Not a good day.

[Snuggles]

Yesterday when I got home from work, there was this weird smell in my house. I am ridiculously OCD about odor, and it was driving me insane because I couldn't figure out what it was at first.

Well, I have a 20L with four female pet mice. They have lived together for at least a year. I looked in and only saw three. I took one of the igloos and started moving the bedding around and didn't see any sign of the other one at all. Then, I saw a tail. Just a tail.

I am so freaked out right now! Darn mice!!! Jo, Tootie and Blair ate Natalie!!!

I know that rodents do that sometimes, but they had two kinds of food (pellets and the mixed kind with seeds) and I throw in a veggie dog biscuit every now and then for a treat.

Well, back to Arachnoboards to find some happy stories to get my mind off it, hopefully.

 

[DrJ]

Hence, why I feel no guilt when feeding a mouse/rodent to a snake.

(Always make sure to feed pre-killed or f/t, or your snake may be the one that's eaten!)

 

[Rochelle]

Oh. ICKY!!
Sorry you had to come home to that...jeez!

BLEH!!

 

[halfwaynowhere]

Reminds me of the Rocky Horror Massacre. Brad and Janet devoured the rest of the gang, one by one...
Needless to say, I don't keep mice as pets anymore, nor do I attempt breeding.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

First off, I want to emphasize that I am in no way making light of your misfortune, it is a bummer.

HOWEVER....when I read "Jo, Tootie and Blair ate Natalie!!!" I couldn't help but think "Now THERE'S a very special episode of The Facts of Life that I somehow missed seeing listed in TV guide!"

 

[LeilaNami]

Yesterday when I got home from work, there was this weird smell in my house. I am ridiculously OCD about odor, and it was driving me insane because I couldn't figure out what it was at first.

Well, I have a 20L with four female pet mice. They have lived together for at least a year. I looked in and only saw three. I took one of the igloos and started moving the bedding around and didn't see any sign of the other one at all. Then, I saw a tail. Just a tail.

I am so freaked out right now! Darn mice!!! Jo, Tootie and Blair ate Natalie!!!

I know that rodents do that sometimes, but they had two kinds of food (pellets and the mixed kind with seeds) and I throw in a veggie dog biscuit every now and then for a treat.

Well, back to Arachnoboards to find some happy stories to get my mind off it, hopefully.

Well if there's an opportunity for food, rodents take it. Doesn't matter if it's a cage mate or a commercialized diet

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Sorry for your loss; that had to be disturbing. If it's any consolation, I doubt your other mice killed and ate a long term tankmate; despite misconceptions to the contrary, it is a fairly rare event in same-sex groups unless new animals were recently placed in the colony (or food/water is unavailable). Overwhelmingly, when you find a mouse that appears to have been killed and eaten, it was dead or dying before it was eaten. Wild rodents often exhibit this behavior; a dead animal in the colony would attract pests or predators, so the body is quickly cleaned up (that and waste not, want not if you're a species with a high metabolism, heh). If the mice have been living together for over a year, they are all nearing the end of their typical lifespan. I would make a fair bet that the mouse who was eaten passed away and was consumed by her cagemates. Doesn't make it any less unpleasant for the owner though! I had the same happen to me - one of my does ate her own mother and it was fairly ghastly.

 

[bugmankeith]

Blair ate Natalie!!!

Sounds like the soap One Life To Live.

That's strange though never heard of that happening before except a female eating her young.

 

[gambite]

I hate mice, and this is one of the reasons why. I tried to breed them for my snakes one time, and they ate the babies! Every last baby was killed by them, I even saw they do it at one point! That, and they stink something awful,

 

[Miss Bianca]

I am very sorry about this... however, maybe they put the little guy out of his misery... hopefully??? anyway I had a horrible day myself... it really bites to feel this way... Hope you feel better..

 

[Snuggles]

when I read "Jo, Tootie and Blair ate Natalie!!!" I couldn't help but think "Now THERE'S a very special episode of The Facts of Life that I somehow missed seeing listed in TV guide!"

Yeah, Mrs. Garrett didn't get along with them and had to move to another dorm room at Eastland.

 

[Snuggles]

I hate mice, and this is one of the reasons why. I tried to breed them for my snakes one time, and they ate the babies! Every last baby was killed by them, I even saw they do it at one point! That, and they stink something awful,

One of my mice was found pregnant on a glue trap at a LPS. I got her off the glue trap, gave her a protein rich diet and plenty of toilet paper for nesting and she had eleven healthy babies. She didn't eat any of them.

I totally love mice. I have them on aspen with eco bedding for nesting. Everything is changed once a week and they don't smell. Of course, I have all females. The males are more stinky just like humans. LOL!

 

[Snuggles]

Wild rodents often exhibit this behavior; a dead animal in the colony would attract pests or predators, so the body is quickly cleaned up (that and waste not, want not if you're a species with a high metabolism, heh).

I think your message is the likely scenario. Thanks for the response!!!

 

[gambite]

One of my mice was found pregnant on a glue trap at a LPS. I got her off the glue trap, gave her a protein rich diet and plenty of toilet paper for nesting and she had eleven healthy babies. She didn't eat any of them.

I totally love mice. I have them on aspen with eco bedding for nesting. Everything is changed once a week and they don't smell. Of course, I have all females. The males are more stinky just like humans. LOL!

In my case, it was the tank mates that ate the babies. I suspected the male at first, and removed him, but afterwards I watched another female grab a baby mouse and bite it till it bled. Needless to say, she was disposed of, but by the next morning the OTHER tankmate (also female) had killed the last of the babies. Perhaps they needed more protein in their diet? I think I was feeding lab blocks with some oatmeal and a little seed mix here and there.

After the mice, I tried gerbils (not for feeding, though), and liked them a LOT more. In fact, I think I need some again.