my neighbor put his mouse out with the trash about a month ago in a cage i felt bad so i took it in but everytime i put my hand in the cage to pet him or feed him or put him in his ball he bites me he isnt really getting any better is there anything i can do or should i just leave him alone someone told me to get him a friend but i would be afraid he might hurt the new mouse
2007-09-05 07:48:43 · 14 answers · asked by Ashleigh 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
also if i were to get him a friend at the pet store around my house they only sell females and he is a male not sure if i would want to breed him they have lots of babies dont they
2007-09-05 08:02:52 · update #1
ok so he has had some improvements i can hold him now and he is fine but as soon as i put him in his cage he tries to bute me as if he is protecting his home he always tries to bite me when i try to feed him still but when he is in my hand he calms down and has never bitten
2007-09-11 07:20:29 · update #2
Give him time. His past owner probably wasn't very nice, so the poor thing thinks all people are that way. He will come around one day. Be patient with him. Bless you for saving a mouse from the trash.
2007-09-05 08:20:00 · answer #1 · answered by magix151 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well, at least you are making progress. Your hamster has probably been through a rough time, considering that his owner just set him out with the trash! That is so horrible!! You did a good thing taking him in. Get him a female. You wouldn't be able to get a male without problems going on, becuase they will fight over territory. Are you sure that it is a boy? They usually have babies ranging from 3-14. I have heard of 1-16 though. My hamster had babies and only had three. Since it would most likely be the females first litter than she will have around 1-6 most likely.
Hope I helped!!!!
2007-09-11 11:21:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some rodents, particularly males, are cage aggressive. These are generally not the ones that are chosen for breeding, but they do occasionally spring up! Keep on going with him, doing what you are doing, but he might never respond well to you sticking your hand in. I have a lot of experience with rats (I know, they are different than mice, but I believe the cage protection thing is present in both sometimes!) and I do have one guy that is so sweet out of the cage, but is cage aggressive. I have a cage that I can lift the top off of (It's a martin's cage, plenty of room, not hard to take top off of bottom) and when the top of the cage is off, when the wire grid is not present, he is a different little guy. I can pick him up from the base no problem. It is reaching in to the cage and grabbing him that upsets him and stirs aggression. If you can open the cage and have him come out, or take the top off, you might see a difference. He is protecting his territory, which is something that alpha male rodents do in the wild. As for a friend, I understand that mice can be pretty mean to newbies, but maybe look on the afrma website for help with introducing a friend. Good luck!
2007-09-13 04:40:34 · answer #3 · answered by Kinder/1st grade teacher 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, don't get him a cage mate. You're right in thinking he'd probably hurt the new mouse. And he's just scared because it sounds like his former owners weren't very nice to him. Not only was he not given enough attention, so he's not used to being held, but if the owner really just "threw him away," then there might have been some physical abuse going on as well. Just keep trying, but don't stress him out. Try taking him out once a day and offer him treats (veggies, raw pasta, bread, sandwich meat, etc... look up good treats for mice on the internet). After a while, he should warm up to you. Hopefully he's not too old because if he is older, he's going to be a lot harder to tame.
Good luck! And thanks for having a heart and taking him in!
2007-09-10 10:29:22 · answer #4 · answered by Chrissy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Poor little guy! He's very lucky you saw & rescued him. While there is a good chance he'll eventually become more trusting & friendly once he realizes that your on his *side*, he might always have trust issues. The best thing to do is probably to never give up trying to make friends with him, but to realize that he may never warm up to you, & whatever happens try to give him the best quality of life while he's with you-- interesting food, some toys, a wheel if he doesn't already have one. Probably not another mouse, though-- males often fight if they haven't been raised together, & a female will have babies *every* 3 weeks if the 2 stay together.
We've had lots of mice & some have been incredibly sweet & friendly, almost like tiny rats, but some have been really nervous & fearful. It amazes me that creatures this tiny have individual personalities. Our current girls have been with us for about 1.5 years & they weren't young when we adopted them, so I was surprised & very happy when 1 of them suddenly became *much* friendlier over the past few days. The other one is still convinced we're gonna have her for dinner as soon as we get hungry enough, poor girl.
Good luck with the little guy. Talking to him frequently & letting him expend his nervous energy on chew toys & an exercise wheel might make him calm down.
2007-09-05 19:39:43 · answer #5 · answered by Catkin 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rodents breed like crazy. Don't get a female cage mate.
That said, there may be an underlying reason why the mouse is biting you - mites, a microscopic parasite that burrows into the skin, is a common cause for aggression in rodents, and it really is best treated by a vet. I imagine that he's somewhat traumatized from being thrown around, and his biting is his way of reacting to stress.
Take him to a vet for a general check up, and give him time to adapt to his new surroundings. Once he settles, he'll start to come around to you and realize that you're not going to hurt him.
2007-09-05 09:26:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
He may have been brought up in an isolated environment. He never learned how to be nice. Try using oven mitts to pick him up and then let him walk and explore your legs and arms and maybe head. Also try to hold him with the oven mitts on or off. Also if he is in a tank, a divider may be needed for a new guy. they are available at pet co and pet smart. They basically cut the cage in half so they can get used to each other. you can try letting them run around on your bed together.
2007-09-05 08:01:32 · answer #7 · answered by Meri 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How big is his cage ,maybe he doesn't have enough space,maybe its something that has happened to him in the past,you never know.Don't get him a male friend because he will try to kill it.My suggestion would be to keep doing what your doing and he'll come around.It sounds like he has come around quite a bit so far.Your doing a great job.It pays to have patients.
2007-09-11 08:50:07 · answer #8 · answered by Cory T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they can have anywhere between 1 and 21 babies every three weeks. pick him up with some gloves on or in a cloth. he needs to feel secure since it sounds like his previous owner completely neglected him. give him treats from your hand and he'll start to associate you with the food which will make you seem like a good thing to him. you could also put him in a pocket in your sweater or just try to carry him around with you as much of the time as your schedual will allow. any questions e-mail or im me.
2007-09-06 09:36:51 · answer #9 · answered by MommyCaleb 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you can't find a name that literally means "mouse," why not look for a name based on the attributes of a mouse? I suggest the name Paul, which means "humble" or "small." If you need a last name, you could have the character be "Paul Souris," "souris" meaning "mouse" in French.
2016-05-17 10:42:13 · answer #10 · answered by lizzette 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋