African Pygmy Dormouse — care sheet

Advanced. A tiny, nocturnal, arboreal dormouse for experienced keepers. They’re lightning-fast expert escape-artists (housing must be genuinely gap-free), strongly social (kept in groups, not alone), warmth-dependent (cold triggers torpor), and need an insect-forward diet and lots of height to climb. Their size makes handling and vet care hard.

Insect-forward omnivore. In the wild they eat insects, buds, fruit, seeds and nuts (and occasionally eggs or small prey). In captivity they show a marked preference for insects (mealworms, crickets, waxworms) and benefit from a higher-protein diet, alongside fruit, seeds and a little other animal protein. Always provide fresh water.

Arboreal and escape-proof are the two non-negotiables. Provide a tall enclosure with a climbing structure and elevated nest boxes — evidence shows they use the highest spaces and nest sites, and that vertical climbing prevents stress behaviour (glass-scratching). Because they’re tiny and astonishingly fast, the housing must be genuinely gap-free (fine mesh or glass). (No authority publishes a specific minimum cage size, so aim as large and tall as you can rather than to a fixed number.)

Strongly social — they nest communally (wild nests can hold many adults) and should be kept in compatible groups, not singly. But they’re also territorial: males form hierarchies and can be aggressive in the breeding season, and lower density improves welfare — so provide multiple separate nest boxes and avoid overcrowding.

Keep them warm and thermally stable — they begin to enter torpor/hibernation at around 15°C, and their comfort zone is well above that (research colonies keep them about 20–23°C). Cold triggers torpor, so steady warmth matters.

Provide natural nesting material (they line nests with plant material and moss) and a safe, absorbent bedding. (No authority specifies a particular substrate product or depth, so avoid dusty or scented bedding and focus on good nesting.)

Height and climbing above all — a climbing grid or branches (of a diameter they can actually grip) plus multiple elevated nest boxes markedly increase natural behaviour and remove stress behaviours. Add foraging opportunities and safe things to gnaw.

As tiny rodents they gnaw — provide safe gnaw material. Their size makes hands-on grooming impractical; keep an exotic-mammal vet for any health concern (a gram-accurate scale helps you monitor them).

Standard insectivore best-practice (gut-loading feeder insects, and calcium/vitamin balance) is sensible, but no authority specifies a calcium-dosing regime for this species — follow an exotic vet’s guidance rather than a fixed dose.

Head-and-body about 70–165 mm with a tail of about 50–135 mm; they weigh only around 23–34 g.

About 5–6 years in captivity (a maximum near 7 years is recorded).

See a small-animal or exotics vet if you notice: A cold, torpid, unresponsive dormouse when it shouldn’t be — warm gently and get advice; Not eating, weight loss or lethargy in a normally-busy animal; Wounds from group aggression (often overcrowding or breeding season); Any breathing difficulty, or a visible skin/coat problem.