How to clean a pet mouse cage: a simple routine

How often should you clean a mouse cage?

Every day for a spot clean and every one to two weeks for a full clean. That is the RSPCA's advice, and Woodgreen gives the same daily and fortnightly pattern, adding that bigger groups need it more often. Other sources are stricter, so here they are side by side.

We follow the RSPCA and Woodgreen, and lean to weekly for large groups and males. Mice rely on scent to know their home and each other, so a cage stripped of every smell too often can lead to more marking and more squabbles. A big cage with deep, absorbent bedding can comfortably go two weeks; a small cage of four males cannot.

The daily spot clean

A few minutes each evening keeps the whole cage fresh. Do it early in the evening, as the RSPCA suggests, when mice are waking up rather than asleep.

• Scoop out droppings and wet, clumped bedding, especially from the toilet corner
• Remove any fresh food left from yesterday
• Empty, rinse and refill the water bottle or bowl with fresh water
• Check the bottle spout is not blocked or wedged open by nesting
• Wipe the wheel if it is dirty
• Top up bedding where you removed some
• Count every mouse and watch them move and eat

RSPCA Australia suggests checking the mice morning and evening and removing soiled bedding during those checks, which keeps smell down even more.

How to do a full mouse cage clean

1. Move the mice. Put them in a secure plastic carrier with a little bedding, a hide and some food. Woodgreen warns cardboard boxes are unsuitable because mice chew straight through.
2. Save some nesting. Set aside a handful of clean, dry, unsoiled nesting or bedding. Woodgreen says putting this back makes the cage smell familiar and cuts squabbling.
3. Empty the cage. Take out every toy, hide and dish, then tip all the old bedding into a bag.
4. Wash the base and bars. Scrub with hot soapy water, as the MSD manual advises, or a pet-safe small animal disinfectant, as Woodgreen suggests. Pay attention to the toilet corner.
5. Wash everything inside. Clean hides, dishes, wheel and plastic tubes the same way. Wash hammocks and ropes at 60°C (140°F) with non-bio detergent, as Woodgreen advises. Throw out chewed or soiled cardboard.
6. Rinse and dry fully. Rinse off every trace of cleaner and let everything dry before it goes back. Damp bedding on a wet base soon goes off.
7. Rebuild the cage. Lay fresh bedding, put the hides and toys back roughly where they were, and add the saved nesting near the nest spot with some fresh nesting beside it.
8. Return the mice and watch. Put them back together and stay and watch them for a while. The RSPCA asks owners to check for aggression after putting mice back from a clean.

What can you clean a mouse cage with?

Hot soapy water or a pet-safe small animal disinfectant. The MSD manual says hot soapy water at least weekly, and Woodgreen uses a pet-safe disinfectant. PetMD also gives a 3% bleach solution left on for at least 10 minutes, then rinsed off thoroughly and fully dried before the mouse goes back.

Clean food dishes and water bottles before every refill, as the MSD manual advises, not just on full clean days. A bottle brush reaches the inside of the bottle and spout.

How to stop a mouse cage smelling

Most smell comes from one damp patch, not the whole cage. Mice usually pick a toilet corner, so cleaning that one spot every day does most of the work.

• Give the mice a toilet spot: the RSPCA suggests objects they can mark and use as a toilet, which makes cleaning easier
• Clean that toilet spot every day, not just on full clean days
• Use absorbent paper, card or plain hemp bedding, deep enough to soak urine down
• Choose a barred cage over a closed tank; PetMD says solid walls trap ammonia
• Keep the cage in an airy room without draughts
• Remove fresh food before it goes off; PetMD says to throw out uneaten fresh food after 10 hours
• Wash fabric hammocks and ropes regularly, as they hold urine

What is the best bedding for mice smell?

A dust-free paper or card bedding, or plain unscented hemp. The PDSA and the MSD manual both name paper-based bedding as the top choice, and Woodgreen lists non-fragranced hemp. Both soak up urine well. Scented bedding is never the answer: the RSPCA says to avoid any fragranced or coloured material for mice. Every type, including aspen and pine, is compared in our mouse bedding guide.

Cleaning a cage of male mice

Males have a stronger musky smell because they mark with urine, and The Crittery, a UK rescue, says it is a scent you will certainly notice. Their cage needs the full clean at the weekly end of the range. The Crittery also notes some keepers of male groups do partial cleanouts, changing part of the bedding at a time to keep some familiar scent, because stripping the cage can set off fighting.

A gentle way to do this is to swap the toilet half of the bedding one week and the nest half the next, washing the toilet corner every time. If you are choosing mice now and smell matters to you, read male or female mice first.

Cleaning when mice have been fighting

If a group has been fighting, the RSPCA says to change all bedding, nesting and toys and wash the cage thoroughly to remove scent marks, so no mouse comes back to a cage full of its old territory. It also says not to move smells or objects between cages of different mice. Watch them closely afterwards. If fights draw blood, separate the mice and speak to a vet or rescue; see pet mouse health for wounds.

Use cleaning day as a check-up

While the mice are in the carrier, look each one over. Woodgreen suggests a weekly health check, looking for lumps, scabs, dandruff and bald patches. Check that eyes are bright, noses clean and tails clean underneath. Our pet mouse care guide has the full weekly routine, and the mouse cage setup guide helps you rebuild the cage well.