Two or One Mouse?
Mice enjoy the company of their own kind, so two related males
(from the same litter) or two females are ideal. Unless your mouse
gets plenty of attention from you then two mice are better than one.
With a cage mate to keep them company your mouse will better
socialized and happier while you are at work or at school. Bored mice
tend to form abnormal, stress related habits such as constant leaping
to the roof of their hutch to get out, biting your fingers, chewing
at the latches or door of hutches, attempting to escape, climbing to
and hanging from hutch roof, excessive chewing of items such as toys
and feed bowls or general inactivity and depression.
Note: These symptoms can also be attributed to lack of space.

Living Requirements - Housing
Make sure you have the hutch/mouse house prepared BEFORE you
bring your mouse home.
Your mouse will need a draft proof, secure home with enough room
for a nesting box, toys, food bowl and water bowl/bottle.
Find out what the mouse will need to eat.
Think about where you are going to keep the cage as extremes in
either heat or cold, or sudden changes in temperature can be fatal to
a pet mouse.
Mice need a cage or tank with at least 70cm. squ. floor space,
and should be at least 20cm. high, this being big enough to house 2
to 8 mice.
Wooden cages are not recommended as these absorb urine and
become very unhealthy. They can also be chewed easily and chemicals
used to treat the wood are harmful to mice. For this same reason we
do not recommend wood shavings as bedding. Naturally occurring
tannin is toxic and it has been linked to liver problems with
domestic rats and mice. Chemicals added later in the processing of
the wood can be equally as toxic.
Mice like to climb about, tunnel and explore, so their home
should be set up to accommodate this instinctive need.
There are multi-story cages with shelves and ladders for easy
climbing and these are much more interesting for your mice. Some of
these cages are made from plastic, glass or wire.
Wire should be powder-coated or stainless steel, as galvanized
wire can be toxic to mice.
Wire cages designed for rodents have narrower bars or wire, about
5mm, than standard birdcages, as mice can squeeze through birdcage
bars.
Wire shelves or floors can cause foot sores, so these must be covered
with kitchen paper towel, cardboard or removed.

Glass tanks can be used and should have a fitted wire lid,
rather than a glass top, which allows for better circulation. Tanks
are not recommended if a young child is doing the cleaning, as these
are awkward, can get slippery when dampened and can be broken if
knocked or dropped.
Plastic tanks, also used for fish, are lightweight and easy to
clean, but don't allow for fixed shelving. Otherwise, boxes and
climbing frames can be added.
There is quite an extensive range of cages, houses and
accessories dedicated solely to small rodents, such as Habi-Trail
environments. These are the luxury of mouse homes with tubes and
houses that extend outside the main cage-space to create an adventure
playground of tunnels and amusements for your mouse. Often extra
fittings are available from Habi-Trail so you can `customize' your
mouse house. Children and adults alike will enjoy watching mice run
about these "designer homes".