Do you want a pet that isn’t too messy or increasingly lazy? Pets are often either active and fun but cause mess or lazy and clean but aren’t entertaining. However, pet mice provide a perfect balance between those traits, and they’re easy to care for.

Today, we’ll talk about distinctive pet mice that flaunt a stunning appearance and many desired traits, Siamese mice. So read on to know whether they’re the right pet for you!

What Is a Siamese Mouse?

Siamese mice are unique, fancy mice that parade a beige body with seal points at the tail root, ears, muzzle, and hindquarters. They resemble their long-standing nemesis, Siamese cats, in terms of appearance. And they sometimes have red eyes.

The uniqueness of Siamese mice mainly lies in their rare acromelanism, which is a pigmentation pattern dependent on temperature. In other words, the colder areas of the body produce more melanin than warmer areas. As a result, acromelanistic pets have gradually shaded bodies, with the darkest points showing on their extremities.

Siamese Mice as Pets: The Myths Edition

Most people don’t consider mice as pets because of perceiving them as unsanitary and lonesome. However, they couldn’t be more wrong. Here are a few famous myths about Siamese mice that we’re ready to debunk.

1. Mice Are Unsanitary and Stupid

Contrary to popular belief that mice are unsanitary pets, they’re, in fact, squeaky clean. They self-groom multiple times throughout the day and might groom their cage-mates if they feel like they aren’t clean enough.

More so, mice become grumpy if their bedding or cage gets dirty. That’s why you can train them to use a litter box.

We might not know where the idea of mice being stupid originated, but we sure know how wrong it is. Mice are among the most intelligent animals on earth. If trained properly, they can get out of mazes, solve puzzles, and perform tricks.

As astonishing as it may sound, a mouse’s brain has a similar architecture to a human’s brain. That’s why neuroscientists often try drugs for brain disorders on rats. 

2. Mice Are High-Maintenance

All pet mice are low-maintenance, including our Siamese friends. You’ll merely need to clean their house weekly, feed them daily, and give them toys to keep them entertained.

Luckily, you won’t have to worry about showering and grooming sessions like you would if you owned a cat or a dog. A wet sponge will do wonders to clean your mouse and won’t cause any mess around your house.

3. Mice Are Loners and Only Wake up at Night

Siamese mice are nocturnal thus more active at night. However, you don’t have to worry about a sleepy pet that only wakes up when you’re about to sleep. In truth, Siamese rodents wake up many times throughout the day for snacking and playing.

More so, Siamese pets are far from being loners. On the contrary, they love hanging out with other mice and their owners. And although sight isn’t among a Siamese rodent’s strong points, it can recognize you by your smell.

Siamese Mice Breeding

The gene that gives Siamese mice their exciting traits is the Himalayan gene. But since it’s recessive, it has to be present in both parents to produce a Siamese rat.

For purely breeding Siamese rodents, you have two options recommended by the American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association (AFRMA). The first one is finding two Siamese parents, which is the best scenario possible. However, it isn’t that easy. That’s why we’ll tell you all about the second option.

If you have one Siamese rodent, you can breed it to a Black Self mouse. As a result, you’ll get black babies carrying the Himalayan gene. Breeding those black mice will give you Siamese babies.

Now, you can use your Siamese babies to produce many beautiful varieties. For instance, a Siamese bred to a Blue mouse can give you handsome blue point Siamese mice. Those have beige bodies and dark extremities merging gradually in a harmonious balance. But their distinctive trait is their silvery blue eyes.

It’s worth mentioning that breeding Siamese mice with blue ones will first give you black offspring. Then, you’ll get your desired results after breeding the babies. The chances are, you’ll get seal point Siamese, blue point Siamese, black, or blue mice.

Another combination you can try is breeding a seal point Siamese to a Chinchilla mouse. This process will give you Siamese Sable mice in the first generation.

As a rule of thumb, your newly bred rodent, whether it’s blue point Siamese, Siamese sable, or any other type, shouldn’t have white hairs or streaks. More so, it shouldn’t have a definite or distinct line that shows the difference in colour between its belly and the rest of its body.

What Is a Siamese Mouse’s Average Life Expectancy?

Generally, pet mice live from one and a half years to three years if they’re perfectly healthy. But unfortunately, some medical issues might cause this duration to shorten.

What Is the Difference Between a Himalayan Mouse and a Siamese Mouse?

You can know whether your mouse is a Himalayan or a Siamese by its body colour. Medium beige hairs cover Siamese mice’s bodies, while Himalayan mice often have white hairs. More so, Himalayan rats have a lighter tail root than their Siamese counterparts. Both types might have red eyes.

Can I Breed Seal Point Siamese and Himalayan Mice?

Breeding seal point Siamese and Himalayan mice isn’t recommended because it causes the two mice to lose their distinctive features. For instance, it might give you a light-coloured seal point Siamese with no contrast between its body, ears, tail, and feet. Also, you may get Himalayan mice with light shadings on their bodies, which is considered a breeding mistake.

What Do Siamese Mice Eat?

Your Siamese rodent will be ecstatic with a small bowl of fruits, vegetables, and pellets. It’ll be best if you change the bowl daily and never fill it to the top. The foods you should stay away from are walnuts, onions, grapes, and raisins.

To Wrap Up

If you want low-maintenance, entertaining, and beautiful pets to keep, but you don’t have enough space in your house, you should consider getting Siamese mice.

They’re acromelanistic animals that show darker coats and tails in warmer climates, and you can breed them to produce many different varieties.

Whether you end up with a seal point or a blue point Siamese, you’re in for a tremendous amount of fun raising those little fellas!