Concerned about friendship
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Concerned about friendship
by lilahdee Wed 01 Sep 2021, 4:07 pm
I don't know what the best course of action is so I am asking here for advice.
I got my first ever mouse, a male, from PetSmart about 2 weeks ago. He was being kept with another male and they seemed friendly with eachother but I had heard males can end up fighting over time, so I only got the one. His name is Spot and he is a friendly, curious ball of energy, but I do wonder if he misses his mouse companion or gets bored without other mouse friends. I was considering neutering him but there are no exotic pet vets near me and I worry about the risks of surgery. I have considered buying a female mouse and just letting them breed but that would probably be stressful on the girl. I don't know what to do. Do male mice absolutely need other mice or can they live a happy life alone with love and enrichment? Is a non neutered male and female mouse together an option? I'm really stuck here.
I got my first ever mouse, a male, from PetSmart about 2 weeks ago. He was being kept with another male and they seemed friendly with eachother but I had heard males can end up fighting over time, so I only got the one. His name is Spot and he is a friendly, curious ball of energy, but I do wonder if he misses his mouse companion or gets bored without other mouse friends. I was considering neutering him but there are no exotic pet vets near me and I worry about the risks of surgery. I have considered buying a female mouse and just letting them breed but that would probably be stressful on the girl. I don't know what to do. Do male mice absolutely need other mice or can they live a happy life alone with love and enrichment? Is a non neutered male and female mouse together an option? I'm really stuck here.
lilahdee- New Member
- Join date : 2021-07-29
Posts : 2
Re: Concerned about friendship
by River Sat 04 Sep 2021, 11:12 am
A non neutered male and a female isn’t an option, no — you’re right in thinking it’d put a lot of undue stress on the doe, and before you knew it you’d have hundreds of little mice running around. Many more bucks to deal with!!
If we said it was absolutely necessary for male mice to have companions, American male mice would go without homes. It’s the sad truth. If you need to keep him alone, I pass no judgement. It’s hard! Just spoil the heck out of the boy you’ve got.
But they do prefer companionship. They’re horribly complicated little men. ASF mice is a good option, if you can get those in your state. They aren’t rats or mice but in the wild they would den with other species so getting along is part of their natural behavior, and mice seem to like them.
Usually. I have a neutered male who hates pretty much everyone and everything (sweet Otter…) and takes months to accept any sort of new friend.
If we said it was absolutely necessary for male mice to have companions, American male mice would go without homes. It’s the sad truth. If you need to keep him alone, I pass no judgement. It’s hard! Just spoil the heck out of the boy you’ve got.
But they do prefer companionship. They’re horribly complicated little men. ASF mice is a good option, if you can get those in your state. They aren’t rats or mice but in the wild they would den with other species so getting along is part of their natural behavior, and mice seem to like them.
Usually. I have a neutered male who hates pretty much everyone and everything (sweet Otter…) and takes months to accept any sort of new friend.
_________________
Goose & Otter* ♂
Remembering Mr. Bald ♂, Tipsy, Topsy, Maier, Graham & Garcia ♀
*Neutered male group. Do not house intact males together.*
Remembering Mr. Bald ♂, Tipsy, Topsy, Maier, Graham & Garcia ♀
*Neutered male group. Do not house intact males together.*
River- Hero Member
- Join date : 2016-06-19
Posts : 1486
Dee67 likes this post
Re: Concerned about friendship
by SarahAdams Sat 04 Sep 2021, 7:57 pm
IF you get a female mouse and let them breed, what will you do with the constant flow of offspring? You'll need many bins or cages to separate all the boys from the girls, then more enclosures to separate the boys from each other. You'll need to have suitable homes all lined up and that is no easy task, especially for the males.
Male mice are not popular since - apart from a strong odour - once they start to mature they may fight to the death so need to be alone. A lot of people don't like doing this, and I understand why, since we see them as lonely but we may be just projecting our own emotions on them.
My boys, who I got last year, are kept separately but I got them at an animal shelter where no one else wanted them and just try to give them the best life I can with very large bins, a huge playground, treats, different toys that I switch around, etc.
It's not ideal and I wish I could give them a more natural life with females around but can't bring more unwanted mice into the world just to give them company.
The only solution is neutering a male so he can have female company but as you've seen finding a vet who will neuter such a tiny animal is difficult. I did this with a male rat, but most vets won't do mice.
IMO, if you give your little guy lots of attention and a large enclosure with tons of "stuff" in it for him to dig and explore and build nests, toys where he has to work to get the treats/seeds out of, and maybe a separate playground for a change of scenery you're doing the best you can for him and he should be happy. Other than letting him go in a field, there really is nothing else to be done. He probably has a better home than the vast majority of other mice.
Male mice are not popular since - apart from a strong odour - once they start to mature they may fight to the death so need to be alone. A lot of people don't like doing this, and I understand why, since we see them as lonely but we may be just projecting our own emotions on them.
My boys, who I got last year, are kept separately but I got them at an animal shelter where no one else wanted them and just try to give them the best life I can with very large bins, a huge playground, treats, different toys that I switch around, etc.
It's not ideal and I wish I could give them a more natural life with females around but can't bring more unwanted mice into the world just to give them company.
The only solution is neutering a male so he can have female company but as you've seen finding a vet who will neuter such a tiny animal is difficult. I did this with a male rat, but most vets won't do mice.
IMO, if you give your little guy lots of attention and a large enclosure with tons of "stuff" in it for him to dig and explore and build nests, toys where he has to work to get the treats/seeds out of, and maybe a separate playground for a change of scenery you're doing the best you can for him and he should be happy. Other than letting him go in a field, there really is nothing else to be done. He probably has a better home than the vast majority of other mice.
SarahAdams- Sr Member
- Join date : 2020-08-18
Posts : 205
Dee67 likes this post
Re: Concerned about friendship
by Dee67 Fri 10 Sep 2021, 4:47 am
@lilahdee My Figgus is an only boy and he is super super spoiled. BE sure to handle your new fellow a lot!! I groom Figgus by scratching and scritching him under his chin and behind his ears and down his back about 10 min a day plus he is out on my lap about an hour a day just playing or sitting on my shoulder. To get this close with your mouse just be patient and give him lots of your time and love. He also has about 5 or 8 hours a day to play in his super big enclosure filled with boxes with holes cut in them, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, shredded paper, ramps, toys, you can do a lot of stuff for cheap, check out the homemade toy section. Boys are a special joy if you nurture them, so enjoy.
_________________
Dee
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do - Rumi
Dee67- Sr Member
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SarahAdams likes this post
Re: Concerned about friendship
by SarahAdams Sat 18 Sep 2021, 12:53 pm
Dee67 wrote: @lilahdee My Figgus is an only boy and he is super super spoiled. BE sure to handle your new fellow a lot!! I groom Figgus by scratching and scritching him under his chin and behind his ears and down his back about 10 min a day plus he is out on my lap about an hour a day just playing or sitting on my shoulder. To get this close with your mouse just be patient and give him lots of your time and love. He also has about 5 or 8 hours a day to play in his super big enclosure filled with boxes with holes cut in them, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, shredded paper, ramps, toys, you can do a lot of stuff for cheap, check out the homemade toy section. Boys are a special joy if you nurture them, so enjoy.
All very good tips!
I love how spoiled and coddled Figgus is, as he should be!
SarahAdams- Sr Member
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