I have a new mouse!!

Question
QUESTION: I recently got a pet mouse. It is a male, so I only got one. The boy at the pet store told me about food and everything, but I was wondering about some other things.
1. I think my dog may have recently gotten fleas, can mice get fleas? My dog my have gotten them from him, and I don't know what to do about a mouse with fleas. I haven't seen anything on him, though, and he is white.
2. How do I train him? I know mice can be trained, but I don't know the methods/ limits of training.
3. Can I get him to stop using the bathroom on me somehow?

Thank you so much, and I know you can't answer everything, because I'm sure you're busy, so I will continue to search the Internet for all kinds of little care things for him, I want to have the best mouse ever!!
PS, I'm glad we have the same name!!

ANSWER: Hi other Natasha!  < : 3    )--~

Welcome to the Wonderful world of mice!

Dogs and mice do not have the same fleas, though I still would not want to expose a mouse directly to a huge dog flea.

The best mouse training I have seen is in a youtube video called something like "World's Smartest Mouse," which showcases a mouse going through an agility course. I believe the video shows how it was trained; in any case, the training started with the last obstacle and worked backward. The mouse may have been trained with a common training device called a clicker, which you teach the mouse to associate with a food reward. Later the click itself is enough to let the mouse know that there will be a reward when it is done.

But mice are not as smart as dogs, cats, or rats. Although an individual mouse may be good at some particular thing, it would be a rare mouse who could perform on command. Some people at least train them to their names; but that isn't necessary with just one mouse. A kissy sound works best to to get their attention, and a mouse who expects a treat from you will come running. But the short of it is, most people don't train their mice, other than the sort of accidental training where it figures out where to stand for you to pick it up, for instance.

Mice do not have sphincters. This means if they have to go poop, they simply have no control. In my hundreds upon hundreds of mice, I had one who seemed trained not to go outside her cage, but, thinking back on it, I don't know how often she went in it either - maybe she was often constipated. Peeing is different; they have enough consciousness about when they are peeing that even when they are walking, they stop for an instant; and in their cage they go into the corners, as you have certainly found out by now.

However, one factor with the urge to go is whether you woke him up or not. If he was in his nest, he needs to go when he gets up just like we do in the morning. You can either not take him out of the nest, or you can just be aware, and expect a bunch of little poops soon after being picked up. They also get their little systems going when they get excited, so when I pick up a mouse I automatically pet her in my hand at first; and within the first minutes I can expect about 5 little poops. I just stay near the garbage or a kleenex until she is done. This doesn't mean she won't go at all, but it does make her a little more empty for the shirt collar.

As for peeing, as I said they do have some control. And they would prefer not to go in the nest or other familiar spot. You will notice that they use a corner as far away from the nest as possible for their toilet. So a mouse who has been walking on your hands and shoulders for a while and needs to pee, will want to go someplace other than where she is, for a moment. This is why you can hold him, nice and dry, and then set him down on your nice pants for a split second to scratch your nose, and there is a wet spot on your lap.

This can be useful information. A most useful way to train a mouse would  be to teach him where to pee and where not to pee. Now, I have not had a male mouse for many, many years, so I don't know if they are as fastidious as females are. What I have done is to pay attention to about how long it takes before the mouse has to pee- maybe a half hour. Then I hold my mouse for about that long, and, figuring she kind of has to go, I set her on a clean rag. If I am lucky, she grabs the opportunity to pee. If not, I would pick her up before that piece of cloth became just another familiar item. And if she pees I pick her up too; you can even give him a treat. After that, you can establish a routine like this. It probably works best if you let the rag smell like pee, but it should not be a place to hang out.

I'm sure you will have the best, and happiest, mouse ever!

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha










---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


George Jerry in ball  

George Jerry exploring   QUESTION: Thank you so much! I will watch him and see when he goes potty so I can be careful! I want to give you a picture of him running on his ball because he is a cutie, and hopefully I can train him to do some cool things like stand up for me!! Thank you!!

Answer
Hi Natasha!

Is that you in the pic? I was once a little girl with blonde hair... : ) and I was never without a mouse on me, for about ten years of my life (got my first mice at age 5).

He is a cutie. Thanks for the pic. He may well learn to stand, but probably not to the word stand. He may learn the sound of your voice when you want him to do something; or a hand motion or sound.

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha