# raising tame babies



## hlforumhl (Oct 2, 2011)

I just figured I would post what I do to raise my mice to be tame. I would like to know what everyone thinks of this, and what other people do to raise their mice to be tame.

Begining at three days of age, I pick each baby mouse up and stroke it two or three times. Then I place it outside of the nest and proceed to repeat for the other babies. Then I go and repeat the process again with each baby and place them back in the nest. I continue doing this about every day, or every other day until the mice are about 5 weeks old. After that, I really don't handle my mice very often other than cleaning, but that process seems to ensure that they are tame and that they don't bite.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

So much more systematic than what I do; does it work? I try to handle my babies every few days when they are pinkie/fuzzies and after that it's kind of catch-as-catch-can.


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## Anne (Mar 21, 2011)

I handle my mice when they are small too, but when they get into the jumping age I find some of them impossible to handle, even though they are used to me. Then after 4-5 weeks of age they kind of just calms down and then I have no problem in picking them up and handeling them at all. It is different from litter to litter, some are very calm all the way and some get into that crazy suicidal jumping stage.
I dont know if handeling them really does a lot, as I have experienced that even the ones I handle very little grows up to be handable, and none of my mice bites.

I think that if what you do works, then fine with me


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I rarely handle tiny babies at all beyond sorting for culling,never for taming purposes.I don't agree with disturbing mothers and very young offspring although I realise that I'm in a minority.I only really start handling at 3/4 weeks and then it's mainly when cleaning.They all become tame.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Interesting. I've always handled from day one, I would have thought they wouldn't tame without it.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Kage Davies said:


> Interesting. I've always handled from day one, I would have thought they wouldn't tame without it.


no mother is happy about newborns being handled,not even dogs with whom you have a strong bond.I wouldn't put the stress or potential germs on them and the idea that they wouldn't become tame is ridiculous.Humans have to be in on everything,no peace for mothers at the most intimate time with their youngsters.Still I guess we all have different concepts but I'm never going to be in the handle from day one camp.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

This I will bear in mind. I'll try with the next couple just going in to cull etc, definitely. The does never seem to fuss too much, they're normally busy stuffing themselves :lol:.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Idk how I feel about the whole "no germ" exposure thing. Without it, people and animals never build up a good immune system to anything, so the little things knock them out dead. I grew up on a farm, where I was exposed daily to cow poop, barn cats, wild things, etc... Never got a flue shot, and I rarely ever get sick with anything. It always seemed a little paranoid to me with everybody promoting hand sanitizer and now there is super germs. Don't get me started on super germs! Its one of my special rants. :lol:


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Lol! I use hand sanitizer because I pick up crap off of the floor when I wheel the wheelchair :?. And if I don't use it with the mice they make me sick .


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. Is it something about them/their poop, or do you just get sick easily? Staying on topic, (I get distracted soooo easily!) I haven't developed any taming system for young yet, I've only had one litter. After that I handled daily til about week four, but then I started getting favorites, so I've got a few super tame friendly mice, and a couple who like to hide in their house. Mental note for next time for me...


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## hlforumhl (Oct 2, 2011)

I think it's worth putting the mother through a bit of stress to help reduce the stress levels of babies in the long run when they grow to adults.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Its my ridiculous immune system I think. It just makes me a bit funny tummy wise.


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## mousery_girl (Nov 13, 2011)

i washed my hands at first with the babies, only handled from 4 days up. They're 18 days today so now I just wake them all up and let them climb about the cage and my hands. I do this with the adults aswell, i never pick them up unless they walked onto my hand by themselves.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

I got several adults from petco, and that's what I ended up having to do. Let them make the choice to climb up. They're what I would say is mainly tame, they still scatter if they realize I want a particular mouse, but they're not so frantic as they were when I first got them. Otherwise what I do is trick them into cardboard tubes, its less scary for them I think.


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## GibblyGiblets (Oct 2, 2011)

I always handled my babies either from several hours old or the first day, only had a hamdful of momma's who cared, those that did, only had one who ate her babies, the rest were content with giving me a nip to show their unhappiness.

and then...there was devil :shock:

I made the "mistake" of rescuing two pregnant feeder bin mice, a longhaired black self I named "Blacky" sweet as pie, right from the start, and another, a shorthaired satin argentine I couldn't come up with a name for.

Blacky had her babies first, 7 of them, when they were 2 days old, the untamed female had hers 7 also.

the very next morning I found ALL of Blackies babies dead, as well as Blacky herself.

"Devil" was an awesome mother, who made a point to fling herself out of the tank, hover on the rim, then HURL herself at me, grip my shirt in her teeth, and tug and pull like her little life depended on it O-o

I had a SCAR on my hand from that mouse, it has since faded, but it stayed for over a year to remind me of my lovely little spastic Devil


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

I don't avoid handling them, it's impossible not to when you have to cull, but I don't play with them. Just pull them out to check on them and pick keeps and culls then toss them back in with momma. I've got mice from breeders who do play with them and handle the babies daily and all that, and honestly I don't see a difference in them and my mice who are never played with. They're docile because it's genetic, they are used to handling but don't seek it out, and I like it that way.


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