Bioactive mouse enclosure setup (See update video!)
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- UPDATE: Watch the video on why this didn't work for me: • My Bioactive mouse enc...
I bit the bullet and decided to turn my mouse enclosure into a Bioactive setup, but it's not as simple as it may seem. It's more complex than just adding soil and springtails into a cage and never having to clean it again, there's a lot that goes into it to ensure a balance that allows it to be a functioning environment - as I'm sure i'll learn over the next few months :)
⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️:
0:00 Intro
0:45 The soil
6:21 The setup
11:53 Enclosure tour
15:39 Mice exploring
17:31 Final thoughts
⭐Things mentioned⭐:
Bioactive mammals group: / 1712848775672889
Bioactive rat group: / 801437910262129
Most of the wooden toys / foraging toys and sprays: bogglebuddies.com/
www.clydescritterclimbers.com/
ratcessories.com/
Niteangel wheels (Affiliate link): amzn.to/3XvM02x
Mushroom hide (Affiliate link):
Bioboost: bioactiveherps.co.uk/product/...
Clean up crew:
🐭 | INFO | 🐭
My Merch: emiology.teemill.com/
My online store: bogglebuddies.com/
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Emiology
Unit 209
4 Blenheim Court
Peppercorn Close
Peterborough
PE1 2DU
Please watch the update video on why this enclosure didn't work for me: czcams.com/video/NZykqwZXTTc/video.html
These mice have no idea how lucky they are, they're living in pure paradise. You're such an inspiration, Emi! ❤
Lol
Hi, I’m just wondering what do you use to protect the wood, from pee? Thank you 😊
I love the concept behind this and it was filmed beautifully. BUT! I'd caution anyone wanting to jump on recreating this setup. Wait for the follow-up vid in a few months and see what OP may wish she'd done differently.
[SORRY, this is gonna get long. ] I have 10 yrs of bioactive exp and this setup leaves me with a few concerns. I don't mean to come off as rude, only offer food for thought!
A drainage layer definitely should be used and there are options that ought to work with mice. ex: Leca clay balls and if needed, stones too large for mice to move placed on top. no plastic mesh necessary.
Stirring the soil often may seem like a good alternative but it actually damages the colonies of clean-up-crew (CUC). Isopods and springtails are the ideal combo, and the longer isos are left undisturbed to establish in a bioactive before larger animals are added, the better (1 month minimum). They have complex social lives and will form their own colonies and mated pairs, as well as nests and tunnels. babies stick close to mom until old enough to be on their own. Stirring the soil destroys these established families and can kill off babies. They may not be able to breed back numbers fast enough, esp with mice picking them off. Dwarf iso species do breed faster though and may better escape mice so anyone considering oughtta go for dwarves.
Mealworms as CUC are not a good idea. They will pupate into darkling beetles almost immediately in these conditions. The adult beetles will outcompete all other CUC and do not clean NEARLY as well, so you will end up overrun by mold.
Timothy hay (I believe?) was mixed into the soil and should be fine though isos may refuse to eat it as it's so fibrous and waxy. Sphagnum (no dye) or dried leaf litter (no pesticides) are better choices as they are more mold-resistant and isos adore them.
There will always be a risk of mold overrunning the types of wood hides added directly into the damp soil here. Cork bark is a better bet for soil level, with other types of wood hides kept raised and out of the soil.
Airflow in these conditions may pose a probem if your only ventilation is coming from the top (can't tell but looks that way). You may consider drilling holes for cross flow. Respitory issues are my greatest fear with a bioactive rodent setup.
OP: It's clear you adore all your animals and they are lucky to have you. It's also clear you've done research on this. My questions are not meant to badger and I hope my intentions come across as for the good of all, the big and the small (and the really small! all the way down to springtails).
This comment is amazingly helpful! Thanks for being generous with your knowledge and experience.
Yooo you can add one of those diatomite bath mats to the bottom, the miceys won’t be able to move it and it will definitely serve the same purpose as a base absorbing / drainage layer!!!
Thanks a lot for your comment 🙂
I love this and I can only imagine how much fun it is for the mice. I look forward to an update of how it stands up to time and how you’re finding it in a couple of months.
I'll definitely do one of those videos in a few months!
Watching them explore the cage brings me so much joy 🥰
This is beautiful Emi! Love the wooden seesaw, so cute 🥰
This is really cool! I love your videos and am very excited to watch this!
(Btw your mice are ADORABLE 😍)
Very cool! I do bioactives with my geckos tanks too. Just keep in mind isopods are protein hungry and while they won’t bother the living mice, if one were to pass in this set up they will flock to it and well, you can guess the rest… looks like the mice are loving it! I’d be interested in seeing an update on upkeep and your thoughts/experience with it in the future! ❤️
This looks absolutely amazing! Your did a phenomenal job 😍
I love watching your videos and I love watching your animals grow and have good homes❤😊
The mice seem pretty excited about all your hard work.
They’re always excited over the most smallest changes 🥹 can learn a lot from their enthusiasm
Oh what a fun and feel good video to watch. Great job Emi. They look so happy and safe in there 🥰
Great job, so much thought and care. Beautiful to look at, I hope they are still loving it!
Wow! Looks amazing 🐭🐭🪱
Proper little woodland 🌳
So fabulous. I hope they thrive in their new digs.
Beautiful set up! I am planning to do this eventually for my dwarf rats. I think its the best habitat 💕
I love your videos. They are calming and youre voice is relaxing.
I’ve had a sore throat for about two months so it’s hard to have a relaxing voice at the moment 😅
I'm starting to think of getting mice again. Seeing these videos makes me miss my baby girl. She escaped once, and instead of leaving and going around the house, she decided to climb on my bed (which was very high) and lay there with me till I noticed
It looks so fun and beautiful, If I was a mouse I would be so happy to live in a enclosure like that.
i think thats a great set up for your mice emi.i bet they are very happy in that set up.
I would LOVE updates on how this enclosure ages
WOW this is like a dream come true. I would love to keep gerbils for the long term future but I'm allergic to the dusty bedding... I've been contemplating if it's possible to go for a bioactive setup. This is so motivational!
OHHHH my gosh, those BIG OLE ears!!!! 😍😍😍 Also, those little squeakers are SOOOOO spoiled to has you as a hooman!
I like your enclosure it looks so natural it amazing
I love it..
I don't have mice, but have 3 youngish ratties.
Have learnt so much from your posts.
So much so isamu mom is now on my friendslist shes given me so much adviceThankyou both so much for all your advice.
This is so cool!
I freaking love this. I’ve been doing this for my mice for years and it’s so much nicer than bedding. Smells better and its easier to take care of.
Do you have to replace the soil? What about odor?
I keep my snakes in bioactive tanks, but they’re a lot simpler than mice when it comes to waste.
really cool!!! i wish more people did this!
We love your videos, the grandkids and I [this summer they want to try this too! secretly so does Grandma but Shh!] so keep us updated on how this turns out long term. We already started growing grass in our greenhouse so we can have that going for them as well as clover and some editable wildflowers. They all seem to grow great in 1/2 inch of water and coco coir mats. [IN THE GREENHOUSE!! NOT THE MOUSE CAGE!!] LOL So we cant wait for our version come spring!! Thanks for the inspiration!!
I’ll definitely do an update in a few months of how it’s been!
I got a feeder mouse from my science teacher when I was 14. I took it home and loved him so much, but I didn't take good care of him... I did what I could since my parents hated it, but I'm fairly certain he died of illness because I used a dusty bedding type. Other than that, I was very gentle and he spent much of his time out of his little cage with me.
I'm a much more educated person as an adult now, and watching your videos is extremely helpful. I wrote a bunch of knowledge from you and bits from other mice-savvy folks on youtube on a notebook, and I'm learning as much as I can before I get two mice. I'm first aiming to get a 50 gallon tank, and I want to stock up on an array of habitats/toys/foraging things/decoration.
I am making absolute sure I do significantly better care this time. I've seen what mistakes I made and I won't repeat them. I never want harm and I want to make them happy as can be.
I especially loved your video that talked about making a foraging jar. I cannot wait to do these things every day. I'm going to be ancy staring at a tank slowly filling up with supplies, but I am going to be 100% prepared for the beginning and learn as I go.
Thank you for your lovely videos, I am so happy I found your channel.
The cage looks great
Yes! The mice are going to love it!
this looks amazing!! i cant wait to have mice again :>
I'm absolutely saving this video!
I recently said goodbye to my last two girls for now, because life is keeping me too busy to take care of mice and rats at the same time, so I decided to take a break. I'm planning to use this break to remodel my cage, a two level diy setup (120x55x120 cm, so 60 cm for each level), because it needs some adjustments. One of them is that I want to go bioactive with the bottom level, a thing I've been dreaming of for quite a while now. This video is perfect as further inspiration on how to do it and makes me even more exited to do it myself in the (hopefully not so distant) future!
Edit: it's 3 weeks later, the cage body is done and I'm working on a cork background for the bottom level and getting an isopod terrarium ready in preparation to get everything up and running lmao
That is one chonker of a mouse omgggg ❤❤❤❤❤
Can’t wait to watch! i love bio active setups! They are awesome! Is the new substrate harder for the mice to burrow in? :)
I agree! It looks like the mice will have so much fun, and live a nice life.
It may be slightly harder for them to initially push through like lighter beddings, but it's what they'd have in the wild and it holds the burrows a lot better than things like shavings do :) Just waiting for them to realise they can dig some good ones!
@@Emiology Cool! Thanks for answering my question :) The mice are going to be so happy 😊
Re-finding this channel just after my mouse died...
:(
I’m sorry 🤍
Oh no 😞💔
So sorry for you loss, sending you lots of love ❤️
Im so sorry 🤍my mouse died too
This is awesome!! I keep isopods and guinea pigs, I'd love to have mice in the future and I'll definitely look into a bioactive set up.
To have a constant isopod supply, I highly recommend keeping a separate colony as well (like you mentioned). Another thing is protein is really beneficial for isopods, I personally feed mine fish flakes weekly but I'm not sure how mice friendly that is, dried mealworms and other protein sources like that are perfect as well! Some species will go after live mealworms so you won't have to worry about protein, but I don't know if yours are. Lastly something helpful for the cleanup is a decently large section of misted sphagnum moss, molting isopods and young will benefit greatly! Plus it helps hold humidity and keep the soil moist. Have you experienced any mold yet? I'm really curious, since the clean up crew (mainly the springtails) will eat it, but in the beginning I suppose it's possible. I don't have springtails (yet) in my isopod bin, so mold is pretty common.
I love your content and how much you care about your animals :)
Thank you! No mould as of yet luckily! I've tried keeping a colony of isopods and springtails before and not had much luck and the extra work of stressing about them staying alive i'm happy to just keep repurchasing lol. I do have way too many orange isopods in my snail enclosure that get out of control so I may throw some of them in occasionally
I'm hear for tips as I had a bioactive tank. The cats brought in a field mouse so she's temporarily there until the weather is better. She was small and skinny bless her. Hope she doesn't get too tame x
I love this!!!
Finally!! 🥰🥰😍😍
Looks great. In regard to live plants. You may want to set up a quarantine for them before adding to tank. There are instructions on how to make plants safe fore terrarium
I don’t intend to use live plants in the enclosure besides herbs from the grocery store 😊
Super interesting video!! And the enclosure looks really beautiful!
A question about the mealworms - I guess some of them will turn into bugs (the ones that don't get eaten in time lol). Won't these bugs be able to get out of the cage and run around in the room then?
I raise Mealworms for my rats and the toads outside. The slickness of the cage walls prevents them from escaping. The hanging toys from the top may allow an adult beatle to escape though
Darkling beetles can’t climb walls, they also don’t fly except when they’re starving which in a bioactive setup they have food constantly available.
It's so fancy! Mice living the high life 😏
Wow, lucky mice 😍
i dont have rodents (but i hope to one day own rats) however, i watch your channel anyway to give better advice to customers as i work in a pet store. we just got 3 baby mice and i hope i can make sure they go to as good of a home as this!
Hello! I recommend some mouse products if u want! You can buy some rodent hammocks, non toxic bird toys/laddars, houses made from tissue boxes, big tunnels and make sure u cleen the cage every 1-2 weeks and feed them a handful of food every 2 days!
I love it! I wish it was easier to find a cleanup crew here, because it's almost impossible, no pet stores on my island has live bugs, only live earthworms in fishing stores. I don't feel like traveling for several hours for bugs to buy them from someone. 😅
The mice looked so happy, sad that Possum passed before he could experience it, but old man Flurry looked so lively! 🥰
What about ordering them? I know many people don't get them from pet stores directly but order them online and get them shipped to their home, maybe that could be an option for you too?
@@tezzanoia I've only found one online pet store here that has some live isopods, but they don't ship them, weirdly enough. I can't find springtails anywhere though.
@@rowdyrats7035 ugh, that sucks
@@ZaryaTheLaika but would that be safe to do to live with animals like mice that are relatively sensitive? The idea is absolutely great, I'd just be worried that they might be able to get the mice sick, yk?
@@ZaryaTheLaika yeah, the isolation part is basically what I mean, but I guess that could in fact be solved with breeding a few generations and maybe making a few soil changes or something. Definitely worth looking into and reading more on how to safely do this for mice when there isn't really an option to buy them
Omg love 😃
Parsley needs a lot of water. Rosemary might do better as it doesn't need water as much but natural light of course
IM EARLY LET'S GOOO
For a bioactive setup, which will work like a terrarium, I'd advise putting a drainage layer under the soil proper first.
It helps with reducing the mold by allowing the excess water to flow into that drainage and not staying locked in the most bottom part of the soil.
A simple layer of gravel will do the trick, maybe boosted with a plastic/metal mesh on top to keep the soil from alling down into it.
It also should have an additional benefit of serving as a reservoir of water, so the soil would not go dry so often.
I discuss in the video why there’s no drainage layer 🙂
@@Emiology Wow, that be true. Must've missed it, haha.
It’s like a little enchanted forest 🥺
I'm just wondering if having those insects in the enclosure doesn't risk them getting out and you ending up with hundreds of insects in your house ?
Great video btw, your mice are so lucky, and it looks really cool!
Not really! If they get out they don’t live very long as it’s not the right environment for them
@@Emiology Good to know! Thank you for answering!
Would love to see just extended footage of the mice playing. ASMR style, maybe light bg music?
I’ve thought about leaving on a livestream of them but would need to figure out the logistics!
Also, and you probably already know this, some plants need bright light. So you may have to put leds in for certain plants to grow.
I’m not intending to have any plants grow in there besides putting in the occasional herb which gets trampled before they can last very long 😅
The cage looks so good!! Where did you get the wheel from??
The wheel is from Amazon you can find it as a Niteangel wheel
@@xielian0908 TYSM!!
@@ashxiia dw
I’ve linked it in the description 😊
I recently got a male mouse and it my first time owning one. I need some advice on some things. I have a glass cage with a wire mesh roof, he has quite a few toys and a very big wheel. Im super worried and i think im not caring for him right. I have watched all of your videos on mouse care. First thing im worried about is that i got him from a pet store. It wasn’t a chain pet store and they get their mice from a breeder. 2 he sneezed once like a little sneeze and when i searched it up it said its a sign of respiratory illness. But i am making steps towards taming him and i hope everything will go well. (Btw i love your videos you helped me out so much!)
It looks amazing! Would this substrate work for roborovski hamsters or would it be too damp?
It would work, use an arid soil so it will not be so damp and use other isopods, do research on arid bioactive enclosures but cont make it to damp
@chloemisakiwisan7265 Makes sense. Roborovskis come from desert areas, so arid soil makes sense. I'm just wondering if it would still hold burrows?
If the clean up crew does everything and you don't mess with it can't it mold?
The bugs and worms make me uncomfortable😂 but i'm sure the mice will like them!
Hello Emi👋 I would really appreciate if u replied to me❤ I would like to see a video about what sprays and plants you recommend for mice! 🙂 btw I'm a bit obsessed with Hubble he is adorable ❤ and I rlly love ur videos my channel is inspired by urs❤ btw it's 1am for me so idk why I'm awake haha 😂
OMG EMI LIKED MY COMMENT I'M SO HAPPY EEEEE❤
I have a big empty aquarium tank... now I want to get mice again^^
Hi ! Could you give more details about the seed mix that you used ?thanks :)
It’s Berimix from rat rations 😊
Can you use hay chaff for bioactive enclosures?
ok two questions, what do you do with mice while preparing this? and also, i know it didn't end up working very well but do you think it would work with rats? i'm perfectly happy to remove & replace handfuls of soil every now and then, so i guess it would be more partially bioactive than fully, as well as litter train them :) and i've heard rats tend to be cleaner than mice, also i have female rats which aren't as stinky. anyways i really love this idea as i love gardening and the biology of soil health - soil is so cool its alive AHHHHHHH!!!! anyways yeah, any advice? :)
Are any of the insects able to climb out of the cage? This seems like such a good idea for them
They can do but they don't survive very long as it's not an ideal environment for them outside of an enclosure. I already get the odd one from my reptile enclosures making an appearance, it's annoying but the rats end up sorting it lol
I've been keeping rats too long. I look at those handfuls of worms crawling in the dirt and think YUMMM
Do you have any advice to someone that lives in a country with 90% of humidity? I love my mice, and the enclosure looks amazing, but my country is super humid and i suffer from asthma
Mice and rats do best in around 50-60% humidity, you probably wouldnt have to spray the soil as often but you might have to get a dehumidifier for the room if you don't have one already. I've just done an update on this enclosure though as it didn't work for me
I'm in the US, but I was wondering how you look up sprays for the mice. All I can ever find is millet sprays when I search and I'd really love to give my mice something more for enrichment besides just the millet.
Amazon has the niteangel brand that has a huge selection of sprays and all things tasty!
Doesn’t the hay mold eventually?
Can you still scatter feed or will the seeds start to grow?
You can! You shouldn’t really be scatter feeding more than they can eat in a day or two so shouldn’t be too much food at around to get mouldy or sit long enough to sprout
😍😊🐁🐁🐁🐁👍👏
I'd love your opinion on my mouse cage. Are you still doing those videos? If so, where do I send it? Thank you
i have a question for anyone to answer!!
i was wondering what exo terra snake bedding is made out of because it looks like aspen but im not sure. so if you know what it is please tell me :)
Hi, I’m just wondering what do you use to protect the wood, from pee? Thank you 😊
Check out my most recent vlog 😊
Does this help with odor control? I would love to do this for when I breed mice!
No haha, I did an update video because it failed
How do you clean this cage? I really like the idea but how do you keep the bacteria level down?
You don’t ‘clean’ it in terms of taking all the soil out, that’s the whole idea of having a bioactive as there’s beneficial bacteria that needs to be there, and the clean up crew deals with the things that shouldn’t like mould etc. all their toys and accessories still need to be cleaned every so often 😊
@@Emiology thank you :)
what do mealworms do?
A warning for anyone who uses mealworms as a clean up crew- they eat styrofoam. So if you want to use a styrofoam hide/decor or background, dont use mealworms or the sound of them chewing it will drive you crazy.
😰
Mealworms are NOT good for bioactive enclosure….
I'm just wondering do you need to clean that because of droppings or pee or does the dirt take care of it?
The clean up crew is comprised of insects that will eat the poop and keep the urine smell down
@@themayorreturns8686 thanks for the reply! (Love your pfp 😄)
Can I ask why you added mealworms to the substrate? Is there a bioactive reason?
They're part of the clean up crew, will eat any waste, they're also quite hardy when it comes to different environments compared to other organisms that only survive if it's kept at the right humidity etc. The mice also enjoy seeking them out and eating them as enrichment
The hay in the soil will probably mold. My male mouse have bioactive enclosure and the hay always have mold . I will be careful with that
Does this smell less and how long would u wait before changing out
You’re not supposed to change it that’s why it’s bioactive 😊
Hi Emi, if I may ask why did you decide to go bioactive with your mice?
I mention it in the video 😊saves the time and energy of doing big deep cleans, it’s more enrichment for them and my older mouse has sensitive eyes
I see! intersting, Well I really did like this video. Also thank you for all the rescue work you do!
Also does the damp not bother them? X
No mice do best at around 50-60% humidity
I think I will try and get a linnmon or tank and do this but aren’t mice supposed to not live in damp environments or is that only with hamsters?
Mice do best in around 50-60% humidity so it’s generally good for their respiratory systems
@@Emiology where did you get the front plastic of the linnmon?
@@amyrandall2009 It's a glass hemnes top from ikea that's used in the linnmon tutorials online
I tried this once but after a month my wood molded ☹️ is there any tip to prevent mold on wood?
Springtails should deal with the mould. I’ve yet to encounter it as it’s only just setup so I’ll do an update if it occurs
how often do you feed them
Once a day
🤍
Wait are they all male mice in there? They don’t fight?
Nope, 4 females and 1 neutered male
I don't know if you do fb but I'd love you on my list.Jemma is on there on shes given me so much advice. I'm a new rat mom, wasn't planning on more pets but.
When One lone skinny girl is offered over the fence. In not much bigger than a carrier, no water bottle, no bedding just sawdust...
Ive had guinea pigs( mostly rescues/ unwanted pets) same with hamsters.
Never had rats before though. So I'm on L plates . Any advice is appreciated because I just want them to have the best life possible.x
Where can I buy a cage like this?? What do I search 🥺
It’s a diy ikea linnmon 😊
What was the total cost of setting this up? X
I’ve no idea sorry!
Only thing is the meal worms turn into bugs cockroaches I think
THE ENCLOSURE LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE MOUSE VILLAGE
Beautiful enclosure. I am skeptical about the humidity…. My Australian Tree Frogs enclosure that is bioactive , humidity is 60 degrees Fahrenheit without spraying water . Also mealworms, when they grow into beetles…. Is it safe for your mice to consume ? It is not safe for other animals, like Leopard Geckos.
Fancy mice do best between around 50-60% humidity so it’s probably going to be a lot healthier for them compared to dry bedding. My reptile / invert enclosures struggle to stay above that for long unless the mesh is partially covered on the top in the same room. The beetles are fine to consume, they don’t taste very nice as they’re quite bitter but it won’t harm them 😊
@@Emiology That’s awesome than ! Do you know about hamsters and bioactive enclosures ?
Mouse can't have wheel
Yes they can
Or, they can, but it destroys their spine
And tail
Not if it’s big enough
Mice* lol
I have to say, I'm not a fan of soil in rodent enclosures for new rodent owners - bioactive rodent enclosures can require more maintenance,
if you've never kept rodents before please be very careful with a bioactive habitat - because done incorrectly too much water can encourage mould leading to skin and respiratory infections/issues, not enough can dry out becoming dusty and causing respiratory issues (which they seem prone to in the first place) and the materials accidentally ingested can cause dehydration and/or colon impaction (though this is more common in rodents like hamsters where burrowing material can get stuck in their pouches.) Incorrectly sourced materials could result in poisoning too, depending on what the materials have been acquired with/by or treated with.
I have seen some people set up "bioactive" habitats with dirt from the garden and give them a "miniature pond" to drink from - please don't do that, their drinking source will become contaminated quickly from bioactive habitat debris, urine and faecal matter. Adding to this, it will encourage mould growth which as previously stated can make your rodents ill.
Please don't source your plants/soil etc from public places like parks either, not only is it likely to be unclean (some sources like your back yard still remain questionable because of things like wood treatment/weed killer which even if you don't use yourself may have strayed from your neighbour's use and cause poisoning) removing plants and wildlife is breaking the law under Wildlife and Countryside act 1981 (UK)
The plus side of a bioactive enclosure when done right, there's very little waste :)
i love your videos but i really wish you'd stop using those softwood items like the trixie multi chamber hide, theres numerous studies that show they're toxic, theres so many better options!
Help, you're suffocating your poor animals with lots of stuff in the cage. They don't need all of that
Tell me you don’t know how a mouse enclosure should be setup without telling me… 🫢