Problem with Biting

Question
QUESTION: Hello tamarah (love the name by the way)

I recently purchased 2 mice and one of my mice has a biting problem.

i would put my finger or hand near him to smell or climb up on and he would suddenly close his eyes and BITE! and then back up or run away

He is male.

his cagemate (also male) has no problems what so ever he is friendly..

loves playing with me and coming to me when i walk to the cage.

the agressive one usually watches me play with the friendly one

shouldn tthat be a bit of a sign that im not a threat?

I am very concerned that the biting will go to the next level and start to draw blood..or he wont let go

I wash my hands everytime before and after i handle them

i have tried saying "eek" when he bites me

i have tried rubbing my hand in used bedding to make my hands smell a certain way.

i have tried blowing on him

NOTHING will stop his biting!

i have no problem with him being uncomfortable or shy around me..

i have all the time in the world

but i do not want him to bite me..i feel this must stop

i look forward to your reply :)

ANSWER: Hi Max, and thank you!

That definitely sounds like a problem.  He probably doesn't see you playing with his friend, however, since mice don't have that great of eyesight.  Perhaps his problem stems from being picked up, and not so much the handling?  You could try lifting him by his tail (shoot for the middle of his tail, and don't hold him for longer than a second or two if you can) and then setting him into your hand.  This might still seem scary to him, but being set *into* your hand makes it seem less frightening than when it's coming at his body from above, like a predator.  If that still doesn't work, you can try handling him with gloves until he learns that he doesn't have to bite.  :)

Also, just so you have a heads up, males almost never get along with each other - so keep a close eye on your two boy mice.  If you see or hear any signs of fighting or injuries it's important to separate them as quickly as possible.  Things can go south fast and males will fight to the death if they decide they don't like each other anymore.  

Hope he stops biting soon!  :)
-Tam

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

QUESTION: I asked the same question i asked you on a mice website with a forum.

and everyone said the reason he is biting is because he is territorial with his cage mate.

and it ended up with everyone telling me "if i love my mice i would seperate them"

because they WILL kill eachother eventually.

i really dont know what to do tamarah

my mice seem to like eachothers company..they sleep together..they have plenty of room and food..to not fight over anything

what is your opinion?

ANSWER: Don't you worry about the forum people, haha.  I'm on a lot of those forums, too, and "if you love your mice" is just a silly thing to say.  Of course you love your mice!  They're just trying to be helpful, don't worry about it.

Mice don't bite YOU because they're upset with their cagemates, they bite their cagemates, and that's what I'm personally worried about.  If he bites you, it's because he's stressed - that can be about you, your hand, a strange sound, or yes, even his cagemate.  Every mouse is different, though, so it's ultimately up to you to find out what's bugging him and do what you can to calm him down.  :)

Male mice do NOT always kill each other.  What it depends on is when they were introduced.  Mice that have been together since they were pups are more likely to get along, but don't always.  Mice that have never seen each other tend to fight to the death, but not always.  You need to pay close attention to YOUR mice, and see how they behave.  Things can go from fine to deadly overnight, so it's up to you to keep an eye out for the signs, if you decide to keep them together.  Here are some signs of fighting that mean you might need to separate them:

- Roughhousing and squeaking
- Torn ears, chewed tails
- Bites - you will need to ruffle the fur backwards to see them - look for gaps in the hair
- Boxing - standing on the back legs and "punching" at another mouse, this is very territorial and means they're almost certainly not going to work it out

None of these signs are good, and mean they're not getting along and need to be separated.  Once a male decides he doesn't like another male, he's not going to change his mind.  If they never fight, if no one has any injuries, if there's no squeaking...then your mice are getting along, and nothing anyone tells you will change that.

All it means is that you need to keep your eyes and ears peeled just in case it changes, that's all.

Hope I helped  :)
-Tam

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

QUESTION: Your a life saver tamarah! your the only one who believes in my mice getting along hehe

They were together with about 6-10 other male mice in a tank at the pet store

(i honestly dont know how old they are)

less then 3 months im sure

I actually purchased one of them one day and then 2 days later

someone gave me "bad" advice and said mice need companions!

so i went back and made sure i purchased another one of his old cage mates.

i DID hear squeeking the first 2 nights and then not one sound since.

were they just trying to decide who is the "boss"?

I have been keeping an eye on them. pretty closely lately.

they chase eachother around at night from diffrent house to diffrent house

all friendly though..

they will clean eachother from head to toe

tonight i actually given them an old shirt i no longer wear and let them play around in it and they layed beside eachother on it and went to sleep

it was adorable! haha

while they were playing in the old shirt..i was fiddling with it..putting it over them..just playing with them..

and the white rat would bite me..i think he did about 10 times

but eventually he stoped..and would just smell me and close his eyes..like he was preparing for something to startle him

also. you mention to watch out for bites? my mice are skittish so im not sure exactly how i could get a hold of them to brush their hair back? is there a proper way to hold them safely? and mice friendly of course!

Answer
Doh!  You're totally right about watching out for bites - not sure what I was thinking!  Just blow on them from their back end so the fur ruffles up, since you can't hold them.  :)  I'd be wary of the chasing, friendly or not, but as long as you're keeping a close eye and ear on them you can minimize any risks.  :)

No good about all those bites, but hopefully you'll get him settled down in no time.  :)

-Tam