two males in together

Question
Hi,
We have just started keeping mice.We had 3 females and 1 male. they were housed in a very small enclosure so I brought them a bigger house but it came with a another male mouse. we tried putting them in together but the new male mouse was NOT IMPRESSED. Is there anyway of having them all in the same enclosure. Currently we have moved the orginal mice into the bigger enclosure and have the other male in the small enclosure but we don't really want 2 different enclosures.


Answer
I wouldn't recommend breeding mice until you are very familiar with them so remove the male as soon as possible.

You will need at least 2 different enclosures for the males and females. If you keep them together you will have a small army of mice before you know it. Mice are very fertile and your females are probably already pregnant. You may need a bigger enclosure for housing the babies as 3 females can have 30 babies.

It is worrying that a male mouse 'came' with your new enclosure. It sounds like the person you bought him from were trying to get rid of him. I am also concerned that he has been kept by himself. Mice are social creatures and need the company of other mice. The fact that he probably hasn't had any social interaction with other mice makes it even more difficult for him to get along with your male.

Male mice cannot just be shoved together and expect them to get along unless they are brothers and were brought up together. The situation is made worse by the females as the male is extremely possessive over them and may fight to the death. This is because he wants the girls to bear his offspring and nobody elses.

It takes a lot of time, patience and experience for two males (especially if one or both are aggressive) to get along. You need a large cage and lots of hiding places if you wish to keep the males together. Keep the cage away from the females as the scent may cause them to fight. Change their food to plain boiled rice for a few weeks as this will stop them fighting over food or favorite tit-bits. Watch them like a hawk and keep the cage with you until you are sure they are getting along (this can be a week or two). If you think they will never get along it may be kinder to have the aggressive one put to sleep as a lifetime of solitude is cruel. Your other male will soon have the company of his sons. Make sure you remove the male a few days before they give birth or he will fertilize the females again.

Please feel free to ask any more questions. Good luck.