The new trio and taming questions!

by MooMouse Tue 27 Dec 2016, 12:39 am

Hello and happy holidays! I have some exciting news!

The new trio and taming questions! Img_2012

The new trio and taming questions! Img_2013

I adopted a trio of lady mice!
Their names have not been decided yet, but I have marked their tails with different sharpie colors so that I can tell them apart and observe their personalities. I have not figured out a way to tell them apart without the colors yet. They are living in a 20 gallon reptile home

So, with all of this being said, I have some questions about taming. How long should I wait before I start? I can already just hang my hand in their tank and they will look at it and sometimes approach it and give it a sniff. Seccond, how should I start? Mabye by just resting my hand inside the tank and waiting for them to approach? Finally, what are some of the taming techniques that all of you have used and found to work? I'd greatly appreciate any advice that you can give me. Thanks and have a nice day!

by AnonymousMouseOwner Tue 27 Dec 2016, 1:41 am

Aww! Congratulations on your new girlies!

Honestly, I can't say I'm an expert at taming because my girls still aren't tame lol. Except Clover, that is, but she came that way. However, I have learned that with some mice, no matter how long you rest your hand in the tank they will not go near it. Scout was this way. So, I had to basically get him into a toilet paper tube and force him to go on my hand. It always worked because he had two options, stay in the tube and be bored or go on my hand lol. However, maybe just resting your hand in the tank will work, just try what works best for you and your girls. That method I used with Scout eventually made handling him easier and easier, making him *almost* tame, but he still won't voluntarily climb in my hand, I have to bribe him with treats.

by CallaLily Tue 27 Dec 2016, 8:25 am

Pretty much what Anon said but I always recommend moving them out of their tank to a safe play space for taming. It just seems to work better for me. The tub, a bin, etc filled with toys and as you said, start with just resting your hand in there. Most mice are curious enough to come over eventually and check you out. Let them just climb over you at first and once they're comfortable with that, start slowly moving them to another area of the play space and letting them climb back off. Many of my girls have thought that was a very fun game. Eventually you can start lifting them up to hold them for longer and longer times, though in my experience most girls don't like to hang out with/on me for very long but I know others have had girls that do. I also don't recommend hand feeding treats before/during taming. It can encourage nipping/biting behaviors - some mice start associating fingers with treats and will just bite first, plus your fingers will smell like food. Save the treats to hide around their tank for them to find when the play session is over.

Congrats on your new mice. They're so so pretty! I started out with two PEW girls. After a while you'll start to notice little differences in looks and behavior.

by MesaMouse Tue 27 Dec 2016, 3:47 pm

Aw, sweet little PEWs! Congrats on your new ladies and ditto what CallaLily suggested re moving them into a neutral area to start to "meet and greet" you. I used a large bin as a playpen (now inherited by Imogene the ham) and also used the TP tube method to initially transport new mice from the tank to the playpen and back. Each time they'd go into the tube I'd say "Scoop Mouse" and when they exited I'd say "There you go!" and they definitely learned that one meant I was going to pick them up and the other that I was going to put them down. Eventually most of the ladies would just get onto my hand when I lowered it and said "Scoop Mouse" but a few always had to be "scooped" up with two hands. When it was time for them to come out of the bin playpen, a few of the braver ladies would climb up the bird ladder as soon as I took the mesh lid off and wait to climb on my hand and they all learned that "Go Home" meant they were going back to the tank.

by MooMouse Tue 27 Dec 2016, 3:56 pm

Wow, thanks for all of the great advice everyone! I think that tommorw I will set up some boxes in the bathtub and move them there for playtime (using a to tube). Today, I set my hand in their cage a few times and the one with the blue on her tail was brave enough to put her little front paws on my finger and nibble on my hand. Whenever she tried to chew me I just said "no" in a firm voice and moved my hand away for a couple of secconds. I didn't want to blow on them when they bit because I was afraid that they would associate hands with blowing. That was the method that I used when rogue was a baby and he doesn't nibble anymore. I'm definitely going to use "mouse scoop" as the signal for being picked up, it's really cute and makes sense Smile

Thanks again for all of the advice, I'll keep you updated on how it goes!

by scaredymouse Wed 28 Dec 2016, 12:20 am

Yay, new mice! Have fun Smile

by CinnamonPearl Wed 28 Dec 2016, 9:22 am

Congrats on the new mice!

The absolute best way to tame is lay a blanket down in the bathtub, plug the drain, sit down in it, and let your mice out. This way they can run all over you and get used to you really well. I adopted a couple of girls recently who were pretty untame, but with a couple of tub sessions, they've become very well adjusted. Just get them as close to you as possible so they have no choice but to get used to you. It's better than waiting for them to come to your hand.

by MooMouse Wed 28 Dec 2016, 5:57 pm

Ok so I have a question. I heard some rustling and squeaking coming from the girls' cage last night inside of their little cardboard castle. I didn't think much of it because I had never heard it before and I was more concerned about Rogue (who was sick). But then when I was watching them just a little bit ago today, it happened again- the one with no color on her tail and the one with black on her tail went into the castle and I heard lots of rustling and squeaking, like they were fighting. Then the blue tailed one also entered the castle and the rustling and squeaking started again. Is this normal behavior for girls? They are all sisters and have been in the same cage for a while, possibly even since they were born. So it's not like they have any hierarchy issues to work out, right? I'm sorry if I'm asking so many questions, I've never owned females before and I want to do what is best for them Undecided

by AnonymousMouseOwner Wed 28 Dec 2016, 6:12 pm

Yes, little squabbles are normal occasionally. Don't worry about it at all unless there's blood. That's the rule, as long as they aren't fighting with each other to the point that you see blood, it should be fine.

by MooMouse Wed 28 Dec 2016, 7:43 pm

AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:Yes, little squabbles are normal occasionally. Don't worry about it at all unless there's blood. That's the rule, as long as they aren't fighting with each other to the point that you see blood, it should be fine.

Alrighty, thank you! Very Happy

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