Videos of Asian Garden Dormice
Asian Garden Dormice Environment
Asian Garden Dormice require a large habitat furnished with plants, branches and other climbing material. Although mostly arboreal, some Garden Dormice can adapt to more horizontal space so your environment may need to be adapted if your Dormice are less active.
They also like various tunnels, tubes and other shelters and some keepers have reported their Garden Dormice are happier in a more enclosed environment suggesting that a large wooden vivarium may suit better than a vivarium or tank with glass to all four sides. This may be due to the fact that their natural habitats would be tree canopys or rocky outcrops with little open space.
A useful addition to your Asian Garden Dormouse vivarium is a sturdy wooden trellis or similar to give the same climbing opportunities as a wire cage, but without the worries over bumblefoot or interaction with other household pets. Vivariums will need additional ventilation added however.
Like other species of Dormice, Asian Garden Dormice should be kept at a warm room temperature to avoid them entering a state of torpor. A temperature guage can be a useful way of monitoring this.
Asian Garden Dormice Diet
Since dormice lack a cecum they cannot digest cellulose and so Garden Dormice should not be offered vegetables.
Water
Can be supplied in bowl or bottle, with changes made daily. Must be constantly available.
Seed mix
A good base mix for Asian Garden Dormice includes seeds such as hemp, linseed, millet, pine nuts and mixes such as softbill birdfood and african parakeet seed mix.
Protein
Asian Garden Dormice need a high level of protein in their diet which can be met with items like chicken, scrambled egg and an insectivore mix. You can also offer live crickets, mealworms and locusts.
Nectar
Like African Pygmy Dormice Asian Garden Dormice need their nectar needs met. Options for this include Acacia honey and Red Nectar.
Fresh Fruit
Fresh fruit should be supplied most days, items such as apples, bananas, blueberries, cherries, mango, melon, papaya, pear, persimmon, physalis, sharon fruit, tomato. Fresh fruit is best since dried is often ignored and frozen has lost a lot of nutritional value after about a week.
Breeding supplements
They can also be given egg food, which is especially good for breeding colonies, and a calcium supplement or cuttlefish.
Kitten milk can also be offered to pregnant and lactating females and young pups.
Overview of Asian Garden Dormice
Asian Garden Dormice are also known as Asiatic Garden Dormice and AGD. They are a rodent within the dormice family and are significantly larger than African Pygmy Dormice at around 10-15cm in length plus 8-14cm for their long fluffy tail.
In the wild Asian Garden Dormice are common to the Middle East and North Africa.
Their most noticeable feature is the dark spectacles around the eyes and more upright, larger ears than some other dormice species. They look very similar to the European Garden Dormice but can be identified from them by their mostly black tail which greys at the base. The European Garden Dormouse has a brown, black and white tail.
In the pet trade, they are quite rare which is reflected in their high price tag. Vocalisations include whistles, barks, and grunts during their nocturnal activities. In captivity they can be expected to live around 5-6 years.
An Asian Garden Dormouse needs a large habitat with plenty of branches, ropes and other climbing material. Temperature must be monitored to avoid risk of torpor.
Although progress is being made with new litters, most Garden Dormice are not easy to handle. If issueing warning barks or growls do not work, an Asian Garden Dormouse has quite a powerful bite.
Like other dormice species an Asian Garden Dormice's Diet needs to be varied, it is important to meet their nectar needs and offer a variety of suitable foods.