Texel Mouse

Coat and looks how to spot one

Long, curly coat

A long-haired mouse with curls, usually made by combining a dominant rex gene for the curl with a long-hair gene. With most curly genes the curl relaxes as the mouse grows up, while some recessive frizzie lines keep more of it. Whiskers are curly too.15

Personality what they are like

Coat type has no effect on character, so these are typical fancy mice: lively, curious and happiest with mouse company. With calm, gentle handling close to the ground they settle well and seldom nip, and the AFRMA expects every show mouse to be easy to handle.346

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Busy and quick, most active at night and around dusk and dawn. Offer a solid-surface wheel, ropes, branches, tubes and tunnels, and scatter part of the food so they can forage.478

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Mice groom themselves, but long curls can pick up bedding. Use dust-free bedding and check the coat stays clean, especially around the back end.7

Home where they are happiest

A roomy, escape-proof cage with bar gaps under 5 mm, at least 2 cm of dust-free bedding plus paper or hay for nesting, hides with more than one exit, a solid wheel and climbing items. Keep it well ventilated, out of draughts and away from heat.7

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Complete mouse nuggets as the main food, with small portions of vegetables and fruit counted into the daily amount. Scatter some of the ration for foraging and provide fresh water from a bottle, checked daily.8

Company who they like around

Sociable animals that do best in stable, same-sex groups. Females usually live together easily; males are best kept with brothers they grew up with. Avoid swapping members in a settled group.93

The story where it all began

Breeders combined long hair with curly genes, and the name was borrowed from the Texel guinea pig. The mouse fancy itself dates back to 1895, when Walter Maxey founded the National Mouse Club in England.13

Recognised by the official bits

AFRMA

Curly mice, short or long haired, are shown together as Frizzie (or Frizzie Satin); Frizzie was standardised on 31 Aug 2022.1

AFRMA

Frizzie standard: tightly waved or frizzed, dense coat with curly whiskers.5