My mom brought me home 3 male mice

by coziebee Sun 05 May 2019, 4:21 pm

So my mom brought me three male mice. She saw them in the adoption rack at our local petco and felt like she had to get them. I was really shocked when she called me and told me I needed to set up a cage as this was very unlike her to impulsively get me a pet (especially when she didn’t even ask me first). I always make sure to set up an enclosure days before I get a new pet so I was really flustered. At first, she told me she got three mice (didn’t say gender), so I assumed they were females as I thought she knew that only females should be in groups since I’ve had mice before. When she told me they were males I didn’t know what I would do because I don’t really have room for three separate cages. She told me that the lady at the pet store told her they were littermates and would be totally fine living together. I told my mom that males will usually fight if housed together, but I looked it up to see if there was any way it could work out. I found some websites saying that it is ok if they are littermates (keep in mind the ones I have are only about 5 weeks). I found other websites saying it’s not acceptable. What should I do? Should I separate them? Or should I leave them be and see how it goes? I haven’t had them long enough to see if they’re fighting or not, but as of now they are together in a 110 quart bin cage. Please give me your opinions as if what I should do! Thanks <33

by CallaLily Mon 06 May 2019, 5:00 pm

Please separate them!

(Copy and pasted from a recent thread where I answered a similar question)
Males should never be housed together after weaning. Even brothers will eventually fight once they start to mature. Fights can become deadly very quickly, so even boys who appear to get along now are at great risk.

Naturally Mus musculus live in groups that consist of 1 male and a group of females plus any young offspring. Other males and young that have matured are fought or chased off. In the wild the weaker male has plenty of opportunity to get away but in captivity there is no where to go, so this behavior ends with much more serious injuries or in death. There are some reports of very beaten down submissive males living in these groups but this is in extreme circumstances and not ideal. And of course we can’t house a male with females unless he’s been neutered — which is risky to have done unless you have a very experienced (with mice) exotic vet.

There are some breeders (mainly in the UK I believe) who spent many many many many generations trying to breed out this territorial behavior. From what I’ve read few have been very successful in the long term.

Edit to add: If your bucks are from untracked lines and not specifically from a reputable breeder who has selectively bred bucks in the way described above — it is absolutely NOT worth the risk. Things can turn ugly fast! It is not natural to male Mus musculus to live with other males. Please see this thread: Males Living Together *Warning Graphic Photos*.

by coziebee Tue 07 May 2019, 6:41 am

Thank you very much - I will definitely seperate them asap.

by BrendoniUrie Tue 07 May 2019, 12:18 pm

Hey you know, I just thought of this, but if you don't have the space for 3 enclosures, if you have the floor space for one bin cage, then you can get 3 of them and put in some side meshing for ventilation and just stack them up on top of each other!

by Sponsored content

My mom brought me home 3 male mice

My mom brought me home 3 male mice

Re: My mom brought me home 3 male mice

Males

Solution?

Re: My mom brought me home 3 male mice