I think one mouse is being excluded from the group and bullied away from being able to eat?

by mnemosyneslunarian Sat 15 Feb 2020, 6:51 pm

So i have three female mice, we're going on two years now. I got them all at the same time and they're in a roughly 70 gallon tank size cage. They got along rather decently as far as i could tell until this year? I think one of them is being excluded from the group for a few reasons... one she always comes out of a different spot than the other two, a decent bit away from where they were sleeping. two she's a LOT thinner than the other two and is losing some fur i noticed as well. It's because of the latter that i'm suspecting she's not being able to get enough food, that and i've witnessed the other two drag her away from the food dish by her neck.

I'm unsure what to do exactly because i haven't noticed any blood or even scabs on her and i see often in here to not separate them unless theres blood drawn.. but at this point i'm a bit worried for her health. Should i at least separate her when i do feeding time to make sure she's able to get food without the other two ganging up on her? or should i add another food dish to the tank maybe? I'm just getting more worried about her health cause she looks like a baby compared to the other two due to how skinnier she is than them. she's not like skin & bones level yet but definitely a visible difference..

help & advice would be greatly appreciated

by chiroptera Sun 16 Feb 2020, 12:39 am

@mnemosyneslunarian Actually, even if there's no blood, you should separate mice if one of them is being kept away from the food/water! Seeing that they've physically dragged her away is worrisome. I think it would be a good idea to separate her, unless you can pinpoint one of the other two as the bully.

If one in particular is bullying her, you can actually separate the bully from the others for a while; after realizing she quite likes having company, there's a chance she'll calm down and actually make nice with the others when you reintroduce them!

If you can't pinpoint the bully, or if you know both of the others are discluding the one girl, I would separate her and, if possible, try to introduce her to some new mice.

You could also try scatterfeeding, or just putting more than one bowl around the tank, so that even if two of the mice claim one food bowl, there are still other places for your other mouse to get food. In a cage that big, it definitely wouldn't hurt to have more than one source of food/water anyway. Also, for mice it's best if they always have food available, not just have a specific feeding time once or twice a day. They have very fast metabolisms and benefit from being able to eat as they please. If you're only feeding once or twice, it could be that they're being territorial over food because they feel as though they aren't getting enough, and therefore have to guard it.

Definitely would recommend taking some sort of action if she's noticeably being picked on and not able to eat, hopefully one of these options works out for you and your mice!

by mnemosyneslunarian Sun 16 Feb 2020, 1:07 am

chiroptera wrote:@mnemosyneslunarian Actually, even if there's no blood, you should separate mice if one of them is being kept away from the food/water! Seeing that they've physically dragged her away is worrisome. I think it would be a good idea to separate her, unless you can pinpoint one of the other two as the bully.

You could also try scatterfeeding

Scatter feeding is what i've been trying this week, though it doesn't seem like it's helping too much. as for which of the other two is the bully.. i can't quite tell, i only caught her being dragged away by chance. (i should note- feeding time is three times a day, when i wake up, before i go to bed and in the middle of those times. sorry i should've mentioned feeding time wasn't just once a day siduhfis)

yea.. seeing her be dragged away specially by her neck has me worried a lot. if it's better to separate her because of her heath being at risk then i'll do that, i do have two spare tanks, smaller tanks but still plenty big for a single mouse. i just need to stop by the store tomarrow and pick up a water bottle (i only have one that works with glass tanks).

Only down side to separating her is i can't really obtain 'new' friends for her easily... it took calling 11 pet stores (no breeders where i live that i could find..) to even get females originally. (got these three from a small non-chain pet store a couple towns away). i might try to give her more one on one attention tho to help her not feel lonely.

Thank you too- for the tips and confirmation that it might be better to separate her even if theres no blood being drawn for this situation. its just odd that they suddenly are excluding her/making it difficult for her to eat properly.

by chiroptera Sun 16 Feb 2020, 1:54 am

I still would recommend leaving food out all the time for your girls, and just refilling the food bowls whenever you see that they've eaten everything. There's not a huge risk with them overeating, the only thing to really watch out for is selective feeding (if you use a mix).

But yeah, if she's looking thin and you've seen them be aggressive to her, I would definitely separate. If you're super worried about her overnight, you can always use a bowl instead of a water bottle!

It is weird that they're suddenly not getting along. Sad

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Sun 16 Feb 2020, 11:48 am

You might also want to get the separated mouse in for a vet visit, to see if there is either a health problem that is contributing to the weight loss or any health concern resulting from the weight loss.

If mousie is sick, the other two may be taking advantage of that fact to exclude her. It isn't that they don't "love" her just as much as before -- it's just the ol' survival instinct at work.

by Peachy Tue 18 Feb 2020, 8:01 am

Is she being excluded from the nest or chased away from other toys? Is it just the food bowl that’s the problem? At 2 years old I don’t know that I’d separate her or try to introduce her to new friends. If her health checks out, I might try a smaller tank and having an abundance of food available all over their home... high places, low places, open spaces, hidey places. Do you have a picture of their setup?

If they’re still chasing her around, I’d actually try separating all three of them for a week or two. If you have any idea which may be kinder towards the outcast, you can start reintroductions with those two. After a day or two of them getting along, introduce the third.

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I think one mouse is being excluded from the group and bullied away from being able to eat?

I think one mouse is being excluded from the group and bullied away from being able to eat?

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