How many mice in a 15 gallon?

I know TFM's cage calculator says four to a 15 gallon, but I was wondering if, say, six would be too many. I have two pairs of girls together and two single girls. So would they likely be comfortable in a 15 gallon or do I need to find other arrangements?

That does sound a bit cramped. I think you could get away with six in a 20L but not sure about a 15 gallon. That's not a whole lot of room.

We have one 10 g. cage with 5 in it, but it was the mom and her girls. We have tried to separate them, but they were being so mean to the other mice we put them back. We have no issue's at all with 5 being in one cage, they seem to enjoy it.

There was a site that I came across some time ago and it let you put the size in and it told you how many mice would be ok.

You could have glass cut and the edges smoothed at a glass shop, it's not that pricey and then you just use aquarium silicone to glue to the glass, then you could house them all there, you can make another level! You can make squares, rectangles or triangles, I did triangles

LittleSniffs wrote:We have one 10 g. cage with 5 in it, but it was the mom and her girls. We have tried to separate them, but they were being so mean to the other mice we put them back. We have no issue's at all with 5 being in one cage, they seem to enjoy it.

There was a site that I came across some time ago and it let you put the size in and it told you how many mice would be ok.

I think I know that site you're talking about. They said they were being very generous with room per mouse, as they had gotten complaints before about their calculator making the cages too cramped. Personally, I have four mice in a 20 and I can't really imagine adding much more than one, maybe two, absolute tops. When they're all out and about, it just doesn't seem like a whole lot of room.

Here's a really neat site that breaks down tank size on a per mouse/per rat basis and compares them to average human housing equivalents:
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/cagesize.htm

For example, my girls get about 90 square inches of floor space each, which is equivalent to a little smaller than the average American home.

If you're not sure what your tank measurement are and don't feel like breaking out the ruler, go here:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumsandstands/a/tanksizesweights.htm

It was not either of those pages, altho those are great. Thanks for sharing

So, in a 15 gallon, the six girls would live a bit below the "average American," but in a 20L they'd live above. Unless I did it wrong...

Five mice in a 10 gallon and actually happy... that's amazing! I tried four, but I ended up having to split them up into pairs. Then I got Razzle and Rusty, intending to introduce them to one of the pairs, but they started to fight in quarantine and I had to separate them, also. And that's how I ended up with six girls in four different cages.

Maybe I'll try them all in a 15 gallon, and figure out something else if that doesn't work out. I found a 20L for $25, so I could either try that or decide how to divide them into groups of three.

I also love the idea of adding a second level, though! That sounds so fun, and it's definitely something I'll look into.

Thanks for your thoughts!

I have 5 girls in a 15 gallon, and I've had 6 in there before BUT I have a second level in there. I know one site says adding a second level isn't any better, but those 5 girls are very bonded to one another and they never sqeak. When I've tried to split them up and distribute them with other girls, I have super squeaking that never resolves itself. Most of my girls are practically interchangeable, but those 5 just don't play live well with others. I clean every week and I scoop potty corners out in between cleanings though.