What do you need?
This is the first question to ask before you even buy mice! It's easier to have everything allready at home before you bring your new pet with you.
A list of the basics:
- a cage
- food
- water bottle/bin
- bedding
- house
Now this is just the basic things, it would off course be more fun for you and the mouse if you have some more for them!
When you buy mice, please read about them first! (your doing good so far, as you are reading this) Mice are social animals that need a friend to play with, so always take at least 2! I always advice a minimum of three as there is much that can happen and when one dies, you still have two and you don't need to rush and buy a new one! (You can find what can happen in "health issues")
When you set up a cage for mice, there are always many things to consider. Mice are experts in escaping, don't buy a cage with the bars too far apart, 0.8 cm is the maximum. I had mice escaping from normal hamster cages! Also, a mouse is very active, so the will make a mess when you hace a cage with bars, I usually have cages with a plastic cap on top and aquariums/terrariums so they don't spill their bedding. Because they are active it is also recommended to have some toys for them in the cage, this can be very simple and made with cheap things! (you can read more about this in "homemade toys")
As mice are very active they also eat and drink a lot, at least a lot more then a normal dwarf hamster, so just fill up the feeding bin every day! When they have no food, they get in trouble very fast and they could die, but that seems obvious. Also, when you use a water bottle, check it regularly! I have had a lot of issues with water bottles not working, so just use your finger to see if water comes out of the tip. That being said, I still recommend a water bottle as a water bin here is mostly used to play with, they throw in their food, bedding, toys etc and soon there won't be any water left to drink, if you use a water bin, make sure you check it at least once a day and clean it out when they made a mess!
A house is also very important for the mice, if you give them some nesting material like toilets paper, tissues, hay or cotton, they will make a little nest in their house and that will be a comfortable place for them to sleep and hide. it reduces stress when they have hiding places, so don't take it out when you want to see your mice more, they will just search for other hiding places.
The easiest is when you have a house that you can open from the top, so you can just look inside when needed. I have had houses that didn't have this and I can tell you it is not fun for you and the mouse if you have to find a way to get them out of the house when they don't want to.