pygmy mice

[BorisTheSpider]

I took a friend to Repticon here in Columbia about three weeks ago and she saw some pygmy mice . She didn't buy them when she had the chance and now she won't shut up about them . My question is where do you get them . Not one of the LPS in my area have ever even heard of them . Does anybody have a good idea of where to find them . Also , I know nothing about them , so do they make good "pets" . Any help will be greatly appreciated .

 

[pouchedrat]

I love pygmy mice!! I used to have two females around 9 or 10 years back.

The thing with them is that they're fast, can jump clean out of a 10 gallon tank if you don't watch out, and they're not tame unless you've handled them since near birth. They're also the size of ants as babies... so they're super tiny, VERY hyperactive things. More like an aquarium pet unless you want to work with them (which is completely possible to do, just like most any rodent, I've seen some tame ones back in the day), otherwise beware because they will bolt and it's very easy to lose them.

I haven't seen any around lately, actually. They used to be more common in the exotic rodent community, but not many of us are around anymore since various bans went up (which are lifted, now). We lost african dormice, pouched rats, zebra mice, and other cool rodents because of it. Pygmy mice and natal rats seem to still exist, but only in the reptile trade, where they're not being bred for temperament and health so they're not exactly the greatest "pet quality" animals. I did pick up two natals though this weekend that are COMPLETELY calm and tame, but they were bottle fed rescues.

The biggest issue with pygmies is they need it warm (extreme cold will kill them), and they need water. Some can't seem to operate a water bottle, and if the water bottle is TOO large they can't operate the ball in it. A water dish underneath it usually helps that problem. I knew someone who kept a large colony of them in a 55 gallon tank, and they made all kinds of burrows and tunnels inside it, and climbed all over branches. They don't really have the odor of domestic mice, either.

If I could find some, I'd seriously snatch some up again, myself, because they were an interesting animal to have around. Just not something you can really bond with like a rat, and more work to get them even remotely handle-able. But if you like a rodent that's like a fish, go for it!