We have a five!
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CallaLily
MouseLover
6 posters
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We have a five!
by MouseLover Thu 03 Nov 2016, 6:44 pm
Soooo... yesterday the 3 youngsters were introduced to my 2 older girls.
I always find introductions so scary. I do them on a day when I have absolutely nothing else to do, so that I can sit by their cage almost all day and keep watch!
They met on the dining room table, which is where I do most of my play sessions. Everyone seemed to be playing nice and friendly, and after 20 minutes of playtime they all went into the same hide and curled up to nap in a mouse pile. So I took that as a great sign that they were ready to go to the cage.
So the 5 of them were shown to their new cage (pictures soon, promise) and everything seemed fine. The cage is a lot taller than the quarantine cage and the youngsters seemed super excited by that - they were climbing everywhere and practically bouncing off the walls. So everything seemed fine, and eventually I went to bed.
I came down this morning to find that everyone was sleeping in a tissue box, which I was really pleased about
There have been a few squeaks and squabbles today, but nothing not to be expected. Though over the past couple of days I have made some observations...
- Violet is coming out of her shell and acting younger. Violet is about 10 months old, but she's been just with Honey (almost 2 years old) for so long, that it's really nice to see her socialising with younger mice and acting her age a bit more.
- Honey suddenly seems old by comparison. Don't get me wrong, she's still plenty active and runs around everywhere. But she's just a little slower than everyone else. Also she seemed a little unsteady/uncomfortable on some of the hanging bridges and things, so I've had to make certain pathways around the cage specifically for Honey.
- Flora and Fauna are the little trouble makers. I find it funny who causes trouble during introductions because it's never who I'd expect it to be. Merryweather was the alpha in their trio, so I thought it might be her, but she's been lovely to everyone. Flora and Fauna are tiny, but have been the only ones doing any chasing. Flora is the most guilty of chasing. But Fauna seems obsessed with Honey (who is huge to her) and is constantly following her around and sniffing her butt - but the second that Honey looks at her or sniffs her back, Fauna squeals like she's being savagely attacked.
- I have no idea how this hierarchy is going to turn out! Merry and Violet seem to be spending quite a bit of time together and are getting on really nicely - no squabbling at all, and they were the two alphas.
It's been a lot of fun spending so much time watching them. It's like a little mouse soap opera! And the young girls are so incredibly acrobatic, they're even more fun in the new cage
I always find introductions so scary. I do them on a day when I have absolutely nothing else to do, so that I can sit by their cage almost all day and keep watch!
They met on the dining room table, which is where I do most of my play sessions. Everyone seemed to be playing nice and friendly, and after 20 minutes of playtime they all went into the same hide and curled up to nap in a mouse pile. So I took that as a great sign that they were ready to go to the cage.
So the 5 of them were shown to their new cage (pictures soon, promise) and everything seemed fine. The cage is a lot taller than the quarantine cage and the youngsters seemed super excited by that - they were climbing everywhere and practically bouncing off the walls. So everything seemed fine, and eventually I went to bed.
I came down this morning to find that everyone was sleeping in a tissue box, which I was really pleased about
There have been a few squeaks and squabbles today, but nothing not to be expected. Though over the past couple of days I have made some observations...- Violet is coming out of her shell and acting younger. Violet is about 10 months old, but she's been just with Honey (almost 2 years old) for so long, that it's really nice to see her socialising with younger mice and acting her age a bit more.
- Honey suddenly seems old by comparison. Don't get me wrong, she's still plenty active and runs around everywhere. But she's just a little slower than everyone else. Also she seemed a little unsteady/uncomfortable on some of the hanging bridges and things, so I've had to make certain pathways around the cage specifically for Honey.
- Flora and Fauna are the little trouble makers. I find it funny who causes trouble during introductions because it's never who I'd expect it to be. Merryweather was the alpha in their trio, so I thought it might be her, but she's been lovely to everyone. Flora and Fauna are tiny, but have been the only ones doing any chasing. Flora is the most guilty of chasing. But Fauna seems obsessed with Honey (who is huge to her) and is constantly following her around and sniffing her butt - but the second that Honey looks at her or sniffs her back, Fauna squeals like she's being savagely attacked.
- I have no idea how this hierarchy is going to turn out! Merry and Violet seem to be spending quite a bit of time together and are getting on really nicely - no squabbling at all, and they were the two alphas.
It's been a lot of fun spending so much time watching them. It's like a little mouse soap opera! And the young girls are so incredibly acrobatic, they're even more fun in the new cage
MouseLover- Hero Member
- Join date : 2016-04-12
Posts : 1462
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Re: We have a five!
by CallaLily Thu 03 Nov 2016, 7:55 pm
Yay! Glad to hear things are going so well.
CallaLily- Hero Member
- Join date : 2016-04-03
Posts : 3937
Re: We have a five!
by CanadianExport Thu 03 Nov 2016, 8:19 pm
That is awesome! I totally get what you mean about the squeaking as soon as the big one pays attention. Li'l Bean used to do the same thing whenever Charlotte and Winnie would sniff or pay attention to her but she was always the one doing the initial chasing. I hope everything continues to go smoothly!
CanadianExport- Sr Member
- Join date : 2016-10-08
Posts : 258
Re: We have a five!
by Peachy Thu 03 Nov 2016, 8:27 pm
I'm glad things are going well and that Violet is enjoying youthful company! When I gave my older ladies a more energetic, young friend, I think she must have gotten on their nerves. 
I noticed that my alphas usually get along with each other right away too. Interesting!
I noticed that my alphas usually get along with each other right away too. Interesting!
Peachy- Moderator
- Join date : 2016-04-06
Posts : 3164
Re: We have a five!
by CinnamonPearl Sat 05 Nov 2016, 8:30 am
So happy things went well! And I agree with that notion. In introductions, the troublemaker is NEVER who you expect! When I did my first introduction, I expected Mabel to give Egg a hard time, but in the end it was Egg who caused trouble! Then in Lilith's, I thought it'd be Egg, but it was Little Cow!
CinnamonPearl- Hero Member
- Join date : 2016-04-06
Posts : 1725
Re: We have a five!
by scaredymouse Sun 06 Nov 2016, 7:24 am
agreed! my tiniest mouse was my troublemaker. it will be interesting to see what she thinks of Olivia. I didn't want to put Olivia in until about a week after Furgie dies but she keeps hanging on... meanwhile poor little Liv is getting lonely. I'm starting to reconsider. I guess I'll rethink it tonight :/
scaredymouse- Hero Member
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