# behavioral gender determination?



## mouser (Dec 24, 2010)

I'm having trouble sexing my mice. I know for sure that some are does but there are two I'm not so sure of. I see the two running nose anogenital region-sniffing tails as it were, and have even seen one mount the other. There's some squeaking every night and the same two are seen tail-sniffing each other and running and jumping around night after night . I have taken them out and examined them for wounds and see none on them . So do Does housed together without a male mount each other and chase an sniff each other or do I have a couple of bucks in the house? One of them is longhair- not sure if they are any harder to sex. Certainly aren't any easier \%


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Sometimes they do mount and sniff each other as a form of dominance or play.

Do they have nipples? If they have nipples, they're female. Does one of them smell musty? If so, that one's male.

Cait's website has some excellent guides to sexing mice of different ages:

http://fancymice.info/sexing.htm
http://fancymice.info/sexingcait.htm

Hope this helps!


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## mouser (Dec 24, 2010)

Ah nipples that should be easy! I never thought I'd have trouble with this but then I've been working with rats for so long everything looks small and ambiguous.


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## mouser (Dec 24, 2010)

Thanks for the links.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

You're very welcome! 

Did you figure out their sex?


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