A glass or plastic aquarium (at least a 10 gallon aquarium) or a wire cage is suitable for the African Dormouse. An all-plastic hamster cage with the tube attachments is not recommended, as they can chew out of these fairly quickly. Care should be taken if the cage has multiple levels, as the levels are usually made out of wire and a African Dormouse can easily be hurt if its leg falls through the wire. It might be a good idea to attach cardboard to the wire shelves to protect their legs. The cardboard will need replacing occasionally.
Make sure the aquarium is secured with a good lid - they love to climb. One may add non-toxic/or treated branches, cotton ropes hanging from the lid, a wheel, and of course a house for sleeping.

BEDDING

Hardwood chip bedding, such as aspen is the best. CareFresh Pet Bedding or Pine bedding will also work as long as it is not dusty. The dust can cause upper respiratory problems. NEVER use cedar shavings, as cedar contains phenols, which can cause severe irritation to a African Dormouse.

ACCESSORIES

Supplying a house for your African Dormouse to sleep in is a good idea, just make sure that the house doesn't have a bottom, otherwise cleaning it is very difficult.
Nesting material should be supplied for their bed. Soft paper, such as toilet paper and paper towel, torn into strips works well. Shredded paper or fresh hay will also make suitable nest material. Cotton wool and the fluffy hamster bedding are not recommended.
A African Dormouse should have a wheel in its cage to get some exercise on. The wheel should be at least 5" in diameter. The wheel should be of the solid variety, as the African Dormouse could injure itself if its leg falls through the wire wheel. If all that you can get is a wire wheel, then "weave" some heavy card paper (cereal boxes work well) through the wire to make a solid wheel. The card paper will have to be changed once in a while.
African Dormouse mice need something to chew on. Their teeth are always growing and without something to chew on they will end up with overgrown teeth and they will not be able to eat. Small blocks of softwood and hardwood, cardboard tubes (paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, etc), card paper, etc are great.

HANDLING

The best way to pick up a African Dormouse is to either scoop it up in your hands or to let it walk up into your open hand. Don't try to pick up a Spiny by it's tail, it could come off and it won't grow back.
Once you have the African Dormouse out, be careful, as the African Dormouse may walk off your hands (they can't seem to tell how far away the floor is). It is a good idea to sit on the floor or on a couch while you have the African Dormouse out, this helps avoid any injuries from falling to the floor.
The African Dormouse sense of smell is very good, keep this in mind when you go to handle it. If you have just been eating, your hands smell like food. To a African Dormouse, your finger smells like the potato chip you ate 10 minutes ago, and it may try to eat your finger! Don't worry, it usually realizes that your finger isn't food. If you have anything on your hands that give off an offensive odour, you may not even notice it, but the African Dormouse will and it may bite in reaction to the smell. Always remember to wash your hand first. As they say "first impressions", well a African Dormouse first impression of you is your smell.

BUYING AN AFRICAN DORMOUSE

Whether you are buying an African Dormouse from a pet store or a breeder, you should ask questions, even if you know the answers from your own research. This will tell you how knowledgeable they really are. If they don't know what they are talking about, buyer beware! If they don't want to give you any information or want to help you, buyer beware!
Check out their facilities carefully. Look for overcrowding, dirty cages, unhealthy animals, smell the air. If the animals are overcrowded and/or the cages are dirty, be very cautious about buying a Spiny mouse. There shouldn't be any sickly animals in sight, any good breeder/pet shop will have a "sick" room for any animals that aren't up to par. If the establishment/breeding facility has a very strong odour, be very careful, even if it looks clean, the smell is coming from somewhere. Any place, that has animals, will have a smell to it. The larger the facility, the stronger the odour. They just can't clean as fast as the animals do their business. But if the odour is overpowering, then there might be something else under the surface, use caution.
Check the health of the animal before you buy it and handle it. If they won't let you handle it before you buy it. They may be hiding something, WATCH OUT! Handling the African Dormouse tells you how tame it is and you have a chance to check its health. Look for discharge from its eyes and nose, sneezing, wet rear end and firmness of body. If it has any of these conditions or its body appears thin, don't buy it. Don't even consider another African Dormouse from the same cage as the other African Dormouse may also have the same problems. The African Dormouse you choose should be bright eyed and interested in what is going on without being too nervous. There eyes and nose should be clear, the rear end dry and the body firm to the touch.
If possible, check references. Referrals from other satisfied customers will tell you a lot about that breeder's/pet shop's quality of animals, their care and concern for the animals well-being, their "customer service" and how much information they are willing to share.

DIET

The Dormice diet consists of grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, eggs, insects in the wild. A good rodent mix (such as FURRY FEATHERED FRIENDS MIX ), along with a couple of peanuts should be offered free choice. In the evening ( 2 to 3 times a week) offer fresh/frozen sliced fruits and vegetables. Treats can consist of boiled egg, crickets, mealworms, dried fruits/berries - once or twice a week.
Remove all uneaten fruit/vegetables, egg, etc. the next morning to prevent spoilage. Be sure to provide fresh water at all times ,with a supplement of vitamins added. Never allow the bottle to become empty or to sit with stagnant water.