Terrified mouse

Question
My new pet mouse is terrified of me. It wont let me touch it, hold it etc. It constantly shakes with fear. What can i do?

Answer
What you need to do is train your mouse to not be afraid of you.

I have had both types of mice where one is very easy going, loving, and calm. Then there are those that are hard to handle, skittish, and need some work on trust. This is normal and what you can do is work on "trust" with your new mouse.

First give your mouse time to get use to it's surrounds. Maybe a couple of weeks. This way she can be comfortable in her new environment and familiar with being somewhere new before trying to ask her to also get use to you.

Next while she begins to calm down start to talk to her. Get her use to your voice. She will began to know you from others and learn to be comfortable with you around her cage. She will start staying near the cage and out of her hiding spots while you are there.

Once she is calm in her new cage and calm with your voice you can move to being comfortable with your touch. First you want to offer treats that you allow her to take, but not trying to touch or grab her. Then she begins to trust your hands more. If for any reason she bites you squeak loudly to show that that is not acceptable and hurts. Then go back to giving treats. Once she is taking treats from your hands and coming out from her hiding spots as you talk you can finally move to picking her up.

You want to pick her up in a scoop method like you probably did before with the previous mouse. If she is being hard to grab you can take her middle tail section and lift her to allow your hand to scoop under her body and lift. Remember to hold with two hands so she doesnt jump. You want to talk to her gently, pet her, and even give her treats when she stays with you. It will take a lot of patience, time, and work but she will come around and eventually you will be able to just place your hand down and let her crawl right onto your hand and even sit on your shoulder.

Remember to NEVER NEVER NEVER yell, hit, or throw the mouse. Squeak loud if she hurts you this she will understand as communication of pain and being a big "no-no" because it is what mice do in the same situation.

I found some websites that give video and further help and feel free to ask anything else you may wish:)

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/careofmice/a/mousecare_4.htm

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/12936_pet-mice-handling.htm

http://www.fancymice.info/handling.htm