Spinifex Hopping Mice Victoria

06/12/2022

04/12/2022

Enjoy your new home, little ones! 🐁

03/12/2022

Excuse my ugly nails
But this is the friendly grey boy who is not holding in his balls 😂 making it easy for me to identify

03/12/2022

Picked out three boys for Helen.
The little grey boy is only 1-2 months and he is already very friendly.

03/12/2022

Not the best photo but we definitely have babies who will be ready in the new year.
Three mums who are very annoyed that I opened their hutch 🐭

27/11/2022

Glad to see the mice so happy and active!
I need to do a check shortly as I have pups

19/11/2022

Happy birthday!!! Thank you Crystal and family for giving these curious boys a lovely home.

16/09/2022

Conscious beings that require small effort, care and a safe environment.

They’re not toys and I will never offer a ”change of mind” or “try before you buy/get bored” policy on conscious live animals.

The amount of work to reintroduce a group into a large existing colony or re-tame after no contact takes a lot effort and time, it is not as simple as “just resell them”.
I’ve only had one return and am absolutely LIVID by how skittish my mice behaved, which are not the state I sold them in. I cannot resell this group without making sure their prey behaviour has been lessened and that would only be accomplished by additional time handling them and them mirroring behaviour from other calm mice once reintroduced to the male colony.
More work.

16/09/2022

Adrian’s boys are comfortable and relaxed in their environment.

05/09/2022

Val would like to ask whether anyone had some feedback on her spinifex enclosure

30/08/2022

Shy off 3 weeks, this is what I look for.

30/08/2022

FANCY MICE & SPINIFEX MICE

Left is Vanili, a male texel Manx stud I bred.
Right is one of the four spinifex boys with Paddy whom I bred.

From my experience with fancy mice vs spinifex hopping mice

Appearance
Subjective but I think fancy mice are very very cute!! They come in different coats, colours and tail/tail-less (manx, which I bred). Some mice can get very fat looking in the winter and are just plain ADORABLE! Who doesn’t love a fluffy chubby orb with big ears?
Spinifex are also cute as mice tend to be, they more so resemble wild mice with roo legs and a long tail with a brush on the end (for stability).

Housing
I advocate for giving the largest space you could fit for your mice in your home.
Fancy mice often get kept in tiny plastic enclosures for the rest of their lives and this is not how I wish for any animal to live, regardless of their size.
Both mice are incredibly fun and enjoy exploring their homes, forage and are curious beings.
I will not sell to any person looking to house my mice in a tiny wired or round plastic home.
A plastic tub isn’t as bad if the top allows airflow and is clear, but a tank is preferred. Please invest in a glass tank, you can find some second hand fish tanks for as little as $80-100.
Spinifex definitely need to live in a tank with a top as they can jump 60cm +!!!

Companions
Fancy mice will attack each other when introducing new mice to the mischief as their smells are different. Males cannot be kept peacefully together as they will later start to fight. I have kept 4 brothers together and they didn’t start fighting until 1 year in, resulting in a torn ear. I later moved them all to individual tubs with open top.
Spinifex will not fight generally, boys live peacefully together with one humpy dominant boy but nothing alarming.

Upkeep
Fancy mice have a pungent smell, especially the males. The mice will mark and p*e on everything, resulting in higher upkeep of their enclosure, cleaning is done weekly.
If you don’t clean it, it will continue to get worse.
Spinifex almost have no smell, skim cleaning can be done fortnightly or monthly. As spinifex have evolved kidneys, their p*e can solidify and will not cause a strong odour.

Handling
Fancy mice are much easier to handle and will sit on your hand for long periods of time without feeling stressed (if from a good breeder). They also love head rubs and will accept them.
Ideal for children as they are slower mice.
Hopping mice can and will hop, it is their natural instinct to do so. My mice will accept handling and pats from their person if you put in the time to do so. Both are very curious and usually enjoy exploring their environment and your smells over time.

Life span and health
Like most domesticated animals, fancy mice can have health issues with possible relation to generational line-breeding/inbreeding (which is how homogenous coat types came along) and the mice more so than not, have the same issues coming from this.
The most common health issues being respiratory disease and cancers.
I have found that spinifex are significantly healthier with zero issues from all my mice.
My spinifex live around 3 years+ and fancy living 2 years maximum.

Conclusion:
As much as I find the fancy mice very fun to breed due to variations of colors/coats, I found the health issues to be heartbreaking.
This is not to say every fancy mice will have cancer, but it is quite common. I raised about 80 fancy mice and once I lost my last stud, I kept all my females until the end of their lives.
If a child is looking for a fun pet to handle, a fancy mice may be a better option.
Spinifex can also be handled but not to the same extent, show more interesting behaviours, arent smelly, are low maintenance and represent Australian native wildlife. So this is why I made the change to Spinifex hopping mice.

30/08/2022

Are your mice tame?

Yes, they’re as tame as a spinifex hopping mice can be. But not in comparison to domesticated mice.

Let me explain….
Spinifex and all hopping mice are known to be ornamental pets and not known to be domesticated like fancy mice.
The difference is that spinifex have lived for generations and generations as wild and captive bred mice who need to scout for food and hide from predators, as opposed to fancy mice who have been domesticated over 100 years ago (hence why there are so many variations in coat and colour). Fancy mice also cannot jump as hopping mice can and have very low defence from predators, also being slower than wild mice.
I have bred fancy mice in the past (Manx and texel) which I loved very much, however stopped when I realised that fancy mice tend to suffer from more health related issue such as respiratory disease and cancer.
I have had ZERO deaths from illness related issues with my spinifex.

My spinifex mice are bred from multiple generations of mice that have been handled daily so that children can hold them and give them pats, but that doesn’t mean this species will sit and enjoy a cuddle for long periods of time.
I don’t know whether in my lifetime I could make spinifex as tame as a fancy mice because they have natural instincts and defences as wild mice do, but I do only breed from friendly females and keep calm males in my breeding. Daily handling.
It is up to the owner to continue this taming once they come home if that is their wish to handle them.
Some of my owners have had success with their mice coming/climbing up onto their hands (conditioning with food), little pats and tummy rubs. It is very rewarding to see.

Please do not get frustrated with the mice when they jump from your hands, it is their natural instinct to do so.

30/08/2022

Hopping_mice instagram

30/08/2022

Paddy would like to ask “what are your mice’s favourite treats?”

30/08/2022

Hopping_mice on Instagram.
Paddy’s boys.

22/08/2022

Hello friends,
Messages may be delayed as I am feeling unwell again. I will get back to you soon. Feel free to post photos of your spinifex on this page.

18/08/2022

Hi everyone!
We have 4 of our boys available in the Ballarat area looking for a new home.
Please send me a DM for details 🐁

09/08/2022

We are very busy here moving things around.
I have counted 8 pups, all about a month old from two colonies/mischiefs.
3 boys are reserved, however I will wait longer to make sure they’re the right s*x.
They can sometimes be difficult when this young to determine s*x and it will also give me time to tame them.
Photos to come.

04/08/2022

Hi friends
Two of my buyers have noted that their group may be over-grooming and causing little bald spots on younger mice.
Substrate and tank cleaned so no mites.
Plenty of things to forage and keep themselves stimulated.
No sign of illness, bright eyes.
Very odd, I will check again after winter time to see progress.

04/08/2022

Pretty much me working from home 😂
Thank you, Paddy!

04/08/2022

A heating mat has been added to Paddy’s tiny bois tank 🐁

03/08/2022

Hi 🐁

01/08/2022

How is everyone and their spinifex going?
It’s getting chilly 🥶

20/07/2022

From one of our owners 🐁

20/07/2022

Playtime

14/07/2022

Babies cuddling on a cold day.
Thank you, Adrian and family!

14/07/2022

Paddy’s tiny boy on a wheel!
Do you have a wheel in your inclosure?
I’ve never tried it but may buy a disc wheel if they like it this much 😆!!

13/07/2022

We have no mice available for at least another 1-2 months. Preferably 2 months so I am able to put in some time to handle/tame them.

Waiting list is opened 💌

11/07/2022

Mitchell’s not Spinifex (cousins) but great news!!

09/07/2022

Some information about the Spinifex hopping mice. I have been meaning to create my own care plan but life is faster than I am… on the to do list!
Thank you, Jessica for sharing this

Link:https://www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com/files/CareOfSpinifexHoppingMiceV1.pdf

09/07/2022

A little boy (obvious on this one 😂) one month old. He is staying with me and will be a future stud muffin! ❤️🐁
My criteria for stud muffins are males that seem the most receptive to handling as pups.

09/07/2022

My mice are shedding are the moment so may look more shaggy than usual. Rest assured they will be nice and smooth again once winter is over.

09/07/2022

Jessica & Georgie’s beautiful set up 🐁
Some happy mice there!

09/07/2022

Adrian and family’s spinifex

09/07/2022

Thank you Jessica & George!! May you have many years of happiness! Good luck Enjoy!!

09/07/2022

Thank you Adrian and family for bringing home some beautiful boys today! Good luck Enjoy!! 🙌🏻

08/07/2022

I was asked to help take in a colony of mice from all different ages and s*xes.
I am able to, however this highlights the issue of people who casually allow their mice to breed… it can be difficult to rehome/sell.
It also creates stresses within the colony/mischief when there is overbreeding and overcrowding.

Do not embark on this without first acknowledging that you may end up with 70+ mice and very quickly too.. with nowhere to go.
I run x3 labelled 4-6 foot tanks with spares.

The person has rehomed the mice to an unknown home which to me screams as an issue because the cycle continues…. Ugh 💔