Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well it looks like my brilliant plan has gone down the toilet. I've been watching my three male mice very closely since putting them together, and a few minutes ago I noticed Vivaldi, the oldest, grooming the little fawn boy a bit more roughly than I would like. Should I be worried? I'm calling around to some vets to see if there's anyone nearby that could neuter him. Will that calm him down with the other boys? Even if not, the two other boys have each other and I could get Vivaldi some females to live with. Thanks for any help.
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Kadee Sedtal

home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats-Chopin and Tchaikovsky, and the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, and Schubert

As long as its grooming and not biting you shouldn't be worried. I don't think that neutering will stop any fighting or anything though. Warning signs of an attack or a fight with my male mice that I have noticed clearly every time before they fight is that they rattle their tails almost like a rattlesnake =] Its rather silly looking but watch out. Another thing if a fight does errupt DO NOT stick your hand between them because I made the mistake of doing that once and instead of Les attacking Asher he attacked my fingers and bit me to the bone in two spots. I walked out the room towards the bathroom like nothing had happened, with blood dripping off of my hand onto the carpet, and when my 9 year old cousin saw this the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "OH MY GOSH! CALL 911 MADISON'S GOING TO BLEED TO DEATH!" But I was used to being bit by them by then, most of my males have nasty temperments either all of the time or while in their cages. I became tired of seperating them at one point so I just leave mine together and if they fight I disinfect their wounds and I already have antibiodics for them so I'm all set. In all reality I would never suggest getting male mice because they don't always get along well with other males and sometimes they make great pets when its only them but rarely. I got stuck with two male mice thanks to my little cousins "accidental" breeding of his two mice. I have only had one male mouse that I've ever truely loved, he was an albino result of one of my favorite female's litters, but sadly he got a lung infection and died. Also male mice stink very very badly and the more you clean their cage the stinkier they get the cage because they mark their territory with their horrible urine. I only have one of the two males now and one of his sons(which he absolutely despises), it takes them about a day to stink up my room. Nothing that I have ever tried that's said to make their urine not as smelly has never worked at all or worked very well. The only thing that helped the slightest bit was putting a drop or two of vanilla extract into their water bowls/bottles. I wish you goodluck with your mice and have fun watching their silly antics! =] ((P.S. I would seriously consider getting female mice instead of males next time)) Sincerely, Madison

We had a nasty fight break out, so we're going to have Mr. Aggressive Vivaldi neutered so he can live with some females. The other two boys get along wonderfully. They sleep together and groom each other. I've read so much about boy mice smelling awful, and mine do smell bad, but I use the Carefresh Ultra bedding and it really keeps the smell down. It's bearable. We only got the first male because he was all alone in the pet store and sooo cute... Then the other boys to keep him company... then the fight... now the neuter... then more mice... So much for mice being inexpensive to keep! Oh well, if it makes them happy. The number of rodents in this house is growing rather quickly...
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Kadee Sedtal

home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats-Chopin and Tchaikovsky, and the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, and Schubert