Hopping Mice

[syxxx]

I am currently considering purchasing some hopping mice. We have a four foot fish tank in mind and I would like to hear anyone's tips on how best to house these little guys. Because we are in Victoria we are talking of the mitchell's hopping mice but I would like to hear from people with spinifex hopping mice as well. Any help would be appreciated especially in regards to heating and substrates. Also are they likely to have any problems if they chew the silicone like normal mice would?

 

[BlindSnake]

Had them in the past and found them an excellent alternative to rats and mice.
The dont stink and are very active at night.
We never had any heating for them but a low watt light in winter wouldnt hurt. A tank with a good 10cm of sand for the to dig and flick around is a must. Also give them some dry grass for them to make their bedding in and a nice piece of bark for them to hide under and chew..We had the in a glass tank but found that they wouldn't worry about the silicone if they had other thing to chew. If you put some stick in also you will find that they climb and play on them aswell.
The babies are really funny to watch when they start to move around. better than watching T.V

Hope this helps.

 

[syxxx]

Hoppers

Thanks blindsnake good to hear first hand about the smell I was a little sceptical about the no odour.
Cheers

 

[Jay84]

ChrisReptile on this site has some for sale at the moment. He lives in Frankston which is close to you. drop him a line. really nice guy and will be more than happy to offer advice!

 

[jdonly1]

No smell would have to be a big plus I reckon

 

[asis]

I used to keep spinifex hoppers. Maintained a fairly large colony in a 4 foot fish tank. Always used wood shavings as substrate around 50mm or more deep. Would then basically loosely fill the tank with lucerne, the mice chew, eat and compact this pretty quickly and spend a fair bit of time building tunnels through it. Smells good too. Never had any trouble with the smell, they where in my bedroom and the loungeroom and only cleaned out every 10-14 days.

Provided a couple of nest boxes similar to what you would use for budgies and a hollw log or 2. Make sure the boxes and logs are on the bottom of the tank so they can't tunnel under them.

Make sure your tank has lots of ventilation, only thing that seems to make an odour is a lack of ventilation causing moisture to build up. Heating was never needed, they sleep comunally and the lucerne provides plenty of insulation.