# New mouse owner, hello!



## Invader Len (Nov 14, 2013)

Hello! I am Len, and I am a first-time mouse owner! I got my mice quite by accident, they were meant to be food for my baby corn snake, but ended up being too big to be safely eaten. My younger sister insisted on keeping them, but as she really isn't up to keeping high-maintenance pets, they are mine in all but name. I have two male former-feeder mice, taiga coated, with an age difference of a month between them. I'm honestly very new to taking care of small mammals, as the only high-maintenance pets I've had before have been lizards, snakes, and birds. So, as a cold-blooded mouse killer/owner, I am here to learn what I can to better take care of my new mice. I've had them since October, and they're big, happy, and fat, so clearly I'm doing something right. I hope to learn a lot about mice here!


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Welcome to the forum!

If "tiaga" coated means stripy, you probably have a pair of brindles. It's a variety that's very prone to obesity!

Assuming that they are being housed together, you need to be aware that male mice are territorial, and it's very real possibility they will turn on each other kill/maime. Don't introduce any new males to their group, whatever you do!


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## Invader Len (Nov 14, 2013)

Thank you for welcoming me!

Ah, no they aren't stripy at all! They are both brown mice, I thought that Taiga coated meant brown. I'm still very new to mouse terms. A week ago I didn't know that they were called bucks and does!

Yes, they are housed together, and that's why I joined this forum. I have unique dilemma, or rather, situation. I got the first mouse perhaps a month ago, at two weeks old. A week later, I got the second one, which couldn't have been more than five days. Hiss eyes were still sealed, it wasn't weaned, and had a very thin coat. I housed them together, because I thought that the older mouse was a female, and would adopt the younger, even though "she" wasn't nursing. The older mouse did, and took very much to the younger, my sister named them Mya and Mew, Mew being the baby because he squeaked a lot, and Mya after an old cat. I hand-fed the mouse milk in droplets, as I did not have the proper equipment, nor funds to obtain it. It was only later that we realized, long after the mice had bonded, that they were both male. Mew is now almost a full adult, and Mya is healthy, though has been putting on weight. I was worried in case they started fighting, and I looked up on whether they were territorial. I know now that they are, but my mice aren't exhibiting any sort of territorial behavior, or if they are, I'm not picking up on it. They nest together, play together, building tunnels and rolling in paper towels, groom each other, etc... I read that there is a position where the submissive mouse stands on their hind legs and lets themselves be sniffed by the dominant mouse, but my mice have not exhibited this behavior at all. They don't bite or chase each other, and if anything, Mew seems to be dominant, despite being half the size of Mya, constantly climbing on the older, healthier mouse. Is the lack of territorial display normal? Could the reason for the two's closeness stem from Mya "adopting" Mew? I'm only curious, the mice don't seem to need being separated, as they, by my observation, seem to love each other very much.]]

I also don't plan on introducing any more mice to them, two mice are enough for me. Any more and my cats might become even more agitated. They keep trying to sneak into the room where the mice are housed and stare at them through the glass. The mice don't seem to care, but I still don't want them stressed, I read that shrews can die of stress, and I assume it is similar with mice.


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## andypandy29us (Aug 10, 2012)

hello and welcome


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