2 questions - mouse in car, mice vs. cage size

Question
Hi!  I have two unrelated questions about our pet mice.  We have one dear mouse who never made it to our house.  My daughter opened her container in the mini-van on the way home and it jumped out.  This mouse (a female) has been living in our van for almost 7 months!  We try to keep the car clean of snackies, but I have a toddler and we're on the go and things happen!  I have tried humane traps with food in them. She is either too smart or doesn't want the good food because she is spoiled on human snacks!  My husband is ready to use a deadly trap and I don't know what else to do.  Our van stinks and we have mouse urine coming out of the cd player!  She has chewed holes in the carpet under the seats and even in a few clothing items that were accidentally left in the van.  What should we do?

The 2nd question is about our pet mice that made it home from another trip.  We bought 2 sister mice, thinking one was pregnant.  They were both pregnant, one mouse had 4 babies and the other had 7 babies about a week later.  We went out of town and came back to only 4 babies. Due to the number and their size, we determined that mouse # 1 kept her babies and the mouse #2 babies were eaten.  We gave one of the babies away later on, but have managed to keep the other 3.  It appears that they are all female because it has been 6 months and no babies.  The 5 females are living together in what seems to be harmony.  But I wonder if we have them in too small of a cage.  We use a 10 gallon tank.  We have noticed recently that two of the females, one of them being mouse #1, are missing their whiskers.  I know that dominance issues can be normal and are okay, but could our cage size be an issue?  Thanks!


Answer
Dear Staci,

How awful about the van mouse!  First I would try to locate her nest.  Try under the seats (take them out if you can).  Try in the air filter-- this is a favorite mouse spot.  Empty the van as much as possible to eliminate hiding places.  This will also enable you to clean out all crumbs.  You may want to do this away from the house at an automat in case she jumps out.  

If you spot her, have a toilet paper roll or several handy and try to shoo her towards them.  Mice are irresistibly drawn to small round holes.  Then you can put your hands on the two sides of the roll. It's also OK to grab her near the base of her tail, but not towards the tip.  Then put her on your other hand.  At this point she will be pretty wild and scared, so you may wish to wear gloves.

If you use a live trap, use commercial peanut butter (not health-food) and/or medium-soft yummy-smelling cheese (cheddar and swiss are soft when warm).  Your mouse should be too big to escape a Havahart trap.  There are other traps on the market as well.

To the five female mice:  Yes, they would like a larger cage.  A 20-gallon tank would be far better.  This may or may not stop the 'barbering' (whisker biting), which is a display of dominance.  By the way, mouse #2's babies might have died of something and only been eaten after their death.  Mice have to eat their dead so the bodies don't rot and foul the nest.  Usually two nursing mothers tolerate each other very well, and help with the babies.  

best of luck to all the mice!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha