vitamins are also important. Buy vitamins as drops which are then mixed in the drinking water. Vitamins important to zebra mice are A, B, C, D, E and K. Please follow the instructions closely, especially with vitamins A, D, E and K, as these are grease-dissolving (unlike vitamins B and C, which are water-dissolving) and in the long term they build up in the body causing grease poisoning. Vitamins last only for a certain period, so check the best before date on the bottle before you buy it. Best Before date doesn't mean that the vitamins have gone bad, but that it is the date until which the producer guarantees that the vitamins are exactly as they should be.
Diet for pregnant or nursing females should be very versatile and there should always be plenty of food. This is also the case with babies when they start to eat on their own, The importance of calcium grows, as well as milk products. Make sure that babies can reach the water bottle at all times, or give them plenty of vegetables with high water contents, like apple or cucumber. You should always teach the babies to eat versatile food. If you feed pellets/blocks, change normal blocks to ones designed for growing babies. Also, add oats to the diet.
Remember, that human treats like chips, candies, chocolate etc are not meant to be zebra mouse food, even if they'd love them!
Proper diet has a great significance on the appearance and health of your zebra mouse. By following the above instructions, you'll surely get long living, healthy and happy pet!
Handling
Zebra mouse is lifted simply by putting you hand under the mouse and lifting it up. If the mouse runs away from you, "chase" it to the corner of the tank on use your both hands to lift it. Form a "cup" of your hands, so it doesn't jump off or otherwise fall. Don't squeeze the mouse too tightly. When holding a zebra mouse, hold it on your open palm and let it move around freely. Be careful that it doesn't fall off. Zebra mice can't estimate how high it is from the ground. Always be completely calm when handling zebra mice and avoid sudden movements, which could frighten the animal.
NEVER lift a zebra mouse by its tail, do not even hold the mouse by the tail. The tail is very fragile and breaks easily and it won't grow back.
Health
Zebra mouse baby will be sexually mature at the age of (approximately) two months, but the female will give birth only at the age of one year.
The gestation period is 28 days and the size of the litter 4-5 babies, sometimes even 12. The babies weigh some 3 grams when they're born and they have very thin coat on (the stripes can be seen at birth). The eyes will open at the age of one week and at the same time the babies start eating solid food. However, a zebra mouse baby will not be ready to leave for new home before the age of 2 months. It is still unclear how long zebra mice live. It is very probable that they are relatively long-living rodents, as the females give birth at the age of one year for the first time.
Zebra mice are rather healthy and long-living little rodents, which do not have any known common illnesses, tumours or behavioural disorders.
Parasites
Zebra mice should be wormed at autumn and spring. Information on proper worming medicines ant their dosage can be obtained from a vet.
Accidents
Tail accidents are the most usual ones with zebra mice, as the tail of a zebra mouse is very fragile. Damages to the tail are often caused by careless handling, so you should bare in mind that you must never lift or hold a zebra mouse by the tail. If your mouse's tail gets caught in a running wheel, the result is rather bad looking.
Do not hesitate with taking your pet to a vet, if you think there is something wrong with your pet! However, do not blindly believe all that the vet says, as very few vets specialize in small rodents.
Text by: Lotta Ahlfors & Kaisa Kattilakoski
On to next part - grouping.