Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just purchased a 1.4 group of mice last night from local pet store. They were all from the same aquarium so i brought them home and put them all together figuring they were already aquainted. A little while later found that the male who is noticeably larger than some of the females was biting the back of the of one of them. I broke it up promptly and added a few more hides(toilet tissue spools)which they quickly began exploring and think that may have solved the problem. I checked on them this morning and found them all sleeping together in the original hide(box from pet store they came in). Do you think i should just keep an eye on them to make sure no more fighting occurs or just separate the females from the male for aweek while he gets adjusted? This is my first time attempting to breed obviously so any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. Also im feeding Nutro Natural Choice lamb meal and rice formula -crude protein...21%/ crude fat 12%/ no coloring and all natural flavor. Im mixing it with Animal Farms vita-vittles premium gold.

Jaye

this is sometimes associated with breeding and dominance. I notice that some of my males do this only after I clean their cage. My guess is that because he hasn't scented the cage yet, he feels the need to establish it as his territory. I wouldn't worry unless he starts killing the girls.

I agree. It is probably only a dominance thing. If the male mouse you purchased was not the dominant male in "the big tank", he will certainly feel the need to show 'the girls' who's in charge. Interestingly I have had several colonies where a female was "in charge". As long as the biting only lasts for brief periods and no one is getting ganged up on, I wouldn't worry too much. If you notice that 2 or more mice seem to be constantly "picking on" another mouse, that could be trouble. You would need to remove the "target" mouse , or it will most likely die or be killed.