African Pygmy Mouse — Fact Sheet

Mus minutoides · African Pygmy Mouse

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Minimum adult enclosure: 60 x 30 x 40 cm; larger is better
• Smooth-sided, lockable, escape-proof housing with fine metal mesh ventilation
• Dry dust-free substrate, at least 10 cm where digging is possible
• Avoid loose lids, wide bars, heat rocks, aromatic shavings, damp bedding, and outdoor release

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Multiple hides, nests, cork, branches or roots, visual barriers, and feeding points
• Stable furnishings that cannot crush animals or trap tails and feet
• Quarantine setup with separate tools for new arrivals

💡 Lighting

• UVB not required
• Bright daytime room cycle, shaded retreats, and full darkness at night
• Photoperiod: 10-12 hours
• Keep lamps and cables outside chewing reach

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 26-28 °C

• Warm zone: 20-26 °C

• Cool zone: 20-22 °C

• Night: 18-22 °C

• Provide a gradient, not one uniform temperature

• Measure with digital probes

• Avoid unguarded heat and direct sun through glass

💧 Humidity & water

• Target 40-60% with ventilation
• Fresh water always available; check bottles daily
• Remove wet bedding and old fresh food promptly
• Avoid stagnant damp air and dusty dry bedding

🪳 Diet

Feed regularly:

• Quality small-rodent staple, small seeds or grains, and measured insects

In moderation:

• Soft fruit or fresh greens in tiny portions where appropriate
• Rich larvae, nuts, and treats

Avoid:

• Sugary mixes, fatty overfeeding, dairy, seasoned food, spoiled wet food

Supplements:

• No routine supplements when the staple diet is balanced; use veterinary advice for deficiencies

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Food refusal or weight loss → dental, social, parasite, temperature, or illness issue
• Wet nose or noisy breathing → respiratory irritation or infection
• Wounds or missing tail skin → handling injury, fighting, or unsafe decor
• Lethargy or panting → wrong temperature or severe stress
• Diarrhea → spoiled food, diet change, infection, or stress

Consult an exotic-animal veterinarian for severe weakness, injury, breathing signs, swelling, wounds, or prolonged refusal to eat.