all of my mice play well together, everyone gets along fine. they have all been together since i bought them. all 8 live in a huget cage together. they play on a big wire wheel and everything seems fine. they are all about 4 months old. its all good EXPECT..... one mouse is constantly left out she (they are all girls) always sleeps alone outside of their house. i know they all fit in there, its big! but i dont know why she is alwyas sleeping alone. sometimes during they day, when they are sleeping, i will hear 1 of them squeeling... i go over there and she is out of the house by herself walking around... like they are chasing her out of the house they all sleep in. what the heck!!?? why do they pick on her and how do i stop it???
2007-01-15 14:43:59 · 14 answers · asked by elizabeth 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
It might be that the lone mouse is ill? Rodents have been known to separate themselves from the main colony if they are not well.
Or
This is a case of self-preservation. It might be that the others know she is not well, mentally, or physically. Rodents might try to get rid of an ailing animal because illness not only makes the sick mouse vulnerable, she makes the whole colony vulnerable to a perceived predator.
Or
The other girls might not not have chased her out, she may have made this decision on her own, like she's too good for them.
Or
Hormones are inducing alpha struggles among the girls and the lone girl is at the bottom of the pecking order. Now, if this is the way it is, and nobody is getting hurt, then you have to put aside your sadness over the situation, and understand that this is just how mouse society works and everymouse is just fine with it, even if you're not.
May I suggest that you set the lone girl up in another cage. Find one of the seven girls who can be her friend and put that girl in with her. Now you can observe the lone girl for a few days and really see what is happening with her. Rats live in much the same way as mice do, in that they live in colonies (a mischief) and they have a hiarchy. Exception: unlike male mice, male rats can live together without fighting. What I am suggesting for you to do with your mice is what I've had to do for the rats.
Don't be surprised if, for her sake, that she and her friend have to live separately from the main colony for the rest of their lives. This too is what what I've ended up doing for some rats and they've been healthier and happier for it.
A mouse, or rat, that is stressed out for too long, will get Myco.
More on female mice fighting:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=do+female+mice+fight&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAnYM54NvMNPtXBeKUqFf2zcazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAs6qPmKbEGuHV570VYkOMTkazKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=do+female+mice+fight
spazrats
http://spazrats.tripod.com
Specializing in the care of pet rats since 1997
(and along the way learned about mice)
2007-01-15 17:41:23 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it does sound like a pecking order problem. try this take all of the mice out, rearrange the cage ( take out some of the old toys/housing and add some new ones), change the bedding, add a second house, then put the mouse that is getting picked on back in the cage. Allow her as long as possible in the cage by herself to explore, the longer the better but a few hours will do. Then put the rest of mice back in the cage. This should give her an advantage on the other girls and bring her up on the pecking order. Keep in mind that some one has to be at the bottom of the pecking.
If she is still getting picked she may have a deformity or is ill. In this case I would cage her alone or with one other female, as female mice are social animals.
2007-01-15 18:33:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My pet mouse has one lump near to his back right leg, it wasn't there when I handled him on the Thursday night, but on the Friday it was!!!! - I checked up on it online, and when mice get a lump it is either: 1 - a hernia 2 - an absess 3 - a tumour I took him to the vets on the Saturday morning, and my worst fears were confirmed when I was told it was a tumour, fortunately it's superficial, and there's only the one (for the moment atleast!) The vet told me that he would have between 2 weeks to 2 months left, during which time, the following things may happen to indicate he has got very poorly: stops eating / drinking lethargic tumour becomes ulcerated (notice blood on him / in cage) tumour grows so big it gets in the way of his day to day life When one of the above happens, the kindest thing I can do is to take him to be put to sleep, which I am very sad about because he's so lovely, however I do not want him to be in any pain or suffering either, so I have accepted what I must do! In terms of treating it, if it is cancer, they can operate however it's very risky on a small animal, quite expensive (about £100) and even if the mouse makes it through the operation, chances are another tumour will develop elsewhere pretty soon after. My mouse is almost 2.5 years (though I've had him for less than 1 year) which is pretty old, so I feel happy that he has had a good life with me (didn't have so good of a one before, he was mistreated and abandoned). I will miss him very much, I wish he could live forever (well, for my lifetime anyway) but unfortunately that's not possible. However he will always be in my heart!!! I'm not a vet myself so I can't diagnose for you, but my feeling is that it's tumours (sadly mice are prone to these) and my advice to you would be to spend lots of quality time with your mouse during it's last few weeks / months, take some pictures or record a video. If you want to talk further, or need some support, please feel free to email me via my profile - I'm pretty much in the same boat as you right now!!!! I am sorry I can't give you good news.
2016-05-24 19:57:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From the Rat and Mouse Club of America site:
"As long as there are no wounds that draw blood and everyone sleeps together, the mice can live happily together. If wounds, blood, and/or depressed behavior (e.g., someone forced to regularly sleep outside the nest box) are observed, the mice will probably not be able to live happily together and should be separated."
See: http://www.rmca.org/Resources/mousefaq.htm
Your little girl is having a rough time of it. If I were you, I would put her in a new cage with one or two other girls. Make sure everything is well-scrubbed, so that they start "fresh," and like someone else said, let the picked-on mouse be in the cage by herself for a while first.
Thanks for caring so much for your pets. :) Good luck.
2007-01-16 06:18:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Several of the answers have already provided a lot of good information. If they were mine, I would separate her and choose another 1 or 2 of the same size & age to be her roommate(s). I would also add some mouse size solid-surface wheels - at least 1 for each pair. If she keeps displaying the same behavior, then she enjoys being a loner. Best of luck.
. . . . ~~~(O8:> . . . . .
2007-01-18 15:35:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have had this problem before. I just went and bought a nice little mouse cage and set her up with a same sex friend. IF YOU DO NOT WANT BABY MICE, DO NOT PUT A MALE IN THERE!!! Mice breed faster then you can imagine. Before you know it, you will have a hundred of them. NO exageration. Put her in her own place, with a girl friend. : ) Good luck.
2007-01-15 15:12:00 · answer #6 · answered by demongelding1@hotmail.com 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The squeeking sound probably means that they are fighting. (My hamsters did that too). My advice would be to separate them. First, you could try putting them into 2 groups of 4. Then if the one female is still being "left out" and picked on by the others, then you should probably put her in a cage on her own. I know that female hamsters fight and can kill each other, mice are probably the same way...
2007-01-15 14:59:09 · answer #7 · answered by lori_beth116 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like a pecking order, like with chickens. You can't really stop it, if she is getting injured you should isolate her for awhile. Are they different sexes? Maybe get her a male mouse and put her in a separate cage or partition it if possible.
2007-01-15 14:52:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Something could be not right about her so the others wont interract with her.. survival of the fitest or she just likes solitude
2007-01-15 14:49:05 · answer #9 · answered by krunch 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Mice are cute but ure crazy to have 8
2007-01-15 15:03:05 · answer #10 · answered by L 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋