# Competitive Females? *EDITED*



## AllieMouse (Apr 9, 2011)

I adopted a white mouse named Pumpkin Head today. Sweetie Pie is welcoming her, and is sleeping with her sometimes.

Angel Face on the other hand, I think isn't so sure about her new cage mate.

I cleaned the cage before I added the new parts and I let the new mouse enter first. She had the place to herself for about 10 minutes. Then I let Sweetie Pie in, followed shortly after by Angel Face.

Sometimes when Angel Face approaches Pumpkin Head, they will rear up on their hind legs and face-off. They have not nipped or struck each other at all, but Pumpkin Head will sometimes start to squeak/squeal when this happens or if Angel Face gets too close. I imagine Angel Face is a little stressed because she is sick. Also, we recently lost a mouse named Babydoll, and I thought they would feel greif and lonliness from missing her; so I wanted to get them a new friend. It can get a little down, I imagine, with only two mice around. I added some more space to my crittertrail, because I knew that with a new cage-mate came territory issues (I also wanted to reward Sweetie Pie and Angel Face for behaving so well at the vet this morning). Angel Face is also being possessive over things that she previously had no interest in at all; she is constantly relocating the ABC chew blocks, and dragging the toy mice (the kind that cats use) around wherever she goes as if to say, "this is mine, and i'm putting it here!" Those toy mice are for Sweetie Pie to sleep with because sometimes she sleeps alone; those are her "little buddies". Angel Face now steals the buddies and drags them into her "spot". It's kind of funny to watch her be so stingy over things she never cared about until Pumpkin Head showed up, but at the same time, enough is enough! Because they have not physically hurt each other, I can only imagine they are just trying to size each other up. Is a fight due to break out soon, or are they just communicating? Is Angel Face bullying Pumpkin Head, or is Pumpkin Head simply stading her ground in her new home (how brave!)? Why the squealing, in other words, who is causing the trouble in this situation? Pumpkin Head is really sweet and fun and I'd hate to see her get hurt or have to take her back.

Sweetie Pie is also acting a little lethargic lately. She is on Baytril and anti-inflammatory medicine (to avoid allergic reactions), but is it more than just the medicine? Today, I re-arranged the cage again to make it more like it was before, it seemed to help a bit. Is it just the medicine or is the new cage and Angel Face bugging her too? Sweetie Pie is my favorite and I don't want her to be sad.


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