Question about Mice and How tame are they??

Thu Jan 22, 2004 7:45 am

Are most mice as tame as Rats??

When I was a child I caught a baby deer mouse in a meadow and named her Squeaky. She lived to be a ripe age of 4 years old. Squeaky was as tame as any of my rats today, she used to sit on my shoulder and whenever she got out of the cage all I had to do was sit on the floor and she would wander out and huddle up next to me. Are most Mice like this??or was my experience a fluke??

_________________
Matt & the Rats~~Rikku, Ayla, Miki, Yuffie, Teta, & Calamity!

Always~~ Luci & Elly Bear

Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:26 am

It depends on the mouse. My deer mouse wants to bite me, but if I let her chew on my fingernail for a moment, she gives up and goes back to what she was doing. I can't imagine letting her out of the cage, not unless/until she ever begins to like me. One of my pet shop girls is terrified of me, but bosses around the deer mouse and other pet shop girl. And the other pet shop girl is pretty laid-back and even let me touch her today.

So I think your experience was a fluke, but the younger you get the mice, the easier it will be to tame them.

_________________
Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Thu Jan 22, 2004 7:52 pm

My wild mouse is, well, wild. The two domestics from my sister are skittish in their cage and will run from "the Hand", but are fine once out of their cage. Lefty, who I've only had a week today, is younger, guesing 5 weeks, and is pretty friendly. I spend more time with her since she is by herself and she will sit in my hand and eat a treat or groom herself. I think the age and time spent socializing determine their tameness, though, judging from the rat board, I'd guess the mice are never quite up to the same status. The shy mice are sort of like a fish tank, lots of fun to watch, but not real interactive.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 9:16 pm

I have 12 mice in all. They all let me pick them up and hold them. Some are more skittish then others. Once they are in my hands they calm down. I have 2 girls though who will sit on your shoulder or in a shirt pocket. You can walk around with them and they don't mind. I think it just depends on the mouse.

Maddie

Thu Jan 22, 2004 9:39 pm

My wild mouse Charlie is...a wild mouse. He will come out to see me but he won't allow himself to be handled. The closest I get is that he will occasionally take a treat from my fingers and he will let me get my hand within a few millimetres of him, but there is no way that he would let me pick him up. In fairness though, he isn't a domesticated mouse, and I think of it in the same way as wade - fun to watch, but not interactive.

_________________
Linda and the RMDs

Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. We remain responsible forever, for what we have tamed.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.