How much does it cost to own two mice?

Answer 1

It depends what country you live in! I am in UK and I have two mice. They are very cheap to take care of.

The one-off costs are; The cage, mine cost £18, which is quite cheap, and a water bottle is about £1. My cage came with a wheel and a hut, but they only cost a couple of pounds each.

The upkeep costs are; Every 2 or 3 weeks I have to buy new litter for the bottom of the cage which is Carefresh and costs £3.50. I mix it with scrunched up bits of newspaper which is free. You can buy hemp or cardboard based horse litter at about £12 a bale which lasts much much longer and will probably work out significantly cheaper in the long run. Do not use shavings or sawdust, it is very dangerous for mice!

I feed my mice a mixture of wild bird seed, dry pasta, brown rice, rat food, dog biscuits, cereal and oats. To make this mix I spent about £10 to £15 all in one go, but it will last me months and months as they only eat a tiny amount every day. It is acceptable to feed them on a good rat food such as Pets at Home Rat Muesli which will cost about £3.50 a pack, and will last a month or two. Treats such as raw and cooked veg, the occasional nut or seed, and non-citrus fruit can all be taken from your own table and need cost nothing. A budgie treat made from millet and honey is also a nice occasional treat, I found one for 35p in Wilkinsons.

For toys you need not spend any money at all, as egg boxes, toilet rolls and little cardboard boxes of all descriptions are perfect. I use a very big cardboard box that came with a television as a play pen and fill it with kitchen roll, tubes, boxes and anything else that is safe for little mice to chew. It is all free! (make sure you watch them closely though or they could chew their way out!)