Nibbling mice

by Morrish Mon 21 Dec 2020, 7:49 am

I have had my 2 female mice for a week. Today I got brave and tried placing my hand in the cage with some food in my palm the more curious of the two came up to me and started nibbling my knuckles and fingers pretty intensly but didn't draw blood. I kept calm until she stopped then pulled my hand out. I tried again and she started nibbling on my nail then took the treat.
My mice always nibble their cage bars too. Is it just because they are young? Teething?
I'd love to hear any suggestions how to interact with new mice and gain their trust.
My 2 are from the pet store.

Thanks guys.

by M O U S E Mon 21 Dec 2020, 2:47 pm

I think them nibbling your hands is just curiosity. Like an "ooooh, can I eat this?" kind of thing.
I am, however, concerned at the bar nibbling. This can be a sign of boredom and should be addressed. How large is their cage? Do you stuff it with toys?
Letting your hand in the cage with the food is a perfectly fine way of interreacting with them. You could do with or without food too.

by Morrish Mon 21 Dec 2020, 5:38 pm

M O U S E wrote:I think them nibbling your hands is just curiosity. Like an "ooooh, can I eat this?" kind of thing.
I am, however, concerned at the bar nibbling. This can be a sign of boredom and should be addressed. How large is their cage? Do you stuff it with toys?
Letting your hand in the cage with the food is a perfectly fine way of interreacting with them. You could do with or without food too.

I expressed my concern at the pet store the cage is too small. It was the only one they had.
The overall dimensions are 14 inches High x 15 inches Wide x 11 inches Deep
But the base tapers inwards so it's 14 inches Wide x 9 inches Deep in the base.
I can't figure out how to post a picture. It's called Pet One Critter Mansion if you would like to
See what it looks like.

I live in Australia and pet mice and rats aren't common so cage options are limited. I've since
Been to other pet stores and haven't found a cage bigger. It was $80 so ideally I'd like to use it for a while longer.

I've also put in there a toilet roll a stick to chew on and i have ordered a hammock

by M O U S E Mon 21 Dec 2020, 6:38 pm

Morrish wrote:
M O U S E wrote:I think them nibbling your hands is just curiosity. Like an "ooooh, can I eat this?" kind of thing.
I am, however, concerned at the bar nibbling. This can be a sign of boredom and should be addressed. How large is their cage? Do you stuff it with toys?
Letting your hand in the cage with the food is a perfectly fine way of interreacting with them. You could do with or without food too.

I expressed my concern at the pet store the cage is too small. It was the only one they had.
The overall dimensions are 14 inches High x 15 inches Wide x 11 inches Deep
But the base tapers inwards so it's 14 inches Wide x 9 inches Deep in the base.
I can't figure out how to post a picture. It's called Pet One Critter Mansion if you would like to
See what it looks like.

I live in Australia and pet mice and rats aren't common so cage options are limited. I've since
Been to other pet stores and haven't found a cage bigger. It was $80 so ideally I'd like to use it for a while longer.

I've also put in there a toilet roll a stick to chew on and i have ordered a hammock

I'm glad you expressed your concern to the pet store. That is definitely too small.

That's understandable. If you're particularly handy, there are several Ikea items that can be transformed into mouse cages. Or you could make a bin cage out of the big plastic storage bins you can find at just about everywhere. There's plenty of videos on Youtube.

Do you have a wheel? Hides? Mice love to explore and play and need lots of enrichment. They're also afraid of open space. You can give them cardboard egg cartons, cardboard, tissue boxes, tissues, tissue paper, and literally just balls of paper. They'll have a blast shredding it up. You can also sprinkle their food around if you don't already. Then they have to do a little searching and it entertains them. There's also plenty of diy toys out there. There's actually a forum topic for diy's under Mouse Products.

by chiroptera Mon 21 Dec 2020, 11:38 pm

I would greatly recommend upgrading them. DIY bin cages are great, cheap options - there are lots of examples of how to make bin cages for rodents on Youtube and elsewhere on the internet. And if the bar chewing hasn't damaged the cage too much, and you give it a very thorough cleaning, you may even be able to return the cage.

by River Tue 22 Dec 2020, 3:26 am

You could also connect the cage to the bin via some tubes if you'd like to hang onto it! It might be a fun upper level. My mouse uses his upper level to let me know he'd like to come out -- and runs back down to the bottom when he'd rather be left alone. Very intelligent creatures.

by SarahAdams Tue 22 Dec 2020, 5:04 pm

I know what you mean because in my part of Canada, there is virtually nothing in pet stores for mice, except CritterTrail cages which are not suitable for any pet.

I started my mice off in cages about the size of yours. Within a couple of weeks I knew they were too small, even for one mouse. I added some small bins, connected with tubes. They seems to like those okay, but then I thought those were too small as well because it was impossible to put enough items in to keep mice happy.

I then bought three large bins and followed instructions on how to turn them into cages. Now my mice have lots of room with plenty of space for all kinds of hides, toys and hanging Sputniks, ladders, etc.

Biting on bars, in general, usually means boredom or that the enclosure is too small.

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