Question
My mouse
Hi Natasha,
Two days ago, I bought three young mice (we always buy 4 but there were only three left and they are sisters and i didin't want to split them up, they soy to always buy in multiples of two's.
i have been handleing them to get them used to my scent, one takes very well to me already as soon as i put my hand in to pick one up, it comes to me quite willingly, another doesnt come to me but doesnt mind being picked up,or mind me holding it but still looks like it need more time with me to get used to me. but the third is what we call a 'Jumper'. we have had one mouse like her before but she jumped out of our hand the first time we picked her up and she hit the floor with a thud and died. I want to avoid this happening with this mouse.
Is there anything we can do? we havent managed to hold her so far as soon as we lift her a few inches out of the cage she squeeeeeeels so loud and claws at herself and jumps back in the cage (that was yesterday). We are too afraid to pick her for fear she'll not be so lucky in falling in the cage and miss and hurt herslef on the floor.
We phoned the pet shop we bought them from to ask for advise, they offered to swap the mouse, but this isn't possible as the cost of travel is too much just for a swap. plus even though we have had the above problems with this one mouse we have fallen in love with her she is so pretty, while and beige but the beige is soooo light she's is almost while all over. and we dont want to split her up form her sisters.
please can you help us? we would aprieciate any advice you have to offer.
thanks in advance :) x
p.s i have included a pic, she has slightly long hair like a fuzz, but her fur seems messy. something i have learned form having mice as pets before as being a sign of possible stress, im not sure x
AnswerDear Jennifer,
Oh dear, poor frightened mouse. She is a beauty.
You don't need to buy mice in multiples of two. The person who said that may have misunderstood that people say you have to buy them "in pairs"-- which only means you can't have a single mouse. Two is the minimum, but I always make sure I have at least three, because that way when one dies, the other isn't dealing with the stress of loss but also of being alone. Then you have time to replace mouse number three. As soon as I am down to three I tell my breeder to watch out for a cutie for me just in case.
I'm sorry about the "jumper" you lost. That's really unfortunate, because many mice land on their feet and are OK after a fall. But others of course are not.
First, let me tell you the best way I know to handle a jumper who ISN'T terrified and squeaking (and possibly biting?). This is what I do when my baby mice are in the popcorn stage. I sit on the bed (holding a mouse over a bed means when it jumps it won't get hurt). I take the mouse and fold it into my Tshirt bottom. That is, fold my Tshirt up towards my face and put the mouse in it, giving it a lot of space but holding the boundaries tight with my arms. This way it gets used to my smell, but has a little room to move. When it has calmed down, I very carefully locate the base of its tail (by its butt) and hold on with two fingers of my left hand (I am right-handed). The other hand I use to curl around the mouse completely so it can't get out. Mind you this is not a terrified mouse, just a jumpy one. Once I am sure I have the mouse securely in my right hand-- still holding onto the base of the tail-- I can take my hands out of the Tshirt. I continue to hold the mouse this way until it has stopped trying to escape-- although when it pushes hard between my fingers I do open it enough to let mouse's nose out-- and then very slowly open my right hand. The mouse is now on the palm of my right hand but still being held by the base of the tail. Maybe for this session I can't let go at all. I hold it and kiss it and talk to it. Later I will be able to carefully let go and see what happens. This may be best to do sitting in the bathtub in case I lose it. When it's just a baby in the popcorn stage it already knows me, but any mouse that doesn't know you should spend time in your clothing (on you) to get used to your smell.
BUT your mouse isn't ready for this yet! Here are the baby steps I would take, waiting for each step to work, possibly over a matter of days. You can do a session twice or thrice in a day, at least three hours apart. This may take quite a while.
1. Put your hand in the cage but don't touch her. The other mice can stay in the cage-- she may learn from watching them interact with you-- unless they are in the way. Keep it there, near her.
2. Put a treat (you probably have to take the others out for this) near her, very slowly, and take your hand out. She is learning that your hand is a good thing.
3. Keep your hand in, keeping the treat between her and your hand. This step is complete when she eats the treat with your hand still there.
4. Put the treat next to your hand... same criteria for success.
5. Put the treat on your fingertips.
6. Continue to put the treat farther on your hand so she has to touch you, then put her front paws on you, etc.
7. When she first puts all four paws on your hand because the treat is on your hand, don't move your hand. Success is she eats on your hand.
8. With all four paws on your hand, slightly move your hand upward and then back down. This step is complete when she stays on the hand.
9. Move her up out of the cage and back in.
10. At the same time, teach her to stay calm in a closed hand or in two cupped hands. Do this slowly of course.
11. Cup her slightly, and take her out of the cage. She is over a bed. Don't keep her out long. When she is out you may need to do a full cup.
12. Keep her out for longer;
13. Open the hand and let her sit there (gently holding the base of the tail). You can also do some of the above that I wrote about jumpers.
14. Let go of the base of the tail.
15. Now start getting used to your smell by being in your clothing; kiss her and keep her near your face.
16. You have a tame mouse!
It is possible that she just can't be tamed. If she is stuck at a stage, just stay there forever. You can't push her. Also let her observe your hand's interaction with the other mice in the cage. You might observe some of these steps with the others too; they might as well learn to climb on your hand too.
In general, to pick up a mouse that doesn't climb onto your hand-- and when my mice live in a tank I don't bother to teach them to-- just make sure you NEVER chase it around with your hands. If you can't cup your hands around her in the cage, then give her a toilet paper roll to get into (all mouse cages must have toilet paper rolls in them!) and gently usher her in. Then put your hands over the ends and pick it up. Depending on the mouse, its size, and the size of your fingers, you can either reach into the roll and, with your fingers under its belly, and pull it out; or gently tip the roll vertically and wait for it to come out (some mice come out the top; others the bottom); or put it on a safe surface and wait for it to exit the roll. When you are cleaning the cage and need to take out a mouse who doesn't like to be handled yet, just put the toilet paper roll with the mouse in it into the temporary cage.
I hope all this helps. I would appreciate updates on how this goes. If you would like to friend me on Facebook (Natasha Millikan) that would be cool. Here is a video of my own kids, mice and rats, including mouse-sized rats:
Meet the Rodents (6 months ago):
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150091824234803
Meet the Rodents 2 (last week):
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150253528884803
Just tell me who you are if you friend me.
Good luck with the jumpy mouse, and enjoy them all!
squeaks n giggles,
Natasha
<:3 )--~
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