Fluffy

Question
Hello!
I have so many questions regarding my sweet mouse, Fluffy. He is very curious, he does sleep regularly but he is active overall. One question is, since he is a male, I have read that males and sometimes mice in general have vicious fights. I really want him to have a pal, though he can probably be happy either way. I would very much prefer him to be very happy. Please give me EVERYTHING you know on that. if I had two cages for them to spend in at night then let them play while being supervised, would that be good for him to see a male and interact? Or, maybe a female play mate? I have heard that they will mate without warning. I am not saying that I could not handle pinkie mice, but I would prefer just two mice :) I noticed that a certain woman that goes by Creek Valley Critters has mixed genders and im not sure if the males are neutered or not. I just need to know everything that is an option. then next, I would love to raise one pinkie along with Fluffy. are males known to be hard on pinkie mice? if not, and it would be safe with supervision, any tips? any other things to be aware of? Thanks so much!! :)

Answer
Hi Sophie,

It's true that males are very prone to fighting with one another.  The only reason they do okay in cages together at pet shops is because they are massively overcrowded, so violence is not targeted on any one mouse, and because they do not have to endure that environment for very long.  Truthfully, being within smelling distance of other male mice is extremely stressful for boys, and they will be less likely to get sick, less prone to anxious behavior like biting or hiding, and happier on the whole if they are nowhere near other males.

All a boy mouse needs to be a happy camper is some love and affection from you!  Playtime with you and some really neat toys will keep him content his whole life.  It may seem lonely to you - but this is how boys live in the wild and how they very much prefer to be.

I would not advise letting him play with another boy mouse every now and then, as this can actually make it more stressful and teach him that playtime means being threatened by another male.  It also does not take very long for fighting to escalate, which means it would actually endanger his life each time they "play" together.  Even just being in cages next to each other would be risky and emotionally upsetting.

Female mice go into "heat" approximately every five days, which means if you put him with a female, he literally has six chances a month to impregnate her.  That's a pretty big chance of expanding your mousey family!  While neutering mice IS possible, it is very difficult and expensive, and so not usually offered by veterinarians.  It is worth asking, but because mice are so tiny, they can lose body heat very quickly, so most vets will not put them under anesthesia.  Some do, though, so if you are set on getting him a friend besides you, it's worth asking around your local vets.

I would also advise against putting him anywhere near a pinky.  Some males are okay with their own children, but most see pups as threats waiting to grow up and very well may kill them.  Pinkies need their mommas until at least 4 weeks of age, so unless you were volunteering to help with orphaned litters, I am not sure how you would accomplish this anyways.  Pinkies are also very difficult to keep alive even in the best of circumstances (search through AllExperts for people asking about raising orphaned mice), so again, unless you happened upon a mouse that needed help or were volunteering with a group, I am not sure why you would risk the pup dying by taking it away from a momma.  Maybe I am misunderstanding?

I don't know anything about Creek Valley Critters, so I can't really comment on that part, I'm sorry.

Hopefully I got all of your questions, but if I missed anything or you need anything clarified, please let me know!

-Tam