Wish I could send you some of my mice, you would love them so much. I could send you some, there is a direct flight between Whitehorse, Yukon, and Germany, but you would have to pick them up there, which would involve some travel, so only possible after the Pandemic. I could send you a neutered male and a few females who are 100% not pregnant......My mice are so full of personality and so interactive, it is such a shame I live in such a remote place. If you do get a female mouse from a pet store, only buy a very young one, no older than 5 weeks old, and you will be safe when it comes to unwanted pregnancies.
My first female mouse was pregnant when I got her (I didn’t know at the time), she had 13 babies. All were healthy and Elle was a great mum. I’m in the UK so I was happy for the pet shop I got Elle from to take the little ones off my hands once they were old enough. I kept one of the daughters too.
When I was little my family got a Syrian hamster who was said to be a young male who was in a tank with other males but after a while when they were with us she gave birth
@@bones1026 My male hamster from a pet shop didn't drop his testicles until he was 1.5 years old. I took "her" to the vet because I thought this lump that showed up suddenly was cancer only to be told that that is fairly common for rodent mill males. The real way to tell with Syrian hamsters is to look for nipples. Only females have nipples and you can see them from the age they grow fur.
@@Gabrielaalvarezdogmom it was the pet store that keep them together and usually at pet stores they house Syrians before the are mature and territorial
I was at petco yesterday, buying supplies for my birds, then went to check out the hamsters/mice etc. There was this little female mouse alone in the tank, and some one else was going to buy it as a feeder, so I went ahead and quickly asked another employee to give her me, so I can buy her. Yes, it was an impulsive purchase (I have years of experience taking care of mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.) but saving that little mouse was more important. Of course I’m not against carnivores eating mice, however, I don’t like knowing that pet stores sell mice to be feeders, therefore I just don’t own, animals that need to feed off other animals. Ha! Funny, I actually prefer keeping female rodents, I don’t know but, they like me better than the males.
In buying that one mice, you've enabled them to do the same thing to many more. Please never buy from pet shops! You feel like you're doing the right thing but in saving the odd one, you're giving them money so they can continue to do it as I say. The best thing to do is to never buy pets from pet shops. If everyone did that, they'd learn and never sell animals.
@sonriii2609 Id have done the same thing. Dont listen to idiotic comments. You or someone else buying the mouse, she's still being sold to someone, better your home than some idiot with an exotic snake.
This happened to me in sweden when I was a child. (So like 15 years ago)... We bought 3 gerbils and one of them were preggos :c and it wasn't even a full grown adult. So the birth didn't go well... dad had to put it out of it's misery. It was very upsetting for me. But even more for my dad. I think he was like... traumatized about it. He talks about it like one of the worst things he had to do in his life.
I live in the US but when I was a kid I had a local family owned pet store down the street from me. My parents got me a syrian hamster from them. This pet store kept ALL of their syrian hamsters together in what I think was only a 20-30 gallon tank. The hamster I got was pregnant and I ended up with an extra five hamsters that we didn't know what to do with. This pet store was closed down in 2014 because they had a lot of violations against them. My parents did also get me a kitten from them and he's a grouchy old man now (the cat in my icon) and as much as I love him, I'm really glad the pet store was closed down. I was lucky to get a healthy cat but I know other people in my neighborhood who'd gotten puppies with parvo from there before and the conditions they kept their small animals and fish in were horrendous.
I remember when I was trying to find other options on how to get a male mouse as ethically as possible. One option was lab mice but there were ton of reasons why I might never even get one. The other option was accidental litter in store. The whole situation here in Latvia seems simular to Cyprus.
what i love about yout videos is that you face the same regulations and other small pet problems we do here in brazil and even your other videos for hamsters etc are sooo soo relatable to me!
I got incredibly lucky with my two female mice as I adopted them from the RSPCA. I’m fairly sure they’re fancy mice over feeders just due to colouring. I have frozen feeder mice for my snakes and they look different.
I love your video's Erin! I wish there were more people as considerate as you, better no animal than an animal in distress or with less than ideal care. If every person would think like you there would be so much less animal cruelty. Take care!
I have a video idea for you! You could react/reveiw hamster adds on gumtree/Craiglist/kigigi(don't know how to spell it) or whatever you have. Just an idea but please don't feel pressured to doing it.
Hi Erin I don’t know if you will see this but I hope you do (if anyone has Instagram please screenshot it and send it to Erin😂) To cut to the chase my albino female mouse died on exactly the same day as sodium (really sorry to bring this up) in exactly the same way and was very close in age to him but I got my mouse from a very good breeder and she was my everything I only had her and her friend Biscotti and I spent hours and hours of my days with her and when she left a chunk of me left to. I’m still very confused as to why but I’m guessing a heart attack I just wanted to say this to tell you I went through the same pain on the same day and I’m sure Sodium and Nibbles will be running around together in the mousery in the sky. Rest in peace little fur babies 😔
Where would you recommend to look for mice care regarding forums? You regularly talk about both mice and hamster forums and would love to know where to look!
This is a very thoughtful, well articulated video. I hadn't realised the mice would come from a mixed tank and with the potential of being pregnant. I assume there may also be a risk of a male sneaking into the group?
Very fair reason! I know everyone's experience is different, but for me, dealing with an oops litter was incredibly stressful. I always knew there was a very teeny tiny chance of getting a pregnant hamster, but I never thought it would happen to me. And then I discovered the pinkies. My only saving grace was that I had been around Hamster Hideout for a few years by this time, and had picked up a ton of info about hamster babies and their care, just by being there. Anyway, I was stressed about it from the moment I discovered the babies, until the day I rehomed the last one. It was like I had some big mentaI block of anxiety that wouldn't go away. I never actually relaxed enough to appreciate how cute the babies were, or spend time handling them to make them more adoptable. I fed them, I kept their water full, I kept them clean. I did the bare minimum. I couldn't bring myself to do more than that, I just wanted them gone. The moment I handed over the last little guy to his new owner, it was like I could finally breathe again.
Hi @ErinsAnimals! Quick question about mouse care since you also live somewhere with a warm climate: I live in the tropics where it's over 27 degrees celsius almost every day, even at this time of the year in late autumn. I'm rescuing a couple of mice that have been in the shelter for over a month now. I don't have central a/c, but I do have multiple fans, multiple windows I can keep open all the time, a barred cage for them to maximise ventillation, refrigerated ceramic hides, refrigerated granite tiles, and electrolytes to add to their water. However, the thermometer I have placed where the cage is located usually reads 28 degrees or even higher during the day despite the fans (it does drop to healthier temperatures at night). I'm very scared of the mice getting heatstroke, and I've considered saving up for a portable air conditioning unit, but that would take time to save up for and I'm not sure if my current set up (with all the tiles and such) will be enough in the mean time (I'm due to pick them up by the day after tomorrow). Do you think the measures I've taken will be enough for now, and do you have any advice on what else I can do to help them keep cool?
I have a Hamster named Biscuit. She's a robo and suupeerr hyper and I love her! My cage, however, is only 500 scare inches. I've been looking into male mice and I'm getting mixed answers on if keeping one in 500 square inches is okay. My cage is diy out of a T.V. cabinet and quite tall so I could add lots of shelves and levels. What do you think? I'm just thinking ahead because Biscuit was a rescue and is over a year old now. EDIT: By the way I just post random home videos on my channel, there are a few if Biscuit on there if anyone wants to see her. I'm not a youtuber though. I dream of posting animations and stuff someday.
I'm in the Midwest in the states and, as far as I've seen, our chain stores DO separate the males and females. I always check, though, before bringing them home. Don't need any accidents!
Yes sorry I didn't mean to imply that the chain stores don't separate because as far as I know they do, just that they don't breed their animals for health or longevity :)
@@SomethingAnimal Oh no it's ok! I've seen some smaller chains in the States put all sorts of animals together in tiny cages so I totally get where you're coming from.
im in the midwest as well, and yes i agree that most of the rodents are separated female and male. but sometimes a male/female can get in the other cage by accident wether it be a confused employee or an escape artist mouse !
Sometimes the chain store here do sell pregnant animals or the animal is the opposite sex you want. Both has happened to me. A gerbil I purchased gave birth a few days after I purchased her. 1 guinea pig I purchased was supposed to be a female. It got my other two guinea pigs pregnant. The stores only go by what the breeders tell them.
@@smallpets9164 Oh yeah I don't at all doubt that it happens often. That's why I added that I always check the sex of the animal before I bring it home. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of breeders near me. There is an animal shelter, though, and now that I know more I plan to adopt from there going forward.
Even Petco isn't great about housing male mice away from females. I was watching the females and noticed a couple of them seemed pregnant. So I searched for the culprit and located him. Let the staff know. They said they were aware. *sigh*
Maybe get only one or two mice, pick the chillest ones, and be prepared to keep the entire litter. You could keep all the daughters with their mother(s). Only downside is the possible sons, which you'd have to keep separate, rehome or cull when they're young.. or get them neutered and keep together, but that could be risky especially with feeder mice. I guess importing would be too expensive plus it would be hard to maintain a rolling group even then. I know France has some good mice breeders, I suspect there's also some in Spain.
Το ίδιο συμβαίνει στην Ελλάδα. Τα μόνα τρωκτικά που μπορείς να βρεις είναι φυσικά στα πετ σοπ, και αν δεν θέλεις να αγοράσεις ένα, μια αγγελία είναι η μόνη λύση
Erin I have a question, my hamster never sleeps! She’s up 20 hours a day. She’s up and very active in the day and very active in the day. She has a 780sq” diy cage with lots of betting and a big wheel. She’s on a good seed mix too. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.
I just got a baby Syrian around 7 weeks old. She is a very scare hamster, and doesn't let me handled her at all; she runs when she hear come closer. She got sick after a week I got her, but I thought she was hibernating, but no she sick, and I didnt notice until a week later. I concluded that she has wet tail. She stopped running on her wheel, sleeping 23 hours, ears went down, and have diaherra that smell horrible. I have tried to find a exotic vet, but I cant find any. Im in Mexico. i do not what went wrong, her cage is over 650 sq inch, 6 inch paper bedding, toys, wodent runner wheel, and I didnt handle her the first 5 days. Im hoping it is diarreah. Yesterday she came out of her hide, ran on the wheel for an hour, ate food and water 3time. Today her diarrhea smell less. Her hunchback is going away,but her ears are still folded. I do not what to do. I change her bedding that stink daily, food and water, her food are dried because i her fruit and vegetable are bad because of illness.
she eats, drink water, and groom herself. They only place that is dirty is her bottom, but she doesn't like it when I get her or let me wipe her bottom. . Also, she never been aggressive, or bit me.
I much prefer female mice because you need more than one. I love watching their social interactions. But yeah, I have brought home more than one mouse with a "free prize" inside. Fourteen mice later, I got really good at building bin cages. Thank the gods they are stackable! All the girls lived in one huge cage, but all the boys had to live separately. At 3am everyone would be on their wheels. It sounded like a train in my bedroom :P I didn't trust anyone to take care of them, so they all stayed with me. I kept them all until they passed of old age.
Yeesh at least you saved some mice. But here is my question now. Where do you get your hamsters? I know you adopted a hamster family from a family friend, but do pet shops just sell them there? I’m talking a brake from hamsters after my two go . I’m looking into gerbil care . I think I just want a change .
Erin, I agree with everything you said about female mice. I've had hamsters in the past and currently spoil one. But I didn't want another hamster after Houdini died. I made that chrystal clear to friends and family. Then a couple months ago, my daughter decided I needed a friend. I don't want to grieve a good friend every 2 maybe 3 years. Plus, I have enough trouble sleeping at night, when everyone else is. Plus, I don't have room in my tiny apartment for an enclosure with more space. And you, you lost some weight. The hair is great. Looking good and sounding so knowledgeable. Great 👍 Job.
Hello u and Victoria Raechel are my fav youtubers! I have a Russian dwarf hamster and I need some advice... When my hamster drinks, when he is done he turns to the side of the waterbottle and bites the metal, I don't know why and if it's bad, he has a 500 square inch of floor space bin cage and I can't make it bigger bc I am only 12 years old, can anyone please help, thank you.
The problem isnt with mice being fed to carnivors. The problem is that exotic snakes, spiders, and the likes, shouldnt be sold to the public at all. If that means that we also forbid the sale of hamsters, mice, and rats in stores, so be it. I would 100% have a problem with giving away baby mice to be feeders, because they would be my pets.
I know this is an old video but I just want to leave my suggestion. In my home country, we have companies that breed rats and mice (mostly albino) for lab work. I do believe most if not all houses the sexes separately. If you do want females maybe you can get from somewhere similar in your home country.... Maybe...
Hey love so I was wondering if you could msg me in a way or exaplain here but I’m looking for help and having trouble finding some I got a hamster from my work at a pet store at the store he was handle and already very used to me he has NEVER been picked and would always come to me so when I brought him home I thought he wouldn’t need a time to settle (I was wrong) I’ve had him for 3 weeks and now he’s very scared of me from trying to handle him do you have any advice?
My mouse just had 4 babies. I have no clue what I need to do. I have a few videos up on my channel. I would love your input of what I need to to to care for the babies and momma. Thanks for all the info
I have a dwarf hamster what wheel size do you recommend?? Great video by the way. Edit: I know this video is about mice but I thought it would be more likely I would get a reply to this comment if I asked on a video moref recently uploaded.
Definitely take that out as soon as you can, it's better to have no wheel at all than to have one that is too small. 4" wheels are basically useless as there aren't any pets that are small enough to use them safely
help i have 4 alredy came home with two new ones, is it possible that they are chubby and eaten to much or they are pregnant ? i dont want more mices around both have bumps on the left and right side
Do you feel like it could be an option ( in case you wanted to get a group of females) for a shop to just take 2 or more females to a separate enclosure for a few weeks (don't know how long are mice pregnancies) so that you can be absolutely sure that they are not pregnant?
When you buy mice here it’s the same we’re in the USA I just got a little hairless guy as a pet that was sold for 3:98 as a feeder he’s got a tiktok now and is sweet as heckum
Hey Erin! I just adopted a hamster from a shelter, and there’s a problem. I asked the workers and he had pine shaving bedding, and when I smelled him he spelled heavily of pine shavings. We’re giving him a sand bath when we get home, but r there any other precautions we should take?
Short term exposure to pine shavings shouldn't lead to any long term problems, it typically takes months of consistent exposure to the phenols to cause eventual respiratory damage so your hamster should be just fine and you shouldn't need to worry about anything now that he's on safe substrate :)
Get them under four weeks and you take no risk or, learn how to check if they are preggers. One male smells like ten times more than several females housed together, that reason alone would make it worth figuring out how to manage the females if you must pick a gender.
I completely understand this! I currently have 6 male mice and 18 females! I do breed but everyone of my babies either stay with me if no homes are found (most time time I keep them 😵😍) and only breed for breeders as I know mine are healthy and happy. Vet bills is a big game defo! One of my girls had to have a emergency c section costing over £300 for her not to survive and I had to hand rear 4 of her remaining babies. Sadly 3 didn’t make it but one did, he’s my little miracle! He will be 3 in feb! I also named him lucky 😍
Wow! That is a LOT of mice, I'd love to have a group of female mice at some point, How 'tameable'/friendly are they? Just wondered, Obviously I'll need to do a lot more research before!
@@exla22 yes and all girls get on amazing apart from 2 so they live together then :) most are friendly, I have 2 that are skittish but it maybe down to personality :)
My hamster has a small cut just above her nose I do actually know how she got it and it doesn’t actually seem to bother her but it bothers me so much as there a bit of skin hanging off ( like the tiniest bit) but how would I get that off or will she eventually get it off herself? Also if u wanna know how she got it she was free roaming and escaped her free roam area and yeh she got into something and got a little cut 😔
If I did get a male mouse can I just get the one or do I have to get more to go with him? I know people say not to have two males, but like can I just have one or will he get lonely?
I saved 3 female feeder mice(and I've saved PLENTY of female feeder rats)and not a single one of them have ever been pregnant. If you don't want a pregnant mouse or rat you can take a good look at them and you can tell, their nipples will buldge, their belly will be more round, and they will be more temperamental. Also, there is nothing wrong with frozen feeders, but there is everything wrong with live feeders and Im disappointed that you support that. Live feeders suffer a painful, fearful, slow death and also it is putting the carnivore at risk of being severely injured or even killed.
Don't put words in my mouth, I never said I support "live" feeding I said I am not against animals being bred as feeders. I've never owned a rodent-eating animal in my life and never will, so there is literally no reason to assume I know anything about the details of live feeding. It's pretty obvious to most people that I was just trying to separate myself from idiots who think that carnivores can be forced into herbivorous diets not taking a stance on "live vs frozen".
I'm not on any other platforms so I am sorry if this has been answered, but I can't find any info about Cyprus and the earthquake in the Aegean Sea. Are you guys far enough away not to be impacted? I hope so...
Yeah we're too far away so luckily weren't affected. We don't typically get big earthquakes here, usually just magnitude 3s and they don't normally cause damage. Rarely we'll get a 5 or 6, but they're very uncommon.
I have a bin cage that I was planning on using for a potential hamster one day and I wanted to know if it was suitable for a hamster. The bin is about 900 to 1000 square inches of floor space and the height of the bin is about 10 inches. I do plan on getting a dwarf hamster because I'm not sure if the height of the bin would be suitable enough for a Syrian.
Hey Erin, Excuse me, I'm from Colombia and here it doesnt exist the paper bedding, And I saw these videos of yours about naturalistic cages, and I was wondering if I still could use coconut fiber and soil as bedding... pd: I know I already commented this, but Since this is the earlier video a comment again
I live in germany and our standard is that mice should never live alone. I am not too educated in mice but i dont see a reason for a single mouse. If anyone has a good reason for keeping mice alone, please tell me why :)
Even in Germany it's common knowledge that *intact* males (non-neutered) cannot live with other mice, there is an extremely high risk of fighting, serious injury and death when intact males are housed together, and they would breed excessively if housed with females. However, in Germany you also have access to vets who are willing to perform neuter operations on mice (something many other countries don't have) and a neutered male can live happily in a group of females, some people may keep neutered males with other neutered males but this is debated as they can still be very territorial. Neutering males for non-medical reasons is also a controversial practice because of the risk that comes with surgery, which is why the majority of mouse communities and keepers agree that males must live alone but require a lot more time and attention for their owners. Females must always live in groups and should never live alone, which is why they're more popular pets than males. Intact males can safely be kept with female soft furred rats (a different species of mouse that fancy-mice cannot breed with) but those aren't available as pets in every country. So the only agreed reason anyone should keep a healthy mouse alone is if it's an intact male, and this is purely for the safety and wellbeing of the animal :)
I doubt the store would go to that effort, in my experience they just care about selling the mice (since they're technically sold as feeders). Unless you get lucky and find one that might but even then i think its a stretch..sadly
Tell me why I have female and male mice in the female side all the time, but all the males do is play together wrestle nicely. There’s no screaming and lick each other but on my females, they scream fight, even if they’ve been raised together.😢
Some males can get along, but that situation is the uncommon exception and not the rule which is why it's so heavily discouraged. The risk of something going seriously wrong is far more likely than things going right, I'm glad it worked for your lucky pair though :)
Hi! I have a question about hamsters :) So I really want a hamster but i can only put its cage in the living room, there is a tv, and it plays often. should I get a hamster or not? Thanks!!!💕
Males cannot be housed together as there is an extremely high risk of them fighting due to their territorial nature, keeping males together is heavily discouraged for very good reasons and not something I would ever want to promote on my channel :)
They can do, that's why they're a lot more work than female mouse groups because you have to socialise with a male almost constantly. Its kind of like having a puppy around that always needs attention. Males are definitely more work than females and not suited to everyone, but for the people who do have the time for them males make amazing companion animals :)