# constant, agressive, female trio humping



## raisin (Sep 22, 2014)

Spooky, ******, Tamsen are living in a 20 gal long (been there for a couple months) with plenty of thing to do/toys. there's usually 2 wheels and plenty of houses. *At this point all three of them hump the other two, though Spooky is dominant and makes the others squeak and run *(she chases them and humps them some more).* Spooky humps ****** pretty much every night.* I worry if I should remove ******.

The social system seems sort of complicated with my mice. whether they get along at any given time is sort of unpredictable (other that the fact that they attack Sandy*, who was my original with ******). I sometimes separate one who is particularly mean, but then the other two hump aggressively and I put her back a few days later to even out who get the worst of it. And whoever I put by herself just sulks.

*Are my mice just not compatible? Has anyone else experience such a strong display of female humping?* It happens almost every night. *What can I do to calm down their social system? *Spooky is a candidate for breeding as she is good with humans and has good body type. *will her having pups help her calm down at all?* (she would go to a new location until babies are weaned.)
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*Sandy lives alone, is better for it.


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

Humping is dominance, and I would not use Spooky for breeding at all. In fact I'd remove her, because from what I understand she's the source of the problem. Sandy might even be able to live with the other two with Spooky gone.


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## andypandy29us (Aug 10, 2012)

as long as there is no blood shed I wouldnt worry about them being in together ... the bossy dominant one might benefit from a week in solitary confinement then put back with the others after they have been in the cage and they have their smell in there and hers isnt ... this should lower her down the pecking order.... this worked for an agressive doe I had from the pet shop ..... and as above I wouldnt use her fro breeding as she will pass this trait along


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I disagree with andypandy; being the target of dominance behavior can stress out a mousie and make it more susceptible to illness. there may be other behaviors that you have not noted like a mousie taking away food from a submissive mousie, interfering with access to the water bottle, and keeping the sub mousie from joining in group nesting.

Don't breed that aggressive mousie, and I would take it out of the tank with the others.


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## raisin (Sep 22, 2014)

I've found a combination that works for them now. Sandy an ******, with another doe in the 20 gallon. Tamsen and Spooky seem to be in good order together.

I may have made a mistake in putting the latter 2 with my others at all as they came different places initially. I will not do that again.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

When switching populations in my mousery, I always used smell to ease things over. The easiest way is to switch the groups into each others' tanks ;with the used bedding. That way they will acquire each others' smells.


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## raisin (Sep 22, 2014)

well the thing with slow introductions is I did. they were fine for a a long time but then all that started suddenly and didn't stop. I may try to put them together at some point and i'll go even slower.


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## raisin (Sep 22, 2014)

so now the new doe is also humping ******, though not bad or roughly enough to cause squeaking and not often. Mim (new) has never met Tamsen or Spooky, so didn't learn this from them. She leaves Sandy alone. I can only think that ****** is somehow causing it, despite her being a victim. Maybe she emits some sort of pheromone that drives the other does wild. If it gets to be a problem for ******, i'll take Mim out.


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