I'm the kind of person who would have any and every species of animal as a pet if it was possible. So when I was looking for a new critter two years ago, it's no surprise that I ended up with a slightly unusual one.
My mom's only guidelines were that the new pet had to be in a cage that was easily cleaned and that it would be gone by the time I went to college. Most kids would gravitate towards hamsters or gerbils, but I did my research and fell in love with mice and rats instead. I started on the smaller end of the scale and decided to bring home two sisters that I named Honeybee and Annabelle Lee. Honey was tan and the slower, sweeter one as her name would describe while Annabelle was tan and white and anything but calm.
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I had no prior experience with owning rodents so these two taught me everything that I know. I quickly learned just how intelligent mice are. In fact, both girls were clicker trained and would come out and sit on top of their little hut when it was time for food. They also showed me how incredibly sweet mice are. I can say that not one of my mice has ever bitten me. They nibble gently on your fingers from time to time if you smell like food, but it's only out of curiosity. Also, unlike most hamsters and gerbils that I have encountered, mice love to be held. They love climbing up and sitting on your shoulder and mine have all loved to sit inside my shirt pockets while I go about my day.
When Honey passed away about six months after I adopted her, I quickly returned to PetSmart to adopt a little grey fluffball that I named Sweet Pea. It took about two months to get Sweet Pea and Annabelle to live in the same cage without fighting and by this time Annabelle had mellowed out. Sweet Pea was just as crazy as Annabelle was and she would crawl upside down on the roof of her cage for hours. She found ways to destroy toys and treats in a matter of hours and this meant I had to find ways to entertain her brain. She was probably the smartest mouse I had, and she was also the hardest to please.
Annabelle passed away and it was only fitting that I got Sweet Pea a buddy since she became even crazier when she was alone. I found one lone mouse in the cage when I went to PetSmart, so I just had to take her home. I named her Daisy and she was the same coloring as Annabelle. She never got along well with Sweet Pea, and they only stopped fighting when it was bath time. Yes, you read that right, bath time. I filled up a sink and let them swim around, sprayed on some small animal shampoo, rinsed them off, and then gently toweled them dry until they took over with the grooming. Daisy has always had skin problems, which are most likely caused by an allergy and baths are the only way she stops itching.
I still have Daisy to this day, which means that my mom's plan of not having my pets while I was away at school was not as successful as she hoped. I've had Daisy for over a year and a half, which means she has outlived any of my other mice by at least a year. She's a fat, happy thing and I look forward to hanging out with her while I'm home on breaks.
If you're ever in the market for a pet and you have limited space, don't overlook the mice or rats in the pet store and just go for the more popular rodents. They are clean animals overall and only need a cage cleaning about once a week (baths are optional). They're smart and can be trained easily since they are extremely food motivated, and they are extremely loving. There are only two downsides in my opinion: one is that they have no control over when they go to the bathroom and unfortunately there are only diapers for rats, not mice. The second downside is that they are prone to tumors and this can be extremely hard to watch... Honey and Sweet Pea both had to go through this and it was heartbreaking. But I wouldn't have traded my time with either of them for the world, and this shouldn't deter people from choosing them as pets.
So, keep mice in mind in the future, they're more than just reptile food and they're amazing animals! I know that there will be many more rats and mice in my future, I couldn't imagine not having them in my life.
