# Smell of rats?



## kellyt (Nov 23, 2011)

Read somewhere that the smell of rats nearby to mice can sometimes make the females kill and eat their babies? Any truth behind this?


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## peztree3 (Dec 20, 2011)

I have never heard of that  I don't think it would be true, but who knows?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I kept mice and rats in the same shed with no problems.I also notice that wild mice and rats live in very close proximity to each other.


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## kellyt (Nov 23, 2011)

Just goes to show that some info you find is not always reliable.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

This may be true of wild mice and wild rats, given that rats are known to commit muricide on a regular basis. With the domestics of both species, however, this is definitely not an issue. Many, many mousers keep both in the same room with no problems.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

That doesn't mean you should ever let rats near mice, though. My rats would have a mouse for lunch.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

My rats and mice are in the same room with cages very near one another and both species litter in the same room with no issues  But yes, never let them actually interact and there are people that have had major heartache when rats escaped and got into mouse cages (shouldn't normally be an issue with well fed animals)... I've personally never had that issue (even when I've had rats escape)...but it can happen. Rats WILL kill/eat mice...they are natural "enemies." They certainly can be kept/bred in the same room without issue though.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

If a rat can get to a mouse, the mouse will die, no matter how well fed the rat is. My rats eat well and they nearly took the life of my bird when she landed on the rat cage.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

> If a rat can get to a mouse, the mouse will die, no matter how well fed the rat is.


The comment in my quote wasn't meant to imply a well fed rat wouldn't kill a mouse...it was more a well fed rat is less likely to try to get into a secure mouse cage specifically to kill a mouse then a hungry rat.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

My elderly ratman John lives in the mouse room, they aren't bothered in the slightest. When I bred rats I kept my pet mice in the rat room and, again, they weren't bothered.

I did have a mouse escape and climb into my stud bucks' cage and well, let's just say there wasn't very much mouse left :? The rats had plenty of food in their bowls, but certainly didn't refuse the temptation of fresh prey. Just make sure your cages are escape-proof


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

I have 5 male rats in a cage next to the mice's set up. When my boyfriend was over a week or so ago, I came back from the bathroom to find him giving "introductions" between his three female mice, and one of my male rats. It never crossed my mind to warn him. :? But nothing happened, the rat sniffed the mouse, and then proceed to hop out of her tank. I obviously don't recommended doing this, but thought I'd chip in my 2 cents since that's where this conversation has kinda headed.

On the original topic, I've had 4 litters of mice and 2 litters of ASFs who have all done fine, no-one got eaten by their moms. Two of those groups were from first time litters, too.


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