my new mice :)

[sarah]

Hi, 

I just joined up My name is Sarah and today I just bought my first 3 mice!

They all came from a friend whose partner breeds them


They don't have names yet so feel free to suggest names- they are all girls

Also could anyone tell me what their colours/markings are called?


girl number 1:








girl number 2:








and lastly girl number 3:









The first girl is quite calm when she is picked up, the second one is not bad either & the third is a little more afraid/skittish..

how do I go about getting them comfortable with me?

I also have 2 rats and they are just so much more trusting, I know it will take time but are mice happy to come to you for treats/handling?

any tips on getting them comfortable would be great

[andy]

Hi Sarah and welcome!

Girl number 1 looks like a chocolate marked
Girl number 2 looks like a black marked
And lastly girl number 3 looks like a black self

As for getting the mice to be more trusting maybe start by putting your hand inside the cage and letting them come to you and have a sniff check you out etc. Then work your way up to holding some food in your hand and letting them take a nibble. Maybe try some different food like some fruit or a bit of biscuit to tempt them a little bit more. If you keep this up your mice should learn to trust you it may take time but will be worth it.

[greydawnbreaking]

Gorgeous mice! So very cute. I think Andy's right, although I thought that first one looked more like an agouti broken. But if they're all littermates it makes more sense for her to be chocolate. Lovely faces, too, with their cute markings!

When it comes to taming mice, I've had the best luck putting on a movie, then sitting with the tub in my lap and leaving my hand just dangling on the floor of the cage. If a mouse comes close, I might move a finger slightly to nudge it, but otherwise wait for them to come to you. Trust me, mice are smart and inquisitive, it won't take long for them to be too curious to resist investigating, even if it's very timidly at first.

It'll probably take a few weeks at least for them to really adjust, but if you're patient and consistent and make sure that all your interactions with them are neutral (nothing bad happens) or positive (something good happens) then eventually they'll be all over you. You can offer a special treat like peanut butter that they only get if they come to your hand, or just make your hand into a sort of "tree" that they can use as a playground and climb on.

I've also had a lot of luck in offering a number of different hidey holes. In my experience, mice that have a bolthole within a few inches at all times bizarrely seem to be more willing to leave their nests and come out to explore. I think they feel more secure about exploring new things if they don't have to run all the way back to just one nest site to hide. But you can also offer them enrichment objects like sticks, ladders, hammocks, climbing ropes etc that encourage them to spend more time out in the open rather than hiding. The more time they spend out in the open with nothing going wrong, the more relaxed they'll feel and they'll be more likely to stay out and play when you try to interact with them.

Since you have rats, I'd suggest making sure the mice aren't kept near the rats and (at least at first) your hands and clothes don't smell too "ratty" when you handle them. Rats will prey on mice, so mice are quite nervous of that smell. I'm sure yours will adjust in time, but there's no sense in adding to their anxiety while you're taming them.

[mousekateers]

Welcome Sarah, your mice are chocolate broken marked, black broken marked and black marked (I did spy a small white patch on her back).

Very glad that Janette mentioned your rats. You will make your mice very skittish if you handle them after the rats. I would suggest that you handle your mice first, then the rats. AND, house your mice well away from your rats.

[sarah]

Nov 4, 2013 22:52:21 GMT 10 mousekateers said:

Welcome Sarah, your mice are chocolate broken marked, black broken marked and black marked (I did spy a small white patch on her back).

Very glad that Janette mentioned your rats. You will make your mice very skittish if you handle them after the rats. I would suggest that you handle your mice first, then the rats. AND, house your mice well away from your rats.


thank you Yes my last girl does have a tiny white spot on her back so I guessed she was a black marked too!
I've named them in order of pics- Paige, Piper and phoebe (charmed sisters haha)

 

[sarah]

Nov 3, 2013 22:42:44 GMT 10 greydawnbreaking said:

Gorgeous mice! So very cute. I think Andy's right, although I thought that first one looked more like an agouti broken. But if they're all littermates it makes more sense for her to be chocolate. Lovely faces, too, with their cute markings!

When it comes to taming mice, I've had the best luck putting on a movie, then sitting with the tub in my lap and leaving my hand just dangling on the floor of the cage. If a mouse comes close, I might move a finger slightly to nudge it, but otherwise wait for them to come to you. Trust me, mice are smart and inquisitive, it won't take long for them to be too curious to resist investigating, even if it's very timidly at first.

It'll probably take a few weeks at least for them to really adjust, but if you're patient and consistent and make sure that all your interactions with them are neutral (nothing bad happens) or positive (something good happens) then eventually they'll be all over you. You can offer a special treat like peanut butter that they only get if they come to your hand, or just make your hand into a sort of "tree" that they can use as a playground and climb on.

I've also had a lot of luck in offering a number of different hidey holes. In my experience, mice that have a bolthole within a few inches at all times bizarrely seem to be more willing to leave their nests and come out to explore. I think they feel more secure about exploring new things if they don't have to run all the way back to just one nest site to hide. But you can also offer them enrichment objects like sticks, ladders, hammocks, climbing ropes etc that encourage them to spend more time out in the open rather than hiding. The more time they spend out in the open with nothing going wrong, the more relaxed they'll feel and they'll be more likely to stay out and play when you try to interact with them.

Since you have rats, I'd suggest making sure the mice aren't kept near the rats and (at least at first) your hands and clothes don't smell too "ratty" when you handle them. Rats will prey on mice, so mice are quite nervous of that smell. I'm sure yours will adjust in time, but there's no sense in adding to their anxiety while you're taming them.



Thank you, Actually the first girl is not related to the other two. And for that matter I'm not actually sure any of them are related.. They came from the same breeder but from different litters!


Oh and I will make sure to not handle the rats and then handle the mice etc.. Wouldn't want to scare the poor babies! 

[MojoMouse]

I can't add to the excellent comments already made about the colours and taming them. I just wanted to say they're very beautiful mice!