Where can I find a mouse playground?

March 30, 2007 1:04 PM

Is there a product that acts as a 'mouse playground'?

My roommate owns a mouse that is very active and loves to scale the bars in her cage and run on her wheel. My roomie was wondering if there was product that was a sort of 'mouse playground' to give her pet more space to run around and climb things. I found a couple things from Habitrail, but was curious if there was another alternative, even if it's something we could build ourselves. Thanks!

posted by ThirstyEar2 to Pets & Animals (12 answers total)

Well, I had gerbils, not mice, but we always made little places for them to play out of cardboard tubes and empty tissue boxes. They will chew them up after awhile, but the good news is that they are free to replace.

I believe you can also buy those hamster-tunnel kits with various extra pieces to create tunnels and hiding places in an enclosed plastic cage, which might be fun for your mouse.
posted by tastybrains at 1:21 PM on March 30, 2007

I always give my mouse the brown pressed cardboard drink holder thing from McDonalds. She loves to climb it, chew it, crawl and hide in it. And it's easy enough to toss every time I clean the cage.
posted by Gucky at 1:35 PM on March 30, 2007

Like tastybrains, I had a gerbil and not a mouse, and I also built playgrounds for him out of old cardboard tubes and small boxes. Just to make it explicitly clear, don't leave the rodent unattended in a setup like that, as they can chew themselves an exit door pretty quickly. A habitrail, on the other hand, they can live in 24x7.
posted by vytae at 1:42 PM on March 30, 2007

If you get a wheel, make sure it's of the solid plastic variety, not the wire mesh variety. One slip and it's bye bye mouse leg.
posted by Solomon at 2:11 PM on March 30, 2007

There are some AMAZING playgrounds available for purchase.

This is a good start - I'd search for gerbil toys first, they are usually labeled as such. I've in the past found bridges and tunnels and seesaws, etc....I know I have some better links at home and will post them later!
posted by agregoli at 2:32 PM on March 30, 2007

I've seen a lot of "enriched environment" experiments with rats and mice (enriched environments = teh goodness for their little rodent brains).

The very best environments are ones that change every few days. Enriched environments that are static lose their 'enrichment' advantages after a while. Right now researchers are working on 'optimal' (what is the least amount of enrichment that can produce the greatest benefit to the brain) so the jury's still out.

One group I know used legos to build different structures for the rodents to explore/climb/&c. A plus side is that it's easy/fun to make new structures and the blocks themselves can be put into the dishwasher to sanitize.
posted by porpoise at 2:52 PM on March 30, 2007

http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/system/product_detail.php?productid=2184

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14615&N=2007+2011

http://www.petutopia.co.uk/small_animal_toys_5686.php

http://www.animalinstinct.co.uk/acatalog/Pets_Products_Small_Animal_Toys___Harnesses_29.html

I would stay away from plastics if at all possible - or use them with supervision - they chew everything and shards of plastic can kill.

Hope a dream playground can be built!
posted by agregoli at 2:53 PM on March 30, 2007

Response by poster: I should have noted that we already have a wheel that the mouse loves to run on constantly. But thanks for the recommendations!
posted by ThirstyEar2 at 2:55 PM on March 30, 2007

I used to build my mice lego forts. They definitely gnawed on them, however.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:08 PM on March 30, 2007

I used to have a plastic ball my rat could run in. It was smaller than a soccer ball, and clear. She'd climb in, I'd snap the cover on and put it on the floor, and off she'd go. She ended up with a curly tail, she was in it so much (the two other rats didn't like it, and didn't get curly tails). Much like this... highly recommended.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:43 PM on March 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

I second corpse's recommendation...I had two pet mice once and they loved the little running balls. I'd set them lose in the hallway and they'd run around and bang into stuff. This is great fun if you also have a cat, I might add.
posted by cabingirl at 9:30 PM on March 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Please don't chance those balls near the stairs though! I had a friend growing up that left her gerbil unattended in one, and he went down the stairs and errr...died.
posted by agregoli at 9:24 PM on March 31, 2007