# Potty Training?



## Kitsune_Gem

So my two females are doing something that I have only seen one of my other females do, they did not learn this behavior from her, as she died about 6 months before these two where born.

They are currently both nursing one litter, and have seem to have taken up the habit of peeing in one area of the cage. Granted its nice for a quick clean up, but Ive never seen any of my other mice do this besides one. Now these two only do it while they are on a litter. Right before they had their little ones, they went where ever, but a few days before hand they start to pee in one area, my other mom who passed away did the same thing, it clues me in on how soon Ill have little buds.

Has anyone else seen this in their mice?
They seem to poo in the same area too.


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## Daphne

I know my hamster breeder friend always litter trains her hamsters, but my girlfriend's mice pee and poop all over the place!


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## Kitsune_Gem

My Girls only do this from a few days before they are due, to the week that the babies are weened, after that its a free for all again.


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## Pamplemousse

Our 3 does have a toilet (little plastic house type thing) and use it. They don't pee anywhere else (except on their wheel...guess the excitement is too much!) They poo wherever.

Many of the does I've had in the past (used to breed) also used a "toilet" area if it was provided. I've found it doesn't happen until they reach maturity. I don't think it's that rare, and makes cleaning pretty easy.

I've never seen this behaviour in bucks, who in my experience pee and dribble everywhere they can. Lovely.


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## We Love Mouse

All of my does and a group of 3 bucks always pee in one corner of the cage and nowhere else. This makes the spot clean so much easier to me. They poop all over the cage though :roll:


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## MojoMouse

Mice, particuarly females, instinctively prefer to pee in a corner away from their food and sleeping quarters. They poop a lot in the corner, but are not as careful with this and can poop around the place generally, especially under wheels. It's the pee that's handy to be able to spot clean though.

Females with babies are especially fastidious, but non pregnant females in a colony will also use a toilet corner with as bit of encouragement by way of enclosure arrangement.

You can encourage this by:

- Always arranging their enclosures in the same way - ie a hide and some bedding at one end, food close by at this end, wheel if you give them one somewhere in the middle. This leaves the them a choice of toilet corners at the other end.

- When you clean out the container and change the substrate, put a tiny bit of peed substrate in one of the far corners. When they run around and explore, they'll smell this and instinctively go back there to pee.

- Stick to the arrangement and same pee corner after every clean. If they don't immediately, soon they will start using the toilet corner regularly.

Males are different, though. They'll pee in a corner, but you probably won't notice because they scent mark everywhere. That's boys for you.


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