How Much Does It Cost to Own a Pet Mouse?

Since pet mice are very little, keeping them does not cost as much as keeping a dog or a cat. Considering how cheap the food is and the whole setup, it can cost a lot less. The diet of a mouse can consist of seeds, grains, vegetables, fruits, and some meat that you can find at home.

These really don’t cost much and it is easy to prepare them. Moreover, you can either keep mice in a plastic bin or a metal wired cage. Plastic containers for mice can be created at home with little effort and the elements required for it don’t cost much either.

The most expensive accessories that are actually necessary are the running wheel and a good water bottle. The latter can guarantee that the water never gets spilled out by your pets, thus keeping the bedding clean as well.

Owning a fancy mouse turns out to be quite cheap, but how cheap exactly? Let’s take a look at the exact numbers.

How Much does a Fancy Mouse Cost?

There is a wide range of mouse types and varieties available. Some of them are plain colored, others have shinier fur and many of them have marked as well. In terms of color, you are able to choose from some very interesting varieties when it comes to mice.

Of course, the shinier or longer the fur and the more interesting the marks, the more it is going to cost to buy such a mouse. Typically, a pet mouse costs $5 to $15 if we are not talking about some crazy, unheard-of variety.

What is important to keep in mind here is that it’s better to buy mice from breeders than from pet stores. Pet stores have no choice but to breed mice in a half-shouldered manner. With these pets, they barely make any profit. They are more interested in breeding and informing about costlier pets.

Mouse breeders, on the other hand, know a lot about their own mice. Contacting them allows you to get a pet that they took good care of. Moreover, you will know more about the history of your mouse when it comes to family tree and tendencies.

Cost of Keeping pet Mice

The first thing to note about mice is that they don’t like to be alone. So, since you are looking for a mouse to keep at home, you might as well look for two. That is already an extra $5 to $15 for every mouse you add to the cage.

Now let’s get into the different costs of keeping fancy mice at home.

– Equipment Cost

These are all going to be one-time costs that you most likely won’t need to replace. First off, a decent pet mouse cage costs $30 to $50. This is going to be your biggest investment and you can choose from wired metal cages, plastic containers and glass tanks.

A food bowl that is well-designed so that mice can conveniently eat from it costs around $10. Water bottles from which the water won’t spill can cost about $15.

– Ongoing Cost

Ongoing costs include the bedding that has to be changed weekly. If you are looking for the most affordable option, then we can only recommend aspen bedding. It is cheap and if you keep it in the freezer before using it, there will be no risks whatsoever.

If you want to, you can mix it with a bit of fleece, thus making it more comfortable for your mice. Other types of bedding you can add are tintless paper shredding and soft hay. Overall, it usually costs $10 to $20 to buy the bedding you need for a month for two mice.

Let’s say that their everyday diet consists of some veggies, fruits, cereals, oats, a seed mix and commercial pet mouse food. This costs about $10 a month, given that you can often find something to prepare in the kitchen that you bought for yourself at the first place.

It is also worth mentioning that toys and accessories don’t last forever. Not to mention that pet mice are always excited when they see something new in the cage. Setting aside about $20 for toys is reasonable and you might even end up not spending it.

Do You Need to Take Pet Mice to a Vet?

You also need to take into consideration that mice can get sick in many ways. Of course, if you take good care of your mice, then you can minimize the chance of them getting sick. Nevertheless, you never know so it is better to be prepared for it.

There are various diseases that require the veterinarian to take a closer look at your pet and maybe even prescribe medications. These medical emergencies are rather unpredictable when it comes to finances. It is best to set aside $200, which is most likely going to be enough in any case.

Do Pet Mice Need to be Vaccinated?

Although dogs have to be vaccinated and it costs a significant amount of money, there is no need to vaccinate a pet mouse. If your mouse is healthy, you don’t need to take it to the vet at all. In many cases when your mouse is sick or has a stress problem, you can ask for advice.

If it has a more serious problem, you can take him to the vet but there is no vaccination available for them. This is another thing that makes fancy mice low-cost pets.

Conclusion

As you can see, owning a pet mouse is one of the cheapest options when it comes to pets. It can only become costly if your mouse has a health problem, as vets and medications are never cheap. But you can easily prevent this by keeping your mouse on a healthy diet and cleaning the cage frequently.

Things like buying a high-quality water bottle and spending some more on bedding can further improve their environment. Of course, stress factors can also potentially weaken the immune system of your mouse. As long as all these factors are under control, you have a low-cost pet that is a lot of fun to keep.