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The Fun Mouse: About Us: Inside TFM 2
NOTE: We are NO longer breeding.
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The Set up
The picture below is most of The Fun Mouse. In addition to what is seen below, I also have a 75 gallon long tank in the living room (pictures of it further down on this page). Click the picture below to see it larger and zoom in on any area. You need the latest version of Flash to view it. This is almost a full view of my mousery, all the way around. Only the door to the mousery has been cut out.
On the left, 3rd and 4th self up, is where I keep mothers with young babies as well as breeding pairs. Large bucks are also in some of the 10 gallons, on a separate shelf than the mothers and babies (just my preference).
The tanks and keepers on the top and the bottom shelves all the way around the mousery are over flow or "tanks in waiting". Waiting tanks are the larger tanks (15's and 20's) and are set aside for mothers with older babies (over 2-1/2 to 3 weeks of age).
You can clearly see 2 of the 3 mousie cams in this image. These cams (as well as cam 3) are located in the central area of the picture. One is by my desk and one is on the floor. Cam 3 is currently on a litter of babies and hidden from view. It's behind the dark blue towel. I use the towel to give her added privacy.
All of my mice get a minimum of (yet often much more); house, wheel, water bottle, food dish, card board tube, wood block, and a cat toy. In tanks with more than one mouse I provide not only more floor space but also 1 wheel to every 2 mice. The only exception to this is my 75 gallon tank which only has 4-7 wheels and possibly a dozen + mice in it at a time. The mice have so many other things to play on that they don't concern themselves much with wheels.
Extras that my mice get to play with are, but not limited to; tinker toys, lots of different bird toys, bird ladders, bird gyms, boxes with holes cut in them for added fun, other fun pocket pet toys, hammocks, soft drink cup holders, woven baskets, etc. |
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Below are only a few examples of my standard tanks.
15-40 gallon tanks
These tanks house mothers and their babies in if the babies are over 2 1/2 weeks of age. This gives them a lot of room to run and explore. I also keep groups of females in some of them. The pictures below are just a few examples of these tanks.
20 gallon Long tank.
Picture taken 5/26/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
Picture taken 2/18/08
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20 gallon Tall tank.
Picture taken 5/26/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
15 gallon long.
Picture taken on 05/26/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
40 gallon tall tank
Picture taken on 05/26/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
75 Gallon
I have a 75 gallon tank that I keep anywhere from 12-23 mice in at a time (generally there is 19 does in that at a time). This tank is for the females that get along the best, ranging in age from full grown (4-5 months) on up to older adults. Elderly adults are placed in 15-20 gallon tanks so they are with other older females and they don't have to deal with the rambunctious youngins.
To see this tank "in action" go to the Movies section of this site. Once you are on the Movies page, click 75 Gallon Tank from the drop down menu.
Picture taken on 06/08/2007.
This tank gets rearranged constantly.
(click pic to see bigger pic)
Split 10 gallon tanks
Many of my boys live in split 10g tanks. The divider is glass and secured in with silicone (same sealant that they use to make fish tanks). The divider goes all the way to the top and double secured to insure no one can get over the divider. Not only is there a divider in the tank, but there is also 2 dividers attached to the mesh lid that envelope around the tank divider. It overlaps around an inch. It is hard wire and impossible to move. This makes it completely impossible for a mouse to wiggle through the middle and get to the other side. I'll provide pictures of the security as soon as possible.
Picture taken on 03/16/08
(click pic to see bigger pic)
Large Kritter Keepers
I keep some of my males in Large Kritter Keepers. They are plenty big enough for a single fancy size mouse. I don't recommend keeping any more than one mouse per keeper though. Mouse shown in the Keeper below is full grown fancy mouse. Please note that Kritter Keepers are to small for Large Show mice. Also note that I'm currently fazing out Kritter Keepers and moving to 100% tanks because of their superior security.
Picture taken on 05/26/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
10 gallon tanks.
I use 10 gallon tanks for a variety of different mice. I keep up to 3-4 females in some. I will also keep an expectant mother in one until her babies are 2 1/2 to 3 weeks old (see the nursery tank on this page). At that time they are moved to a 15 long, 20 tall, or 20 long depending on the size of the litter. Large show bucks are also kept in 10 gallons (one per tank).
Picture taken 5/26/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
Nursery tank
This is my standard nursery tank where I place mothers to have their babies. It's a 10 gallon tank, set up for rearing young.
Large litters are moved to 15-20 gallon tanks at 21/2 to 3 weeks of age when necessary.
Picture taken on 07/12/07
(click pic to see bigger pic)
Play Gym
The open air play gym is for my mice to play and explore for added activity and enrichment. It is used a lot when I am cleaning their tanks but they also play on it at random times between cleanings. Only mice from the same tank are allowed on the play gym at the same time. The mice are always *well* supervised when on the gym. I am NEVER more than 1 foot away, facing their direction. While my mice are extremely tame and do not feel the desire to jump, it is never wise to let ones guard down -no matter what-.
Picture taken on 08/09/08
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