# can mice play together



## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

im planning on getting a mouse for my birthday, i already have one adorable little mouse, she will be about 18 months old by the time i get the second mouse

i was just wondering if they would be able to play together, i want to make it clear they will NOT be living together


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

why do you have a female mouse living on her own? female mice are VERY social animals.
i would actually suggest you get another female mouse and have them live together, your current female will certainly be much happier then

however if they do not live together then they must stay apart


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

Lil Miss said:


> why do you have a female mouse living on her own? female mice are VERY social animals.
> i would actually suggest you get another female mouse and have them live together, your current female will certainly be much happier then
> 
> however if they do not live together then they must stay apart


she lives alone as she was the only one in the pet shop when we got her

so the new one i get could live with her?


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Yes I totally agree, your poor female mouse will be so bored and depressed on her own. Mice are highly sociable and like to live in small groups.
If your certain your other girl is female I'd go and get two young girls to add to your older girl so that when your older girl passes away the two young ones still have each other.


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

blade100 said:


> Yes I totally agree, your poor female mouse will be so bored and depressed on her own. Mice are highly sociable and like to live in small groups.
> If your certain your other girl is female I'd go and get two young girls to add to your older girl so that when your older girl passes away the two young ones still have each other.


yes she is definitely a girl

so it would be ok to add two to the cage? they wouldnt fight with her or anything would they? or hurt her?

would i need two/three of everything (wheels, water bottles, food dishes etc?)


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## xgemma86x (Feb 13, 2009)

Do as the others suggested hun and get 2 more female mice for Perry to play with  Just make sure they are all the same sex. Not that i'd ever encourage you to buy more furries


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## rattiedee (Jun 3, 2012)

blade100 said:


> Yes I totally agree, your poor female mouse will be so bored and depressed on her own. Mice are highly sociable and like to live in small groups.
> If your certain your other girl is female I'd go and get two young girls to add to your older girl so that when your older girl passes away the two young ones still have each other.


Totally agree, I used to have mice years ago, and they all lived in same sex colonies. They had a huge cage with loads of toys and things to chew and climb on and they loved it.


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## peter0 (Oct 4, 2011)

I have a group of 3 females. What to do is when you buy your new ones put them and your current girl into a neutrel cage with just bedding, water bottle and scatter some food. They will scuffle a little but aslong as there's no blood - no foul. As they start getting more used to eachother move them into your normal cage still with no toys and once you think they are okay add one toy at a time for them to play with (it may seem boring for them, but they will be happier in the long run). Females are easier to bond anyway. You wouldn't need 3 of everything. My 3 have 1 water bottle, 1 wheel etc and they're all happily sharing


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

xgemma86x said:


> Do as the others suggested hun and get 2 more female mice for Perry to play with  Just make sure they are all the same sex. Not that i'd ever encourage you to buy more furries


you just want pics dont you :lol:


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Introducing female mice is usually pretty easy, they rarely fight but there might be some squeaks and chasing, you have to watch out that they arent hurting each other but dont dive in too quickly as they have to sort out their hirachy. 

The most succesful method Ive found with my mice (Ive done a lot of mouse intros) is to take the existing mouse out of her home cage, put her somewhere neutral (for me thats a spare cage), then dab a tiny bit of vanilla extract on her, dab some on the new mice too, then pop them in the neutral cage, after youve watched them long enough to know they are getting along fine you can start descenting the home cage, you need to clean it thoroughly and make it so that it doesnt smell of the original mouse at all, make sure you have enough wheels, houses etc for each mouse so they dont fight and when you put the food in scatter it, rather than putting it in a bowl, then when youre sure its smell free you can add all the mice. 

Eventually (if you want) you can start feeding them in a bowl, once they have accepted each other as a group. Female mice should almost always be kept together as has already been said, so I would advise getting more than one baby so that you wont be in the same position when your older mouse is no longer around. As I said though most female mouse intros are no more stressful than a few squeaks.


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

peter0 said:


> I have a group of 3 females. What to do is when you buy your new ones put them and your current girl into a neutrel cage with just bedding, water bottle and scatter some food. They will scuffle a little but aslong as there's no blood - no foul. As they start getting more used to eachother move them into your normal cage still with no toys and once you think they are okay add one toy at a time for them to play with (it may seem boring for them, but they will be happier in the long run). Females are easier to bond anyway. You wouldn't need 3 of everything. My 3 have 1 water bottle, 1 wheel etc and they're all happily sharing


brilliant

thank you everyone

i knew mice could live together but i thought they would all have to be from the same litter! i didnt think i would be able to put any in with perry, if i had of known i would have got a couple ages ago! ::001_rolleyes: @ myself


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## rattiedee (Jun 3, 2012)

thedogsmother said:


> Introducing female mice is usually pretty easy, they rarely fight but there might be some squeaks and chasing, you have to watch out that they arent hurting each other but dont dive in too quickly as they have to sort out their hirachy.
> 
> The most succesful method Ive found with my mice (Ive done a lot of mouse intros) is to take the existing mouse out of her home cage, put her somewhere neutral (for me thats a spare cage), then dab a tiny bit of vanilla extract on her, dab some on the new mice too, then pop them in the neutral cage, after youve watched them long enough to know they are getting along fine you can start descenting the home cage, you need to clean it thoroughly and make it so that it doesnt smell of the original mouse at all, make sure you have enough wheels, houses etc for each mouse so they dont fight and when you put the food in scatter it, rather than putting it in a bowl, then when youre sure its smell free you can add all the mice.
> 
> Eventually (if you want) you can start feeding them in a bowl, once they have accepted each other as a group. Female mice should almost always be kept together as has already been said, so I would advise getting more than one baby so that you wont be in the same position when your older mouse is no longer around. As I said though most female mouse intros are no more stressful than a few squeaks.


Exactly what I used to do with my mice, and I never had blood shed hun. Good advice given from everyone here I hope you find your 2 new baby girls and they all get on really well together, cant wait to see some pictures :thumbup:


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## rattiedee (Jun 3, 2012)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> brilliant
> 
> thank you everyone
> 
> i knew mice could live together but i thought they would all have to be from the same litter! i didnt think i would be able to put any in with perry, if i had of known i would have got a couple ages ago! ::001_rolleyes: @ myself


Dont beat yourself up hun, you know now and will find Perry some friends to live with, we all have to learn


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## xgemma86x (Feb 13, 2009)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> you just want pics dont you :lol:


What made you think that?


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

rattiedee said:


> Exactly what I used to do with my mice, and I never had blood shed hun. Good advice given from everyone here I hope you find your 2 new baby girls and they all get on really well together, cant wait to see some pictures :thumbup:


im looking forward to taking the pics!  and getting them and naming them and letting them live together and playing with them :lol:

im so excited! ::lol:

and yes you are right, some excellent advice here, thank you all so much


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

xgemma86x said:


> What made you think that?


i can read you like a book 

you are probably as excited as me, i know i get excited when you get a fluff :lol:


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## xgemma86x (Feb 13, 2009)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> i can read you like a book
> 
> you are probably as excited as me, i know i get excited when you get a fluff :lol:


I bet you do :lol: Better not get anymore then lol!


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## Crittery (May 2, 2011)

Can't really add to the advice already given 

Just hope your enjoy your new girls and that the intro goes smoothly. It is so lovely when you see a previously lonely mouse getting groomed, looking forward to photos!


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

Crittery said:


> Can't really add to the advice already given
> 
> Just hope your enjoy your new girls and that the intro goes smoothly. It is so lovely when you see a previously lonely mouse getting groomed, looking forward to photos!


OMG they groom each other?? :eek6: am i going to be on a cute overload when i get them? lol

what other cute things do they do?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> OMG they groom each other?? :eek6: am i going to be on a cute overload when i get them? lol
> 
> what other cute things do they do?


Its really cute when the healthy/young ones look after the older/ill ones, mine used to bring Freckles (my old blind girl) the tastiest food.


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

thedogsmother said:


> Its really cute when the healthy/young ones look after the older/ill ones, mine used to bring Freckles (my old blind girl) the tastiest food.


oh that is just the sweetest thing!


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

hi, ive got another question if you dont mind

just say i go to the pet shop for 2 mice and theres 3 in the cage, would all 3 be able to live with perry?


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> hi, ive got another question if you dont mind
> 
> just say i go to the pet shop for 2 mice and theres 3 in the cage, would all 3 be able to live with perry?


As long as your cage is big enough then yes. My largest group of mice at one point was 12, and they all lived together happily. Just make sure that you introduce in a neutral space and don't push them - take your time and add toys over a few weeks so that they don't get territorial over them  But that's already been covered, so I'm sure that you will manage fine


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

zany_toon said:


> As long as your cage is big enough then yes. My largest group of mice at one point was 12, and they all lived together happily. Just make sure that you introduce in a neutral space and don't push them - take your time and add toys over a few weeks so that they don't get territorial over them  But that's already been covered, so I'm sure that you will manage fine


brilliant, thank you :biggrin5:


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

another question if you dont mind (sorry lol)

how long do i have to keep them in the neutral cage for?


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## rattiedee (Jun 3, 2012)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> OMG they groom each other?? :eek6: am i going to be on a cute overload when i get them? lol
> 
> what other cute things do they do?


Have you found any yet hun, I'm dying to see pictures


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

rattiedee said:


> Have you found any yet hun, I'm dying to see pictures


im hopefully going tomorrow


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

tinktinktinkerbell said:


> another question if you dont mind (sorry lol)
> 
> how long do i have to keep them in the neutral cage for?


It depends on the mice, females are usually fine together but I would keep them there as long as it takes for them to be getting along, or even ignoring each other, then things should be ok. The neutral cage is really just so they can meet without feeling the need to defend what they consider their territory. Personally I only need to use the neutral one for an hour or so, my girls are very welcoming though.


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

thedogsmother said:


> It depends on the mice, females are usually fine together but I would keep them there as long as it takes for them to be getting along, or even ignoring each other, then things should be ok. The neutral cage is really just so they can meet without feeling the need to defend what they consider their territory. Personally I only need to use the neutral one for an hour or so, my girls are very welcoming though.


what i'll do is i will put them in there then as suggested earlier will de scent the main cage while they are in there

another question (really am sorry but do want to be prepared)

perry currently has a wheel, will i take this away when i put them all in the main cage?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

No problem, everyone on here would much rather you asked and it goes as smoothly as possible, I would remove the wheel until they are really settled as a group, then I would pop another couple of wheels in, wheels are high value items and fights can happen when two mice want to use the wheel at the same time and there arent enough wheels.


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## Crittery (May 2, 2011)

I agree with TDM. You could also try a flying saucer wheel instead, you can get loads on their at once so less chance of fighting 

Hope it goes well tomorrow!


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## peter0 (Oct 4, 2011)

I second the flying saucer wheel. I have 3 girls who love going on it together and it's funny when one jumps off and the other is left spinning around


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

just a little update

i got two girls in june, put them with perry (in a different cage) she LOVES them!!

lilly and milly are the new girls, milly is all white and the runt of the litter (she is TEENY!) she loves to clean perry and lilly

lilly is a little bigger, shes white too with dark grey on her head and her back end and i could be wrong but i think shes long furred 

all three love each other

oh and to the people who said the flying saucer wheels, they are AMAZING!! we got the smallest one from the pet shop where we bought the girls, they loved it so much we went straight onto amazon and bought both of the other sizes lol


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Excellent news, I love happy endings :thumbup:


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## peter0 (Oct 4, 2011)

That's brilliant, glad she's enjoying her new sisters and they're all getting on so well

And yes the flying saucers are good wheels!


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## Laura123 (Aug 6, 2012)

Awww I love a happy ending!!!
:confused1:
:scared:

Where are the photo's???
Laura


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

lilly






















































milly



























perry




































milly and perry


















all three of them


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Awwwww what lovely pics, they are beautiful meeces :001_wub:


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