Worried I Screwed Up Taming For Good

by FluffyTailedNico on Thu 01 Jun 2017, 8:37 pm

Hey all! So this is my first duo of mice, and right around when I got them, my life became a bit of a mess. Needless to say I haven't had much (If any) opportunity to try and tame my two girls. They'll sometimes let me pet them (but usually lean or run away), they take treats from me, and once I get them out of the cage they love to explore, and they come near me but never crawl on my. If I try to pick one up, they jump out of my hands (I scoop them, I never grab them).

If it helps, I have two girls in a 20 gallon tank. I've had them since April 1st (exactly two months now!) They're still pretty young, but... I'm very worried that even if I (now that my life is somewhat in order) can now put more time and effort into taming them, they will never warm up to me because of how long I waited. Do you think I could still bond with them, or is it too late? Thank you so much!

by Rodents rock! on Thu 01 Jun 2017, 8:55 pm

I believe you can for sure still bond with them. One thing that may make it easier is to keep them in a 10 gallon tank till they are tame. Just spend time with them everyday and have fun with them Very Happy

Keep us posted on how it goes!

by Drago on Thu 01 Jun 2017, 8:57 pm

I'd say it isn't too late personally. Rodents are smart animals and can be tamed at practically any point in life tbh. I'm sure whether they were handled when they were very young will play into their overall tameness, but most pet shop/feeder mice won't get handled at that age anyways. Moving them to a smaller tank or bin as suggested above may be a good course of action until they're able to be handled comfortably. It's just a matter of being patient and persistent Smile