Reddit reviews kathson Wooden Hamster House Hideout Hut Rat Hideaway Exercise Toys for for Small Animals Like Dwarf Hamster and Mouse (Blue)

My personal favorite is this house set here! The blue and pink houses are designed to sit next to each other and look like one big house. It’s also the sturdiest Kathson house I’ve purchased so far. Kathson has lots of cute dollhouse adjacent mouse and hamster stuff. I’m a big fan.

I have a 5 year old daughter and a 2 1/2 year old daughter. I will say that mice can be a delightful pet for your daughter -- with a few caveats.

1. Consider the mice entirely your pets. While she may (and should) help out with cage cleaning, playing with them, refilling food and water, etc., you must be the one to keep the schedule.
   
2. You should be present with her every single time she plays with them, until you're really 100% sure she understands how to handle them and what the rules are (how you get them out of the cage, where do they go, etc.). Mice are generally very sweet and do NOT bite unless they are squeezed, scared, or handled roughly. So you need to spend lots of time with your daughter demonstrating how to hold them. Use a toilet paper tube to pick them up in the beginning, and have a safe "free play" bin where she can interact with them and they can't escape. My older daughter was 3 when we first got a pair of hamsters, and then a year later we got 2 mice. Now we have 3 mice (two girls in one tank and a boy in another). I can let her take out her boy mouse while she's in her room and trust that she will play safely with him unsupervised and he'll be returned safely to his tank. Contrast this with her 7 year old friend who has had no pets (only recently got a dog), and when I let her hold one mouse, she immediately dropped it because it peed on her. So I think her age is great BUT she will need lots of supervision.
   
3. Speaking of pee/poo, they will likely do so while you're holding them, at least in the beginning (when they are scared babies). It's really no big deal, though.
   
4. I would get a 20-gallon tank and use a mix of aspen shavings and Eco Earth/reptile bark in one end for fun digging. They love to dig in bedding and the tank, with a secure lid, will be very safe. It will likely be as expensive as the bin cage, once you get all materials. Since you have a dog and cat you want NO chance of them getting in a cage. When you're playing with them in a bin, put it on a table. (Trust me... you can't leave them for a second, your dog/cat WILL come in and get to them.)
   
5. I have gotten mice from PetCo and from a reptile "feeder" store. The PetCo mice were albino, clearly girls, and they tamed pretty quickly. The feeder store mice were adorable colors, BUT one turned out to be a boy. They were super young and took a little longer to tame. If mice are mixed girls/boys and they're older than ~6 weeks, the girls are likely pregnant. A local breeder is your best bet. Second best would be anywhere to get young (8-12 week old) mice that hopefully are gendered correctly and NOT pregnant!
   
6. When you pick them out, pick the friendliest, calmest, most curious ones. If you put your hand in and one comes up to you, pick that one. Don't go for the extra cute one that bolts from you. Avoid one that rattles its tail or lunges to bite. They can all be tamed but the calm/brave ones will always be much easier and the shy ones will always be more timid.
   
7. Taming will take a lot of time in the beginning. They need lots of short daily interaction with lots of treats like mealworms, or yogurt/peanut butter on a spoon (so they can't snatch a treat and run away). You might start with a small cage and then upgrade once they're tame. I wouldn't stick them in a huge cage with tons of hides at first. You want lots of positive interactions. And out of cage playtime in a fun safe area.
   
8. I would get 3 girl mice. Boys can be sweet and mine is a doll, BUT they have a musk that is like mouse cologne. The pee/poo smell will be about the same for both (you'll need a full bedding change once a week), but the boy loves his smell and he always has it. Something you have to get used to, and clean more frequently.
   
   Overall, mice are FUN, ADORABLE and underrated pets!! The 20 gallon tank will be loads of fun to put ropes, sticks, toys, hanging baskets, tubes, etc. inside and watch them go. Wooden houses like this and this are super fun for kids to put together. We go to Michael's and get wooden birdhouses/castles and put them in as hides. After you put in the time taming them (remember food = love), you and your daughter will have a blast. Good luck and share any pics if you get them!
   
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