To Tamarah (again)!

Question
Hi Tamarah thanks very much for your help.

you have been very helpful indeed.

I am thinking of getting a few videos together for you of the mice.
I have a few more questions regarding my wild mice...

When i approach her or even when i approach the cage she's in she will run and hide. She doesnt 100% happily run into my hands UNLESS she wants to get out of something she's stuck in. Now to me she seems tame in a way that she's not constantly trying to get out my hands when im holding her..But is that what tame really is? What could i do to make her more tame?

Now this baby wild mouse is INCREDIBLY scared. She does not like being touched one bit and as soon as i'm within no less than 2 foot form her shes jumping around the bath tub trying her upmost to get away from me. I gently hold her form the base of her tale and scoop her into my other hand tpo put her back in her newly cleaned cage...
When holding she she squeeks like mad and is constantly trying to turn round to nip my fingers (i think)
I'm wondering why she's not as tame as the mother even though i am 99% sure that even her mother is wild..

Butl ike you say... she baby calms down in the end right and therefore will be more relaxed with me in general?

Thanks Tamarah :0

Mart.

Answer
Hi,

Sounds good, Mart, I'd like to see some videos.  Tame is a matter of opinion - some people expect their mice to dislike being picked up and only want them to be tame when being held or handled.  Some people expect them to be 100% docile all the time, and willing to be picked up, and some people are just happy not to get bit!  As long as you continue to handle her and the pups every day, both should eventually calm down more and more.  I would not recommend doing so if you intended to release them, however, as those wild instincts to hide from things coming at them from above come in very handy.  Will you be keeping her and/or the pups?  One more thing - if your pups are around 4 weeks old yet and are eating hard foods, the males should be separated so they can't get any of the females pregnant.  Have you sexed the babies with some confidence, yet?

If the mom's wild nature is in question, her pups certainly are not.  They are at least 50% wild, perhaps 100%.  Domesticated mice have been bred to lose most of their instincts and fear of people - wild mice do not have that breeding and therefore have VERY strong instincts to avoid you for their own safety.  If you plan on keeping them for the rest of their lives, you should handle them in a safe place (like the bathtub with the drain clogged) or within their cage every single day for as long as you can.  Be aware that they might never tame at all, as their instincts are very strong and there for a reason.  There are also two different periods when handling your mice that you can judge tameness from - being picked up, and being held.  It's likely that calming down while being held will come around first, and is probably the most important to you.  They might be scared of something snatching them up for the rest of their lives, though, so if you are keeping them just accomplish what you can.  Remember that you shouldn't hold them by their tails for more than a few seconds, as holding them that way for much longer can also scare them.

No problem, :)
-Tam