RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Tue Oct 04, 2005 7:02 am

I have been wanting mice for quite some time now, but I have been very good at passing up the cuties I've seen. Today I went to the pet store today to get crickets and of course I always look at the animals. What did I see... In the mouse cage there were 3 babies and they were all 3 soooo cute. I felt bad for them because some of the older mice were picking on them. But I left with what I went for. After going to the grocery store and came home for a few hours I couldn't stop thinking about them and decided I'd go back and get them. So now I have three little mice they are so tiny. It's so weird how small they are and I feel like I'll break them. I'll post pictures later thi week since I'm having computer/camera problems. Two are white with black patches all over and the other is white with brown patches. They are just so tiny, I keep tlling my mom that one of the rats could have given birth to them today they are so small.

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33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Last edited by rat_hammie_lover05 on Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:17 pm; edited 1 time in total

Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:51 pm

Congrats on the new babies! Little bitty mice are so adorable! Faint

Did you get females or males, btw?

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And, isn't sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit. ~The Tick

Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:19 pm

From what I can tell they are female (haven't seen anything hanging by their tales Mr. Green

)

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33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:21 am

Sexing mice can be a little more tricky than rats, as they have the ability to fully retract their testicles. If they're particularly young, they may not have dropped in the first place. With mice, its much easier judging the distance between the anus and the urethra than looking for testicles, for me anyway.
There have been cases of males as young as four weeks impregnating a female, so do be careful.

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:39 am

I didn't know they could do that Ratsicles. So I went and checked how to sex them and then checked my three. The first one looked like a girl as well as the second, but the third when I picked it up turned out to be a boy! He also had very tiny man bits that weren't there yesterday. I took him out and put him by himself. Sad

So now what do I do? He doesn't need a (male) friend does he (this is my first male)? I could have sworn males live alone?

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33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:42 am

I think a lot of male mice live alone (from what I remember from reading this forum!) so he should be ok if he gets plenty of toys and things.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:42 am

Most males do better by themselves.....at this point I wouldnt intro him to another male...make sure he has a wheel n stuff to play in. the girls can be kept together even if one or both are pregnant....hope not for your sake and your moucies...Shaz

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Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:47 am

Okay, thanks. I hope they aren't either, they are so tiny and they are just babies themselves. Sad

Well, it looks like I'll be heading to the store to get some things for the little guy.

_________________
33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:48 am

Other RP members have had males living together in harmony. If it's undertaken when they're young enough there shouldn't be problems.

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:52 am

Are mice like rats though, where they need the social interactions for optimal health and happiness, or are they happy/healthy enough either way? My mouse experience was 14 yeaars ago and has been somewhat out of the ordinary in that all of my meeces were boys and all lived in pairs without fighting at all so.... Shrug

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:59 am

If they are litter mates they can get along fairly good....I have a father ans son living together with no problems but at teh same time I had three brothers living together and they fought all of the time...it just deppends on your mice. But they do just fine alone as well..as long as they have stuff to do...I re- arrainge my single males cages about once a week just so everything is new...Shaz

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Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:07 am

Yes, they need social interaction and seem to prefer mouse interaction over human, for the most part. But like Shaz said, it depends on the mouse. Just like it depends on the rat, I guess.

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:28 am

Ah ok I should have said I meant mouse-mouse interaction rather than human-mouse, but thanks for clarifying. From what I've seen people saying on here, I was under the impression that mice (especially the male mice) didn't need the companionship of other meeces as much as rats need other rats, but I wasn't sure if a lone mouse would have the health or neurosis problems that rats so often demonstrate when they're kept alone.

Common sense would say that - like rats - they'd appreciate the company of other mice more than humans, but I've seen it so often said that many (if not most) male mice are aggressive to other males (and that mine never once fought seemed to be the exception rather than the rule) - and of course, you can't let the males and females mix unless you neuter (which I understand is trickier on mice because of their size, though not impossible?)... I'll have to go and research this now.

Thanks for the feedback.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:07 am

I have never heard of anyone nuetering a mouse....then again I have had two females and a male living together now for about 6 months and no babies....and its a planned breeding...they just wont go?! Mice do not normaly like to socialise with people....and yes normaly mice live in colonies, however there is ususaly only one male per colony. Its his pride. I have to find my research study I found on line about male mice....I have been breeding and owning mice since I was 8-9, and owning a comp has done alot of good but now finding everything I have saved is a pain. Sad

If they are from the same litter they might be able to get along but intoducing him to a differant male will not be good...also the more males the more smell...equals twice to four times a week bedding and cage cleaning...IMO if you cant get a deffinate litter mate male, leave him solitare. My oldest solitare male is 2 pushing 3 in a few days. Shaz

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Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:47 am

Aww. They sound cute.

Sorry I can not help you with the sexing part. Good luck though

EDIT- Which pet store did you go to? Petsmart only sells mice of the same gender (only males/only females)

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Rosie

* * *

I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:48 am

Thanks for the info everyone. He looked all sad by himself so on my way home I stoped by the same petstore I got him from because I knew there were more mice in the same cage. After looking at them for a while I saw one that was letting it all hang out and I could tell it was a boy. So I took him. All the ones there are all adults, but the three I got were from the same cage. When I tried to see how they would act together the older one was trying to hurt him. So what should I do now? Put them together everyday for awhile? Do I let them duke it out? aybe he wasn't really hurting him bad and I am just paronoid.. It's just that he is so small I feel bad.
Ellie's_girl No I didn't go to petsmart, I went to a small store.

_________________
33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:19 am

It's best to intro male mice of the same age or former cagemates, and usually only when both are young, as stated.

Wade had his mouse Nick neutered.

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:24 am

They were former cagemates. I got the three I bought yesterday from the same cage that the guy I got today was in.

_________________
33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:50 am

It's very difficult to get them to 'reintroduce' themselves, even after only one day. May not be possible. Sad

-Melina

Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:56 am

which is why I stated after this length of time he is better by himself...so now you have them seperated I hope...Shaz

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Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:05 am

yeah everyone is seperated. I have another question. The male I bought today does this weird thing with his tail. When I go near him he shakes it (kind of like vibrating) what does that mean?

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33 rats
5 mice
4 hammies
4 Dogs
3 guinea pigs
3 rabbits
1 cat
R.I.P. Sebastian, Brently, & Bethoveen

Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:48 am

I don't know with mice, but I know rats can do it when they're super excited, stressed or defensive/territorital...

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:52 pm

he is being deffensive, showing you this is his territory, often my males will tail rattle at each other when they are annoyed, or right before a fight breaks out. Shaz

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Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:02 am

I really do not know wiht mice, but if it were rats, I would put them in a nuetral place, every day, to play, and she if that helps.

Good luck

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Rosie

* * *

I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Sat Oct 08, 2005 4:08 am

As Kate mentioned, I had my male neutered, waited a few weeks, then he happily lived the rest of his life with the females. The neutering was done as an "outpatient" affair and Nick went home the same day. A big plus was that the male odor disappeared, too.
I have no idea if neutering both your males would allow them to all live together after a post-neutering cooling off period.