# Aggressive/ skittish



## Meese (Apr 20, 2012)

New chocolate mouse. Ive had her for two months.

Skittish, jumpy and non-interactive with nanny or male, like I've normally seen. Constantly jumping in the cage over and over, obsessively. she just birthed a litter of 21. 
Understandable that she would cull a few on her own but she left them all for two days, nanny did all the feeding, care, nest making. 
On day three I watched her aggressively kill 5 in a row. Out of the blue. Stress I assume I just can't figure out what. I'm keeping her solitary for a while but I'm thinking about culling her. Is there anything I can to to help her???


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

I have heard that some mice just have a strange mentality. I had a mouse that since it was a baby it would attack any other mouse other than its mothers (there were three who birthed together) and if you put ANYTHING near the cage, another mouse, a finger, a lock of hair she will go crazy trying to bite it. She is a complete nutter. She probably could have it tamed out of her but the girl who owns her now (it was her mice who were pregnant but I offered to raise them to weaning) is too lazy to bother =/ Really annoys me because she will only get worse. She bit the dogs nose when he came over to sniff her!


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## Fraction (Aug 29, 2011)

Mice generally tend to exhibit "aggressive" behaviour as a fearful reaction. Is there anything she could be reacting to in the environment? Any smells that she might pick up, or any loud sounds close to the cage, etc?


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## Meese (Apr 20, 2012)

I had her in my room. Figured she was afraid of sounds, fan, anything. So she went outside in the shed where it's cozy and quiet that didn't help or get worse but that's where she killed her bubs


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## Fraction (Aug 29, 2011)

Did she kill all of the babies, or just five of them in total? Another thing to consider is that, perhaps, since it was a pretty huge litter, she might have been killing the weaker babies to better provide for the others. Is she a first time mother?


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## Meese (Apr 20, 2012)

1st time mother. I have another doe that nannied them and I was watching when she ate them. I figured the same thing, that it was just the weak ones but she just kept going after I opened and got in the cage he had killed 5


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## lillyin224 (Jan 28, 2012)

Sounds like a genetic defect =(


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## Meese (Apr 20, 2012)

That's what I figured :/ culling, hope her bubs are mentally alright


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## lillyin224 (Jan 28, 2012)

I hope so too, good luck =)


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