Bullying

by theo1231231 Mon 24 Oct 2016, 7:55 pm

I have 3 female mice, as of a week ago (first time mouser). Yesterday I saw the biggest and smallest running together on their fly'n saucer (flat wheel), they often do this for some reason and sometimes run as a family together, despite the fact that there are 3 wheels and they all work fine.
The smaller one tried to overtake her and the bigger one gave her a nip I think. she wasn't bleeding but she was was definitely a bit affected by it, left the wheel and I then took her out of the cage to play.
They are all sisters so Im not too worried about this. Hopefully the more dominant one doesn't become a bully.. any tips on how to prevent bullying?

Also, (and this is a bit off this topic) I was wondering, do you think mice are very happy in their cages? my cage is twice as big as the calculator recommends on this site, and today one of them was relentlessly trying to escape when I was handling her, and they all seem to be very jumpy and maybe need more stimulation... they've all got a wheel each, places to hide and a climbing toy on the roof, and I handle them every day.

Sorry for the rambling post.

by scaredymouse Mon 24 Oct 2016, 8:17 pm

It's interesting that you mention that your cage is larger than the recommended size. It is not uncommon for untamed mice to become wild and flighty when their territory is too large. Once they are tame, that doesn't seem to happen anymore. I've even experienced it myself. So, work on taming them. It doesn't sound like they need more stuff to do, they just sound like the haven't been tamed yet.

Despite the number of wheels, sometimes they just like to run together. But sometimes sisters bicker, it could just be as simple as one of them wants to run together but the other one doesn't. Someone has to win that argument. Sisters are going to fight sometimes. You will even see them steal food out of each others mouths... it's just normal mouse stuff. We will never full understand why they do the things they do. I have a mouse that is 2 1/2 years old, and I still see the kids take her food sometimes. She doesn't mind. She just goes and gets something else. I hate to see it, though Sad

Mice have to have a hierarchy. An alpha, beta, and a peacekeeper. So what you see as bullying, may simply be the exertion of dominance in a normal happy hierarchy. Maybe the mouse did something worthy of getting bit. Who knows.

by peas Tue 25 Oct 2016, 3:35 am

Yes mice are happy in their cages. Some mice have more of a desire to explore than others but that doesn't mean they are seeking to leave their homes.

Some of my mice have often wanted "out" of their cages when i was up, only to be put in their playpens that they immediately wanted "out" of only to be put back in their cages! Other mice weren't happy leaving their pens at all.

I've had mice that love to explore and mice that would stay put. I literally had a mouse that i would put on a few paper towels on my bed and she wouldn't leave the paper towelled area. Her sisters would hide in my blankets and explore all about, but she stayed on her paper towel area unless i picked her up and plopped her somewhere on the bed and then it was a quick return to the paper towelled area.

Mice are pretty simple, really simple, and aren't too hard to keep stimulated. As long as they have their wheels, a few toys and get the amount of attention they require, which may vary depending on the mouse, they'll be happy. A good rotating mix of treats and changing up the cage every now and then helps keep them from getting bored. (i change my tank configuration every 3 days but some mice may not like that)

A week isn't a long time for females to become docile. It would be kind of weird if your girls weren't a little nervous.

by CinnamonPearl Tue 25 Oct 2016, 5:54 am

Girls will argue sometimes. So long as you don't see blood, don't stress over it. I used to have two girls who would fight CONSTANTLY. They could just not get along! I would put them in time out and they would calm down only to fight again when they went back with the Others. One of them probably had self esteem issues she was taking out on the other. But I never separated them cause no blood, and as they aged, they finally calmed down.

by theo1231231 Tue 25 Oct 2016, 6:37 am

Thanks allot guys I love being able to voice my concerns to all you dedicated mousers. Dont know what I would have done without this community here Smile

by MouseLover Wed 26 Oct 2016, 7:17 am

I think mice are happy in their cages as long as there's plenty for them to do in there Smile

I think that if wild mice found a safe place with constant food supply and a place to nest, they'd stay there indefinitely. Sure, they'd want to go out and explore every now and then, but they'd always return. So living in a nice cage and coming out for exploring time once a day isn't that different, if that makes sense?

I have had scenarios where cage doors have accidentally been left open, and the mice could very very easily have escaped. But they either never left their cage (all night and morning), or they did leave and they chose to go back home, because all mice were present when I checked on them in the afternoon. I'm certainly not recommending you do that, but it's an example of mice being happy in their cage I think Smile

by CinnamonPearl Wed 26 Oct 2016, 7:23 am

I'm with Mouselover! I once accidentally left little Lilith out on my desk cause I had to run out, and when I got back, she was right where I left her. She was the spunkiest mouse, and she didn't even feel the need to run off.

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