Excluding elderly mouse

by Jlenches28 Tue 19 May 2020, 12:36 pm

Hi everyone. I have the sweetest elderly mouse named Roma. She will be two next week, and after her cage mate passed away around Christmas we got three new mice as her cage mates. They all got along great from the second they were introduced, and I’m pretty sure Roma was the alpha....or maybe second in the pecking order.

The last week or so though, the three younger ones have made a nest on the second floor which Roma can no longer get to. She has her own nest on the first floor and i make sure it has plenty of paper towels for her and other soft stuff for her to keep warm. Her best little bud (Telly) will go in Roma’s house from time to time and hang out with her even in the day, but the rest seem sorta done with her. But last night they ravaged her nest (a box) and then made a super nest like I’ve never seen and barricaded her in another hidey home. I can’t tell if they are trying to protect her and keep her comfy, or if they’re being sorta mean kicking her out of her nest and moving her.

Should I be concerned about any of this or make any changes? I know they will exclude a dying mouse, but I’ve never seen/heard of behavior quite like this. They aren’t bullying her at all, they are just ignoring her and completely remodeling the cage. I was thinking about putting her and her buddy Telly in a smaller enclosure so that Roma would have a buddy to sleep with at night, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea either.

Thanks in advance and sorry this was so long!!!