Deodorizing with vanilla extract for new mouse?

by Mouse_mom Fri 04 Sep 2020, 1:16 pm

Not sure if this belongs here or in the general mouse chat, but I’m new to owning mice and will be introducing a third female mouse to my two current ladies. I’ve been reading a lot about introductions and saw that a lot of people recommended putting a drop of vanilla extract on each mouse to help neutralize their scent before meeting, and I’m wondering if I should do something similar to their living space? I clean my habitat weekly using an all natural cleaner and I plan on doing so prior to the introduction. Would spraying a mixture of water and diluted vanilla extract on the cage after cleaning be beneficial, or will the all natural cleaner be enough to create a mostly neutral space?

by MeanMurine Sat 05 Sep 2020, 2:10 am

If you want a truly neutral introduction, I suggest you introduce them in a plastic bin or your bathtub. Their enclosure will be familiar to them even if it smells new, so they may be driven to defend it against the "intruder". I've seen many people follow up introductions on neutral ground by removing the items in the enclosure (except basics) and adding them back gradually as the mice bond, to prevent fights over toys and hides.

by Mouse_mom Mon 07 Sep 2020, 10:52 pm

Thank you for the tips! I did have a bin ready for use as neutral territory and that went well. They seem to be doing pretty well so far, so hopefully they’ll get along nicely.

by Robin~ Mon 14 Sep 2020, 1:47 pm

Vanilla is not good to put directly on mice; there is some extremely outdated information on here. Sorry about that!
In fact, putting vanilla on would sort of defeat the purpose of introducing your mice—mice, like most rodents, rely very heavily off scent for recognition, so there’s really no point in basically putting this off.

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Deodorizing with vanilla extract for new mouse?

Deodorizing with vanilla extract for new mouse?

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