General Information:
Do not deliberately capture mice from the wild to be kept as pets. If you've captured a field mouse, contact your local wildlife rehabilitator. We see countless mice because we live on a quiet estate near a field and school grounds with several outdoor cats in the area, we do NOT capture them. Approximately 95% of wild field mice that we see are released into the wild again.
We've been particularly reluctant in writing a recommended care guide for field mice as we don't wish to promote keeping wild animals as pets - completely the opposite. Many wild mice are covered in parasites and may be carrying viral diseases potentially contagious to other animals. On the other hand, we acknowledge there may be people, like ourselves, who've cared for them at some point due to unfortunate situations that unavoidably occur.
Apodemus mice are under the genus 'Muridaie' which contains Eurasian field mice. The genus contains over 20 species of mice - not including prehistoric mice. In the UK, the most commonly found species of Apodemus are Field/Wood mice and Yellow-Necked Mice. We also have other genera of mice such as the Eurasian harvest mouse, and the House mouse.
This post will be dedicated to the Field/Wood mice; scientifically known as Apodemus Sylvaticus, although most of the care can be applied to the Yellow-Necked mouse; Apodemus flavicollis.
Field mice are rarely kept as pets. Most people end up with pet field mouse because their animal cannot be released. They're rarely purchased from breeders.
The field mouse is widely distributed throughout woodlands, grasslands, and gardens. They're most commonly out at night, meaning they're a nocturnal rodent.
Field mice are great climbers and burrowers. They share either communal or sometimes singular nests.
They're an omnivorous rodent with a lifespan of approximately 1-3 years. Unfortunately, in the wild few individuals will make it past 1-year-old given the number of predators a field mouse has.
Care:
There will not be information regarding rehabilitation of Eurasian field mice. Please contact your local wildlife rehabilitator.
Housing/Enrichment:
It's recommended to keep field mice in a 2ft-3ft glass tank or something similar with a secure lid. Be mindful that field mice, particularly young ones, can easily escape through bars. Provide them with a generous layer of a safe substrate.
Enrichment should consist of toys to chew, climb, nest and burrow with. You can also provide your mice with a nesting substrate such as straw or hay.
Socialising:
In our experience, field mice rarely bite, but obviously have the tools to do so if they felt threatened enough. We have found that some, typically adult wild mice, found handling particularly stressful. We would recommend keeping handling to a minimum if the adult field mouse is unable to be reintroduced to the wild due to ill health.
Young mice may be ok with handling whilst young, but typically, natural instincts still develop and they become increasingly fearful with age - a good sign!
Field mice are commonly communal rodents. It's difficult to find companionship for field mice due to them uncommonly being found in pairs or more, even less likely to have a cohabiting group all unable to be released. We don't advise that you go out of your way to capture another mouse or keeping another field mouse if you find one just because you have one needing a companion.
This difficult situation is one of many reasons why you should think long and hard before keeping a pet field mouse. Try to remember what's within the best interest for the mouse.
In some cases, mice will cohabit with closely related species of mice, but you must know what you're doing before attempting a pairing - especially with different species!
Most pet field mice will end up living a life of solitude which can be depressing for some mice.
Diet:
Field mice are an omnivorous rodent, they're designed to eat both plant and animal materials.
Their diet consists of mostly grains, seeds, and arthropods. A good quality wild bird food supported with some grains, occasional dried insects, and plant materials will provide your captive field mouse with a diet similar wild field mouse - not identical, but close enough.
It has been shown that field mice demonstrate temporal preferences to food, but this doesn't matter so much in captivity as it is most likely that you will feed/scatter all of the food at the same time of day.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Do not deliberately capture mice from the wild to be kept as pets. If you've captured a field mouse, contact your local wildlife rehabilitator. We see countless mice because we live on a quiet estate near a field and school grounds with several outdoor cats in the area, we do NOT capture them. Approximately 95% of wild field mice that we see are released into the wild again.
We've been particularly reluctant in writing a recommended care guide for field mice as we don't wish to promote keeping wild animals as pets - completely the opposite. Many wild mice are covered in parasites and may be carrying viral diseases potentially contagious to other animals. On the other hand, we acknowledge there may be people, like ourselves, who've cared for them at some point due to unfortunate situations that unavoidably occur.
Apodemus mice are under the genus 'Muridaie' which contains Eurasian field mice. The genus contains over 20 species of mice - not including prehistoric mice. In the UK, the most commonly found species of Apodemus are Field/Wood mice and Yellow-Necked Mice. We also have other genera of mice such as the Eurasian harvest mouse, and the House mouse.
This post will be dedicated to the Field/Wood mice; scientifically known as Apodemus Sylvaticus, although most of the care can be applied to the Yellow-Necked mouse; Apodemus flavicollis.
Field mice are rarely kept as pets. Most people end up with pet field mouse because their animal cannot be released. They're rarely purchased from breeders.
The field mouse is widely distributed throughout woodlands, grasslands, and gardens. They're most commonly out at night, meaning they're a nocturnal rodent.
Field mice are great climbers and burrowers. They share either communal or sometimes singular nests.
They're an omnivorous rodent with a lifespan of approximately 1-3 years. Unfortunately, in the wild few individuals will make it past 1-year-old given the number of predators a field mouse has.
Care:
There will not be information regarding rehabilitation of Eurasian field mice. Please contact your local wildlife rehabilitator.
Housing/Enrichment:
It's recommended to keep field mice in a 2ft-3ft glass tank or something similar with a secure lid. Be mindful that field mice, particularly young ones, can easily escape through bars. Provide them with a generous layer of a safe substrate.
Enrichment should consist of toys to chew, climb, nest and burrow with. You can also provide your mice with a nesting substrate such as straw or hay.
Socialising:
In our experience, field mice rarely bite, but obviously have the tools to do so if they felt threatened enough. We have found that some, typically adult wild mice, found handling particularly stressful. We would recommend keeping handling to a minimum if the adult field mouse is unable to be reintroduced to the wild due to ill health.
Young mice may be ok with handling whilst young, but typically, natural instincts still develop and they become increasingly fearful with age - a good sign!
Field mice are commonly communal rodents. It's difficult to find companionship for field mice due to them uncommonly being found in pairs or more, even less likely to have a cohabiting group all unable to be released. We don't advise that you go out of your way to capture another mouse or keeping another field mouse if you find one just because you have one needing a companion.
This difficult situation is one of many reasons why you should think long and hard before keeping a pet field mouse. Try to remember what's within the best interest for the mouse.
In some cases, mice will cohabit with closely related species of mice, but you must know what you're doing before attempting a pairing - especially with different species!
Most pet field mice will end up living a life of solitude which can be depressing for some mice.
Diet:
Field mice are an omnivorous rodent, they're designed to eat both plant and animal materials.
Their diet consists of mostly grains, seeds, and arthropods. A good quality wild bird food supported with some grains, occasional dried insects, and plant materials will provide your captive field mouse with a diet similar wild field mouse - not identical, but close enough.
It has been shown that field mice demonstrate temporal preferences to food, but this doesn't matter so much in captivity as it is most likely that you will feed/scatter all of the food at the same time of day.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.