Mice are scared of me and attack my hands

by Salvsop27 Mon 08 Nov 2021, 12:12 am

I got two young (two months) mice from a pet store about a month ago. I started the bonding process with them after a few days. It was going very well, they were no longer scared of me and would be excited to take food from my hands. One of them would even climb onto my sweater. This morning however, they were both very wary of me and ran away whenever I went near their cage. Later I tried to give them food from my hands. One of them (willow) very aggressively snatched it from me, biting my finger. Later that night, when I was unburying her wheel, she ran up to and bit my hand AGAIN. I don’t know what is causing this behavior as she has never done this before, and I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary to freak her out. The other mouse (Tara) also seems more scared of me, though has showed no signs of aggression. Does anyone know what could be causing this? I’ve enclosed a picture of them and their enclosure in case that’s helpful.

Mice are scared of me and attack my hands 60d9e810

by tinypatters Wed 10 Nov 2021, 10:24 pm

The first thing that comes to mind is if you've handled or petted or been around any other animals, and your mice might have smelled the animal(s) on your hands. Mice have a strong sense of smell.

Alternatively, they may be feeling stressed for some reason, so you should check their environment and enclosure for anything that's unusual / out of the blue.

Another thing I can think of is that you may need to add more toys to their enclosure. Do you also spend time with them on the regular, or clean their cage regularly? When/If you do rotate toys, keep one or two familiar ones.

When you pick up your mice, offer them a treat before doing so. That way, they'll learn to trust you (again) over time.

You may also want to observe your mice (especially Wilow) to see if they are in pain, as that can also cause them to be aggressive.

Source: How To Get Your Pet Mouse To Stop Biting This article has a lot of useful information as to why your pet mice may be biting you, and how to gain their trust back. In some cases, especially when it comes to their health, you should consult your vet as soon as possible. I hope you'll be able to figure it out soon =)

by Salvsop27 Wed 10 Nov 2021, 11:13 pm

Thanks for the advice! I think willow May have smelled my dog on my hands the first time she bit me, because my dog came in my room I had to push her out. She seems to be getting better now. She took some treats from my hand today without biting me.

by WBCarson Fri 12 Nov 2021, 6:33 am

Yes on the smells. I make sure my hands are washed, then rub my hair. I always open the cage and greet them, maybe blow a bit. Let them see my face and my hand. Then move something in the cage, change the water, ect. Over time they get used to your smell then your face and hand. Treats help but if the tip of your finger smells like a treat they will grab hold...but let go fast and those teeth are sharp!
Now i can go in and mess with them all i like.
They are tamed wild ones i had since they were pinkies

by Sponsored content

Mice are scared of me and attack my hands

Mice are scared of me and attack my hands

Re: Mice are scared of me and attack my hands

Re: Mice are scared of me and attack my hands

Re: Mice are scared of me and attack my hands

Re: Mice are scared of me and attack my hands