# My Buck Is a Pain!



## tillyandapril

I have an accidental buck named Ollie. He was miss-sexed at the pet store and so he lived with my girls for a portion of his childhood until I realized he was a buck. He was then separated immediately, and since then he has always been unhappy. He does nothing but gnaw at the bars of his cage all day, but whenever I let him out for supervised playtime with the does, he harasses them and tries to mate with them and it just pisses them off so I have to either put him away or continually swat him away from the others. Is there anything I can do to lessen this behavior? I don't like that he's lonely, but he screws up any chances he has at socialization by harassing everyone.


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## moustress

Probably not; once a buck has had a chance to mate they beome less tractable and less fun to play with. Why put him with the does if you don't want him to mate?


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## tillyandapril

When he was little he lived with the does (accidentally) and has never lived alone until I had to suddenly separate him. I don't let him in a cage with the does, I let him out with everyone else during free time which usually occurs on a table. I want him to have interaction with the others because he clearly isn't happy alone all the time.


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## Agoutigoo

you have two options really. 1. neuter him so he can live with the does constantly, but wont be able to breed with them, or 2. see if you can find some multimammate mice (ideally female) for company. Option 2 doesn't always work successfully and of course you always have a small risk of losing him with option 1.

otherwise he's best left of his own rather then having him desperate to mate with the females, and the females being constantly harassed.


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## FranticFur

I had the same situation. My lone buck lives with 2 ASF it works beautifully. Do you know where to find them? They are very inexpensive.


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## Miceandmore64

They don't get lonely much  wow alot of ppl online


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## FranticFur

^Yes miceandmore64. Its actually the most I've seen yet.


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## Miceandmore64

If anyone wants to PM me about anything then go ahead I will be on here for at least another 1/2 hour


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## tillyandapril

FranticFur said:


> I had the same situation. My lone buck lives with 2 ASF it works beautifully. Do you know where to find them? They are very inexpensive.


I don't know what an ASF is, could you explain?


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## Miceandmore64

American soft furred


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## OrangeTyrant

tillyandapril said:


> I don't know what an ASF is, could you explain?


It's an African Soft Furred rat


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## Miceandmore64

I meant African........lmao


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## PPVallhunds

It could be as you keep letting him out to 'play' with the does your making him more frustrated as he is being given the chance to breed but not getting to. As bucks don't go out looking for friends they go out looking for tail  
If he was mine I'd keep him compleatly seperate and just give him extra attention and things to do like scatter feeding.


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## FranticFur

An African soft fur or multimammate rats are rodents that are often housed with mice.









You can find them at stores that also sell snakes/reptiles because their main purpose is for picky eating snakes. Just ask if they have them in the back.


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## tillyandapril

Is that a variety of mouse? What makes them good for bucks? Where can I get one?


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## FranticFur

It's a different species of rodent. They are great for bucks because they smell like mice doe so your buck will accept them and because they are a different species they cannot reproduce. You can get them at places that sell reptiles/snakes 
With the exception of some states.
I would ask your local pet-shop if they have any or if they can direct you to who does.


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## tillyandapril

It just so happens that a local rat breeder is starting to sell mice, so maybe she will have some. There is also a reptile store that just opened up, I will contact them and see if anyone has them. So are African Soft Furs males that smell like females? Do they have the same dietary needs as mice?


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## tillyandapril

Or would I need to get a female ASF for my buck?


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## FranticFur

You'll need a female AFS 
Here is a care sheet http://storybookspocketpets.webs.com/so ... tsmice.htm


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## tillyandapril

Would one female be okay with my buck or should I get 2?


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## FranticFur

One is fine, infact I would start out with one anyways.
Good luck


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