Mouse scared of the others

by Jleader Sat 12 Feb 2022, 10:24 am

Hey everyone! I got 5 sweet female mice a week ago from a breeder. They argued a bit but nothing that I’ve read is out of the ordinary except for one of the mice seemed to really dislike another one. One time I caught her leaping on the scared one and I saw the scared one sit back on her haunches with her paws up when the other was up on the house watching her (then the scared one ran into the house and hid). The scared one barely ever comes out of the house and if she does and another mouse even nips her butt she squeals and runs back in and won’t come back out. The mouse that was (what seemed to me) inappropriately bullying her, has had two time outs. Since her second time out, I coaxed the shy one out with seed mix and they were eating together then the “bully” mouse just lunged at her face quickly and the shy one retreated back into the house, it seemed uncalled for. She has been scared of the others and hiding since the first night I brought her home. I put food in the house after a few daysish for her and a water bowl out front because I worry so much that she isn’t able to get food. I could count on one hand how many times I’ve seen her come out and each time ends in her squealing even when a mouse appropriately tries to sort things out with her and then she hides and doesn’t come out. The most I’ve ever seen her come out was when the “bully” was on a day and a half time out. But even then she still ran and hid if anyone touched her.

She may have a uri, she makes a clicking noise. I have ordered meds for it and I’m waiting to see if it goes away first once she adjusts to her new home. I’m not sure if it is a uri, could it contribute to this behavior?

The other 4 get along just fine (they do argue sometimes but nothing unusual), but none of them even sleep with this girl. She’s just all alone and hiding. They live in a prevue 528 and have multiple hides, water, and food sources. They don’t seem to ever squabble over food or water though.

by cerial Sun 13 Feb 2022, 10:10 am

This is my mouse Grey
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBayEiNAr2w

He has always has a grey and thinning hair body from stress(its stress not bugs or grooming) and will have these chirping fits to let everyone know to back off since he was a pup(He is almost 2 years old). He gets in small fights usually not respecting when another male(or female) is nesting away from the group with a female and will try forcing his way between them. But once Grey calms down he and the other mice will be sleeping in the big cuddle pile with him showing a bit more respect. At least for a while.

Now usually when two mice are stalking one like your describing the one mouse has done something wrong and they do not want that one mouse in the area. The one fearful mouse may tend to be submissive but show signs of aggression or fighting back. You catching her on her back legs with paws up is a defensive pose. Dominant mice like to be dominant and a submissive mouse fighting back or running away can cause issues.
How do I keep this PG? Every couple of days the mice like to sniff each other. A mouse that does not like to be sniffed may run away and a dominant mouse will not like that. The roles may change on who is the most dominant in the cage from day to day so you may have more then one dominant. Sometimes a submissive will become dominant and that can cause a bit of isolation.

Grey is a dominant in that he wants to sniff or sleep next to everyone in the cage and that tends to have him labeled as a jerk. Most mice go through a bit of a stage of isolation where they are not quite submissive enough or keep picking fights with the most dominant.

What you can do is to give her a safe place to sleep and eat. This is going to be a one way thing like a like a jar with some bedding inside.

I find the below thing works great for helping lessen aggression and is easy to clean. It gives the submissive a safe place to sleep inside while being tight enough the dominant mouse is forced to get into a position where it is less prone to attack. The dominant can still smell the mouse through the holes without being able to bite and that is often enough to prevent fights.
https://www.amazon.com/TINMIX-Stainless-Hexagonal-Electric-Charcoal/dp/B08C2N3LWW/ref=asc_df_B08C2N3LWW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507696663523&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1463909931037557745&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1016367&hvtargid=pla-951508833986&th=1

Mouse scared of the others

Mouse scared of the others

Re: Mouse scared of the others