wild mouse/ tame mouse questions

Question
hi i got a cover for my mouse Fred.
1)WHAT does it mean when he licks his paws?
2)and he seems to favor a corner & sticks his nose n the air why is it doing this?
it will never get away 2 times it jumped in the air & hit the cover!!!!!i want to get a tame mouse for Fred.what do u think?

Answer
Dear Woo Wang,

1.  When he licks his paws he is washing them.  And when he licks his paws and then rubs them on another part of his body, or just his nose and whiskers, he is washing that part of him.

2.  When he prefers one corner that means he has chosen that corner for his bathroom.

3.  When he sticks his nose in the air he is sniffing.  Mice use their noses more than we do.

4.  I've never mixed wild and tame but I know people who have done so successfully.  An advantage might be that when you hold the tame mouse it will go back into the cage smelling like you (sensitive noses) and the wild one might get a little bit more used to you.  A disadvantage might be that the wild mouse would make it hard for you to even pick up the tame mouse, who would then become less tame.

Whatever you do, don't mix the sexes.  You do not want a cage full of half-wild mice that you can't access for fear of losing their father!  

If your mouse is older than about 6 weeks if it is a boy it will look a little like it is developing a big rear end.  This is the male testicles.  Another problem is if you put two males together, they might kill each other.  Males are territorial, which means they each want their own big piece of land and fight because they don't want to share the cage.

Really the best would be if you have a girl and can put another girl in the cage.  So wait maybe 3+ weeks and watch for testicles on the wild mouse.  If he doesn't grow them, then you might consider getting her a girlfriend.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha