How to befriend a mouse?

Grandma always said if there's one, there's two and if there's two there are babies. Cute yes but destructive and virus carrying. Plus they don't care where they "Go" And will pee and poop all over the house.
Don't encourage it to live there. Don't feed it. It will only encourage more to come or excess breeding where the pickins are good. Get a trap. Mice are not endangered.
Then go to the pet store and get a girble or hamster. These are somewhat domesticated rodents.

On my first job when my oldest was a baby I worked graveyard shift at a factory and fed a mouse that lived in a hole in the wall near the machine I ran. Not my house. It came out and sat up and wiggled its nose at me . Sniffing out the goodies I guess. Most nights it was just the crust off my sandwich bread but sometimes I gave it a piece of apple or cookie.
They'll eat just about anything.

PS That picture is a hamster not a mouse lol. a reply to: Strawberry88

And did anyone mention that they bite?

originally posted by: Night Star
You're a good mousie friend.

That's a rat. Gosh you guys can't identify your rodents.
Somewhere there's a photo of a mouse out there. Surely.

a reply to: Strawberry88
I actually did what I suggested for quite a while... Mice are adorable little critters...


the only issue is that feeder mice are usually not the best stock... that's why they're labeled feeder... they tend to develop tumors or die quick because of whatever little thing is out there... but that's not always the case...

You can pick up a couple for a few bucks... and if you get a male and female and they like each other they'll pop out some pups in no time and you'll have a family of critters.... Just make sure you have the space for them...

One of the best things is building them a little mouse city... I was always adding extra cages and tubes for them to climb though... a few of them lasted a couple years too

I quit because my favorite mouse got loose by mistake, and my cats at the time were vicious killers... farm cats eh

Bloody cats were unstoppable... they'd come home with muskrats and racoons... I didn't even think cats could kill those kind of animals.... I always thought it was the other way around, but don't put it past a farm cat...

Anyways... my little white mouse escaped for a half a minute and I found her ripped apart

that was the end of that... but it was fun while it lasted...

So ya... go save a feeder mouse or two... its a much better life then getting fed alive to a snake...

and you'll save the heart break when the wild one keels over

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
On my first job when my oldest was a baby I worked graveyard shift at a factory and fed a mouse that lived in a hole in the wall near the machine I ran. Not my house. It came out and sat up and wiggled its nose at me . Sniffing out the goodies I guess. Most nights it was just the crust off my sandwich bread but sometimes I gave it a piece of apple or cookie.
They'll eat just about anything.

So then you know the joy of seeing a little critter feast upon what you consider garbage! It's silly but I don't really care, I'm 99% certain the mouse is alone, at least in that spot, as I've "busted" him numerous times going through the garbage and then scurrying off into his neat box, not knowing that I'm fully aware there are no exits, I can see all sides and the floor is concrete lol!

I did consider that maybe he/she has babies in there or something but it seems unlikely. Either way, in a week or so I bet I'll know, when I decide to set it free.





Oh and I just thought it was a funny picture, as did Night Star I bet! I don't really care if it's a mouse a rat or a gerbil, I like 'em all!

Seriously, pet rat.

They actually like people, love being handled and are smart enough that you can teach them their names and to do some tricks. They also don't tend to bite like mice are prone to.

Also, you little guy downstairs will smell the rat and just sort of move out on his own. Rats in the wild will kill mice, so mice tend to avoid a place where they smell rat. Bonus to you being that rat smell is less strong to the human nose than mouse smell.

We learned all this in college when my husband had a golden curly-coated rex rat we named Monkey. She learned her name and "No!" and used to ride on our shoulders and sleep on our laps like a little lap dog. Every other room on the floor had mouse problems that winter ... but never my husband's because ... Monkey. We tested it by loaning her out to a pre-vet student friend of ours for a week. The mice disappeared from his room and moved into my husband's!

originally posted by: ketsuko
Seriously, pet rat.

They actually like people, love being handled and are smart enough that you can teach them their names and to do some tricks. They also don't tend to bite like mice are prone to.

Also, you little guy downstairs will smell the rat and just sort of move out on his own. Rats in the wild will kill mice, so mice tend to avoid a place where they smell rat. Bonus to you being that rat smell is less strong to the human nose than mouse smell.

We learned all this in college when my husband had a golden curly-coated rex rat we named Monkey. She learned her name and "No!" and used to ride on our shoulders and sleep on our laps like a little lap dog. Every other room on the floor had mouse problems that winter ... but never my husband's because ... Monkey. We tested it by loaning her out to a pre-vet student friend of ours for a week. The mice disappeared from his room and moved into my husband's!

That is a really cool story, thanks for sharing!


I always loved the idea of a rat, just not so much of how people would react to it, haha.


I will definitely consider it an option! The fact they can learn their name is pretty cool

a reply to: Strawberry88

I have a rat and she is so cute. To me, the only difference between a mouse and a rat is the size. At least to look at. My rat is friendlier than any mice I had though.

originally posted by: Night Star
a reply to: Strawberry88

I have a rat and she is so cute. To me, the only difference between a mouse and a rat is the size. At least to look at. My rat is friendlier than any mice I had though.

I want to go get me a rat now If I ever decide to get one, this thread will get an update with pics!

Oh and I've been trying to snap a pic of the damn bugger but he's not been out since I fed him, I think maybe he's still a bit hung over from the party haha

The only thing I can see right now is his entry hole surrounded with scraps, but I'll make sure to take at least take a pic when I release him!

I have a female. She is so easy to care for. You can get a cage or a big aquarium with a screened top. Get a water bottle because they will knock over dishes. Make sure she has some wood to chew on. They sell those things at any pet store or even grocery stores. Whatever you do, go to you tube and watch vids on how to care for them or look up sites that will give you info. Be careful when you pick them up they might poo and pee on you. LOL I always have paper towels handy. Handle it often and it will be friendly. Oh and I have a wooden tunnel thingy she sometimes goes under and hides. OH...you must get one of those big plastic balls where you put them in and then close the lid and they can walk around the whole house in it. It's hysterical. I put her in one when I clean her cage to keep her out of my way. Their life span isn't very long though. Still....nice little pet to have.

I just had her on the couch and there was a blanket she curled up under. All you could see was her little head. So cute!

I always look into the mouse cages at the pet store because nine out of ten times there will be a litter of little pink babies. Same with the gerbils. They are cute and I love animals. Always have. But I also know the damage they can cause if they're left unchecked in a house.
Strawberry88

originally posted by: Night Star
I have a female. She is so easy to care for. You can get a cage or a big aquarium with a screened top. Get a water bottle because they will knock over dishes. Make sure she has some wood to chew on. They sell those things at any pet store or even grocery stores. Whatever you do, go to you tube and watch vids on how to care for them or look up sites that will give you info. Be careful when you pick them up they might poo and pee on you. LOL I always have paper towels handy. Handle it often and it will be friendly. Oh and I have a wooden tunnel thingy she sometimes goes under and hides. OH...you must get one of those big plastic balls where you put them in and then close the lid and they can walk around the whole house in it. It's hysterical. I put her in one when I clean her cage to keep her out of my way. Their life span isn't very long though. Still....nice little pet to have.

I just had her on the couch and there was a blanket she curled up under. All you could see was her little head. So cute!

Some very good advice in there, thank you very much!


The ball does sound hilarious