# A fighter in my mice group! :



## Luckystar (Jan 27, 2008)

I had 8 male mice in a plastic box, last night there were 3 breakouts.

First one I put away the Troublemaker 1. Then 2nd breakout, I put away the Troublemaker 2. Then 3rd breakout, Troublemaker 1 and Troublemaker 2 were fighting each other.. well technically.. Troublemaker 1 was being attacked by Troublemaker 2.. so.. basically, I grabbed wrong troublemaker in the first break out (I think, not sure)

Now... I have read some information on saying that if a male is being put alone for too long, it will start to get even more anti social.. So.. does that mean he will have to be by himself all the time :s ? Sounds pretty depressing.. 

I don't get why that aggressive one (Troublemaker 2) starts to bite the others. They were fine when I first got them.. 

By the way, it is my first time having mice! Please help or advice. Thanks a lot in advance.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Wait, are you talking about mice or rats?

I don't know much about mice but for rats just let them have it out. They're establishing dominance and order. The rule generally accepted is: No blood, no foul.

Also, may we get some pictures of the housing? It sounds like you have them in a cheap critter-keeper type tank(which is absolutely unacceptable, very hazardous to both you and the rats' health).


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## Luckystar (Jan 27, 2008)

Are mice and rats different? @[email protected] (Sorry for the stupid question..) I got it from pet store yesterday. 

Well.. blood.. there are some blood (don't know if it is from the 1st breakout of 2nd breakout) on the tissues (I put in some tissue strips because I read from About.com that some tissue strips help them for nest.) 

I have the plastic box from the pet store for my 2 females. Then.. I didn't know it was too small for all of them.. So I had to set up a temporary home for them in a plastic box that was originally used as storage. 

I will go take pictures and post them back. 

Thanks!

P.S.  Kind of feeling stupid .. since I don't really know if they are rats or mice.. and didn't know there are differences


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Yes, mice and rats are very different. Rats are much, MUCH larger, more intelligible and social with humans.

The Rat- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fancy_rat
the Mouse- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse

For rats, it is recommended 2 square feet per rat in the cage and it is best for the rat's health to avoid plastic/glass tanks such as aquariums and the like. Be sure to keep unaltered males and females separate. It is just fine to leave males together, and to leave females together, rats are 'pack' animals and require companionship from their own kind.

Try to use a different kind of bedding. Carefresh, aspen(NO cedar or pine, very bad for rats and will kill them over time), Yesterday's News(paper cat litter also available for small animals) is popular.

Some males are very dominant and will make sure the others know this. I'm fairly certain blood is a bad sign, but wait for asecond opinion on what to do as I've never had the problem.

I remember hearing somewhre male mice don't do well together, but I'm not sure about that either. Maybe someone more knowledgeable on mice can give some input?


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Ok. Females can be kept to gether. But need a tank..preferably with a cage topper so they can climb but still have room to dig and nest.

Males should only be kept together if they are neutered !! Especially if there are females around. They WILL fight to the death. 

Bedding..

Mice can be kept on shavings etc..they are not as sensitive as rats..

We need pics to determine if they are mice or rats...


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## Luckystar (Jan 27, 2008)

Vixie said:


> Try to use a different kind of bedding. Carefresh, aspen(NO cedar or pine, very bad for rats and will kill them over time), Yesterday's News(paper cat litter also available for small animals) is popular.


I am assuming mine are mice because the pet staff had me buy the bedding that is titled... "Premium Pine Bedding."  

Thanks for the link and explanation *feeling so dumb*

The other 7 males are fine by themselves (at least for now.. I hope they won't start riots..) 

Are rats smarter than mice?  I was originally buying them for my science experiment on testing their intelligence. Then I found out they are really interesting, along with a bunch of problems that I had never expected to have  According to the wiki, it seems like mice are the ones for the experiment?  Anyways.. that isn't as important as keeping them peace together >.< I don't want to have to buy individual cage for each of them if all of them start to have problems and draw bloods >.< 

Here is the link to the pictures of the mice and current "housing"  I know the housing is probably.. ridiculously dumb.. after I read these posts  

http://ratforum.com/coppermine/thumbnails/album=260.html


As I was uploading the pictures, I heard another squeaking sound from the 7 ones  Though told them to not fight, then they stopped. Hope they won't start again :roll: 

Thanks again.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

Those appear to be mice, so I advise finding a mouse forum or credible websites to find out more about them.


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep they are mice. So yep i would find a more knowledgable forum =))

And untill you can sort sumthing...please keep females out of scent range of the males...we dont wont any dead ones in the mornin cause the girls have been in heat over night.. lol

Good Luck

x

p.s yes rats are alot smarter then mice..But not the animals of choice for testing as they require more care and enrichment


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## Luckystar (Jan 27, 2008)

BeanieBoo-Rattles said:


> Yep they are mice. So yep i would find a more knowledgable forum =))
> 
> And untill you can sort sumthing...please keep females out of scent range of the males...we dont wont any dead ones in the mornin cause the girls have been in heat over night.. lol
> 
> ...


Arg, silly me. 

I tried to find mice forum, but apparently.. there is almost none. There are way more rat forums than mice forums as it seems. Most mice forums are dead anyway.. did manage to find one anyways. I guess I will have to try to find more information if forums can't be found :s

How far is the range? My room isn't very big so yeah  
Anyways, thanks a lot for the helps! 
I apologize for posting in the wrong forum


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Its alrite. Is there not another room you could put them in ? Maybe a laundry room ? Or a bathroom ??


If not being in the same room they will be able to smell it easily, so apart from neutering you may have a problem..


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Link to fairly active mouse forum : 

http://forum.thefunmouse.com/


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## Luckystar (Jan 27, 2008)

Thanks for the help!  That is also the forum I managed to find as well (actually already made post too ><) 

I don't really have a separate room since I am renting just one room. But there is a little close there, the temperature seem to be a bit colder..but probably can work (well hopefully) 

Once again, thanks a bunch =)!! 

(And.. I called the pet store, he said it is ok to put them together. But I will going to exchange the aggressive one anyway since I don't want more bloods to be spitted..)

Thanks thanks!!


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Glad i Could help. Have fun ! x


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## foxx (Sep 13, 2007)

Dammit man do some research before you buy animals!

Don't delete this mods please

Look mice are rubbish pets, the only real reason why mice are in pets shops is so snakes can eat them, and a little for people that can't afford hamsters.

In about a week half your mice will be dead or seriously hurt.

Spilt them up now and stop reading this!

And yes you should be feeling stupid!


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## zlioness (Dec 27, 2007)

Yep, they are definitely mice. I box up at least twenty of those a day where I work. Most of them are snake food, a select few are sold as pets.



foxx said:


> Dammit man do some research before you buy animals!
> 
> Don't delete this mods please
> 
> ...


Excuse me, but why are you yelling at her? She came on here looking for advice, which is a step in the right direction. Second, mice are not as clean as rats, but I don't feel that they are bad pets because of it. We have a pet mouse at the store who is quite friendly, he'll sit on your shoulder and lick fingers just like rats will. Mice can make fine pets, it's just that most people don't take the time to tame them because they're considered food for reptiles and nothing more. Rats used to be burdened with the same stigma, but now more and more are being sold as pets.

So just shut up. She's trying to do the right thing.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

If you take out trouble maker one, a new trouble maker fills that void. Once they start fighting you have to split them up permanently. I have three mice brothers that live together since birth, they are now 16 months old and never fight but that seems to be very unusual. Eight males is too many male mice in the same territory.
By the way, mice are very sweet little pets. Labeling them just as snake food says more about their owner than about them.


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## Rattiegma (Jan 23, 2008)

Well, I just have to say that you are completely wrong, Foxx. I've had pet mice for a while, and I love them to death. Yes, they don't live as long as rats, they're definitely not as smart or smell-free as rats, and not always as sociable, but they can be good pets if you take the time to interact with them. 


At least she was trying to get some information!


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