# had to separate mice



## ittybitty (Feb 5, 2017)

We have 2 female mice. We do not intend to breed them, just keep them as pets. One has been bullying the other. It has gotten so bad I had to separate them last night. The kind one has always been people-friendly. The bully learned to accept people giving her treats, but is more skittish.

So now I have 2 cages, each with one female. The one is bloodied pretty badly and scared. She runs to me and climbs on me to get away from her cage. I left her in the big cage and put the bully in my 10 gallon tank.

I don't know what to do at this point. I got them as adults and have no idea how old they are. I'm sure they are both lonely.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.


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## Psy (Nov 19, 2016)

Just like in the human world, some are just a-holes. Some will simply resist and even fight back at any attempt at integration. I have one right now that I just cant figure out what to do with, she gives extremely aggressive displays to adults her size and larger, abuses any close to her size to slightly smaller, and outright tries to kill below that. She of course also as a result wont breed, but is perfectly content playing on your hand once picked up but will avoid you until shes up (sound familiar?) I doubt its anything you are doing incorrectly, she may also be ill, I have heard, of a few becoming aggressive simply because they are sick and miserable.

Are these ladies part of the same litter or are you introducing them without prior contact?

Also, was one a resident of the cage prior to the second?


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## Lilly (Nov 21, 2015)

You could consider getting a friend or maybe two for the more passive mouse. It is possible that the dominant one would get on with a small group so she cannot put too much attention on any one mouse but that would be more risky and may not work out.

A couple of questions though and sorry to ask the first

1) Are you sure they're both females? Sorry I know this sounds silly but that is typical buck behaviour

2) Can you return the dominant one? Honestly it sounds too risky to keep her with your other one and on her own combined with being skittish anyway doesn't seem like a happy mouse or good pet


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## FlufferNutter (May 6, 2016)

Despite everything I've read to the contrary, I've always had issues with female mice being introduced as adults. If I introduce them younger than three months, they'll be besties for the rest of their lives. Older than that: it's thunderdome. If yours are not fully grown, you could try to scrub out the cage and reintroduce them one her wounds have healed, but I wouldn't. I would get a juvenile mouse for your nice one and lose the meanie. Once a mouse has really hurt another I always lose them, but I breed, so I don't want that in gene pool. But I just wouldn't look at a mouse the same way after something like that.


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## ittybitty (Feb 5, 2017)

Thanks. We got them together from the same place and they had been together for several months. There were some squabbles, but lately the one has just turned very mean. I wonder if there's something wrong with her. She seemed to be guarding all the food even though there is plenty. The other mouse was getting thin and she was getting fat. She is definitely a she. I did decide to return her rather than try to re-introduce her.

We tried to spend a lot of time with the lonely female. She is very friendly and came to us eagerly. But I felt sorry for her being alone.

Just last night I brought home a new female mouse (looked like an adolescent, half grown) and introduced them in neutral territory, an unused 10 gallon tank. 2 huts, 2 water bottles, lots of bedding, scattered food, so much they probably thought it was mouse heaven.

I put the tank in the middle of the kitchen table to keep an eye on them. We put them down into the tank together at exactly the same moment. It was the most uneventful introduction ever.

First they ignored each other and examined they tank. Then the adult sniffed at the front of the juvenile, who reacted a little scared, and then the adult ignored her. Then the juvenile sniffed at the back of the adult and then ignored her. After awhile, the adult made a nest in one of the huts and went in. The juvenile sat alone in the middle of the cage trembling. Next time I looked, they were both in the hut buried under the shredded tissue together. Heard a little shuffling around, but that's it. Went to bed. This morning, they are in the same hut again. I assume that's a good sign.

So this is going pretty well. I'm glad because Daisy has always been sweet toward people and I like her a lot and want to keep her, but not alone. That would be too sad. Daisy is white and the new one is blackish so we named her Pepper.


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## micy400 (Feb 23, 2017)

Its good that Daisy finally got a friend.


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## Psy (Nov 19, 2016)

Sounds like you nailed it! good work. Honestly I would have tried a bit longer with mouse 1 but i am a glutton for punishment lol.

Just 1 thought, more for advice for people looking at this later on. This may be just me but none the less:

I would have introduced the new pair not just on even footing, but in a basicly empty tank. the doubles of everything is fine, but even better is nothing to fight over in the first place. neutral unused or carefully cleaned toys and such can be introduced over the course of several hours to promote healthy sharing.


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