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Help Please

1643 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  kerryann, 
M
So, all of my male mice are very friendly and have never shown aggression towards each other, today after I cleaned their tank (a 30''x20''x15'') they started fighting. One went after the other and repeatedly chased it around the tank, he even drew blood. Then he went after another, mind you this all happened in a matter of seconds. He bit both on the back, they aren't bleeding a lot, but enough that a small section of their fur is red. I IMMEADIATELY removed the angry male from the tank, and now am wondering how I should treat the two wounded ones? Do they need to be taken to the vet?
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J
Male mice will generally fight. Do not put them together again, or you may have a few dead boys. :?
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M
Well, the breeder I got them from told me they all had been together since birth and never had shown aggression towards eachother :/
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J
How old are they?
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SarahY
Male mice can suddenly turn on each other unfortunately, even brothers who have known each other since birth. Your wounded boys should be fine healing on their own, it doesn't sound that serious :)

Sarah xxx
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J
Males (with only a couple exceptions) must live alone. The reason he bit them on the back is because this is how they show dominance. Next they aim for the butt/genitals and at this point they will kill each other by ripping deep holes into each other (on another forum I saw one male whose testicles had been literally pulled out). You're good to remove them and house them separately at this point.
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M
mice id each other by scent, sometimes in labs established colonies fight after the cage is cleaned because all the scent is gone and they need to re-establish who's who. i've heard that if substrate/bedding is changed but if possible the cage is only washed every other cleaning the fighting can be eased somewhat.
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J
This is true, but from the sound of it what's happening here is that (re-establishing who's who) as well as males simply maturing as they grow up. I suspect they'd fight anyway eventually. The cleaning of the cage just helped the process along.
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M
ps. warm salty water is best for small injuries, just a little with a cotton swab
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M
Thank you guys for all the helpful info! I now have all my males in separate temporary cages - gonna have to go to the store to buy better ones tonight and I used a Q-tip to put the salty water on :)
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G
What can I use on my thumb I just got bit by one of My Fawn satin mums she came at me like a guard dog lol all I did was top up her food tray she has young of course my fault. :D
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K
that happened to me :lol: i rinsed it in warm water, rubbed in some savlon then a plaster. mabe a bit over the top :oops: :D
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