Is this normal??

by catnapt Sun 10 Sep 2023, 9:50 am

fairly new to mice, had them since Feb, but had pet rats for over 12 yrs

is it common for mice to prefer to stay "home" vs coming out to play for days at a time?
it seems to come in spurts, they all want out or suddenly, no one wants to come out
what gives?

I know mice are primarily crepuscular, so of course I am offering them playtimes at those times of days

however I have a single male mouse who has adapted his hours so that he is awake much more during the day (with a long nap between 2pm and maybe 6pm) Otherwise he is almost always up and looking to come out during the entire day and sleeps a lot overnight (I have insomnia so I know this is what he does)

he was just neutered though so his hours are off due to that

however before was neutered he would have periods where he just didn't want to come out

the other mice I've got, 3 girls (that he will be living with in a few weeks) and 2 groups of 3 other mice,
they have all done the same thing

there will be periods of time when they ALL want to come out at least once a day! (and that can be time consuming as right now, none of them can be out together with the others)

and then, suddenly, NO ONE wants to come out AT ALL!
I mean, I don't mind, I'll adapt to what they want

I just want to know is this NORMAL for mice?

my rats only wanted to stay home when they were sick or grieving, they were much more social in general
I've heard mice are more interested in other mice than humans and that is one reason I wanted them, as I often felt so guilty that my rats wanted to spend a lot more time with me than was possible
rats are greedy suckers and don't feel at all bad about demanding attention ALL THE TIME lol

mice are so much less demanding in that respect for sure

thanks for any info you can give me

I just want my meeples to be happy!
<3

by Valmias Sat 30 Sep 2023, 10:21 am

For what it's worth, my mouse does this regularly. He has a fairly steady schedule that involves coming out for a run-around, but occasionally he just won't be in the mood for days at a time. Often it's after I made some addition to his cage, so he's focused on exploring that, but just about as often there is no obvious reason. After a few days he starts coming out again. I think sometimes they just like being homebodies : )

by catnapt Tue 03 Oct 2023, 2:08 pm

thank you! that certainly seems to be the case with these guys!
they wanted to come out a few days ago so I was all excited thinking I'd set up a dig box for them with some plants...then they decided to go underground again (under the bedding, where they make cool tunnels and do secret mouse business I presume)
they are so cute

by MiceMe Thu 05 Oct 2023, 3:53 pm

That's kind of you to keep spayed male
Cool!

by catnapt Sun 08 Oct 2023, 3:19 pm

thanks

I am fostering two trios of neutered males
they are so sweet

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