Mouse-like Hamster Environment

Mouse-like hamsters possess a suprisingly amount of agility and energy. They are very good at climbing, athletic and able to make powerful jumps. Whilst this can make them challenging to handle it does make them extremely entertaining to watch!

A 60cm Exo-terra cube gives a good amount of space for a pair. This gives a good floorspace, but also can provide a decent amount of vertical climbing. They may not have the prehensile tails of Harvest Mice but they do have good balance and agility. Sisal rope, cork tubes, wooden branches and hammocks can be used to furnish their vivarium.

A decent depth of substrate such as megazorb and a layer of hay works well. It is important to allow them plenty of places to hide and nest since in the wild they would spend a significant part of their time alone.

It is important to give your Mouse-like Hamsters a sand bath. Chinchilla sand can be used for this and this will help them bath to prevent buildups of grease in their fur. Although they don't seem to foul it so it can be left in long term, it will still needs semi-regular cleaning since they do seem to like to eat in there. Some keepers use a sand-based substrate for the entire setup for their Mouse-likes.

Like all rodents they should not be placed in direct sunlight or near drafts. You should not let the temperature drop below 15-18 ℃.