Taming process

A lot of people have been asking me about advice on how to tame mice. So I thought I’d make a post about it here. It’s easier for everybody to read this, and if it doesn’t help you are more than welcome to write to me for more help and advice. Now, I am not an expert and don’t claim to be. I just give advice from what I have experienced with my mice, and hope that this might help some of you.

Taming a mouse can take two weeks to several months. It really depends on the individual mouse, it’s personality, where it comes from and how old it is. The younger they are, the easier it is to tame them. I will use some of my own mice as examples, because they are very different from each other.

Step 1:

When you bring your mouse home, you have to give it a few days to settle down. Keep in mind that everything is new for it; the sounds, smells and even its home – as nothing smells like the mouse. Don’t try to place your hand in the cage the first few days, unless you can see that your mouse is ready. Here are some examples from my mice.

- Dahlia was extremely trusting when I bought her and the other girls. I had only had them for about 30 minutes, when she decided she wanted to explore me. I had opened the cage to adjust something in it, and she immediately walked onto my hand, as if she had been doing it her whole life. And because she was the leader of the group, the other girls quickly followed her example and started to investigate me. Keep in mind that this rarely happens, even I was quite surprised.

- Dahlia on her very first day. She was very trusting.

- Another example is Pippin. Now he is very different from my girls. Those of you who have followed me since I got him know, that he was very very scared when he came to live with me. I couldn’t move without scaring him. He would run and hide in one area, and not move for an entire day. I knew it would be very difficult to gain his trust, so I took it one day at a time – never expecting him to improve a lot, and letting him decide when he wanted to know me.
The first week I would just sit next to his cage and talk to him – even when he was hiding. This way he would get to know my voice. Sometimes he gathered some courage and would peek out to look at me. I just kept talking and did not move at all, so he wouldn’t get scared again. It is very important to read their body language, as they will tell you if they feel safe or not. In the picture below you can see very clearly, that Pippin isn't comfortable. He is very alert and ready to run if I make just one wrong move. So I froze with my phone in my hand and didn't move, until he relaxed and started walking around again.

He is tense and ready to run away and hide.

- Pippin was in a different room than the other mice in the beginning, and when I could see that he was out exploring, I would just not enter the room. I gave him time to adjust to his cage without me being there. After one week he started to come out and check me out, when I was sitting next to his cage. He slowly began to show interest in me.

Step 2:

When your mouse starts to come out, and stays out while you move around and talk to it, it’s probably time to go to the next step. If you have a cage with wires it’s a quite easy step. When the mouse comes near the cage opening, give it a treat, and keep talking to it. In the beginning it will probably run away with the treat and then come back to get another one. But eventually it will eat the treat right after you’ve given it. (The best treats for this are small seeds, as they eat them quickly and therefore come quickly back again.) If you have a tank you can try to offer the treat to your mouse by putting you hand in the cage. But I would recommend that you move to step 3 if you have a tank, as it is easier. Use the method of spreading some seeds around in the cage, while your hand is in the cage.

- I did this with Pippin a lot, because he also got a bit used to my smell whenever he took the treat from my fingers. After some time, he would be waiting for me to give him a treat, whenever I was in the room. When that moment comes, don’t give them a treat every time, but let them smell your fingers instead. This was very helpful for Pippin.

- Pippin smelling my finger after being given a treat.

Step 3:

You have now reached the point where your mouse gladly takes treat through the bars and stays while it eats it. Now it’s time for you to open the cage! If you have a very trusting mouse it will probably check out what you are doing, and maybe even walk onto the cage door. If it does this, let it! Place your hand under the door, so that you support it. This way your mouse can also feel your skin between the cage bars. If you have a mouse that’s this trusting, you almost don’t need treats. But you can still give it some when it’s out.

- Ivy on her second day, curiously exploring me, while still feeling safe.

If you have a mouse that’s a little less trusting, it’s no problem at all. Take some seeds and place them in your hand. Even place some between your fingers, so they are easy to take for the mouse. You can also place some right next to your hand, so the mouse can take it without actually touching you, but still has to come close to your hand. This process can take some time depending on the mouse. Some aren’t even interested in treats, and then you just have to be patient and let it decide when it wants to explore your hand. With the very first group of girls I had, it took me about two weeks, before they sat on my hand and ate the seeds. In the beginning they will most likely take the seed and run away to eat it. This should stop when they figure out that your hand isn’t dangerous at all.

- Pippin wasn’t interested in any food, so I just placed my hand in the cage and waited for him to take the first steps towards me. He was very cautious in the beginning, not even wanting to move when my hand was there. Therefor I only did it for a few minutes each time, so he wouldn’t get too stressed. It took quite some time, and don’t give up if you have a mouse like Pippin! It is very important to let them set the pace. If you push your mouse, you risk having to start all over again. Because of Pippins fear of me, I didn’t clean his cage for the first two weeks. When he finally trusted me enough to run around while I was there, I changed half of the bedding, and left the other half. This way I wouldn’t stress him too much, because it is quite stressful for a mouse to have the whole caged cleaned, because their familiar scent disappears.

Step 4:

Is your mouse walking around on your hand? Sitting on it or right next to it and eats? Well that’s great! You can start cutting down on the treats, because mice can’t have too many treats, otherwise they will get fat which really isn’t good for them as they are prone to diabetes. If you’ve come this far it’s time to get your mouse used to being lifted and held. Some mice are really cool about this, and don’t mind it at all. Others find it very scary, which is understandable. Start by just lifting your mouse a few centimeters and then put your hand back down right after. This way your mouse can jump down if it wants to, without injuring itself. Most mice should quickly get used to this. You can gradually increase the distance between your hand and “the floor”. Some mice don’t like being held at all, but don’t be scared to do it if you really need to. They are usually quite forgiving animals, and if you need to check its health or give it medicine, you need to hold it no matter if it wants it or not.

- This is what a curious mouse looks like. All ready to say hello to you and wanting some fun.

- Dahlia didn’t mind being held at all, and I could carry her around with no problem. She would be looking down, and mice being mice, she didn’t sit still at all. Don’t expect your mouse to be like some hamsters, that are more calm and just sit still in your hand. Mice will walk all over you, and are busier exploring everything, than wanting to be petted. If you want to pet your mouse, it takes a lot of time and some will never really like it. So don’t force them!

- Dahlia, being held without any problems.

- Pippin was very different. He felt most comfortable when he was in control. So I did everything very different with him. He was allowed out to run on the table as he wanted to, and could run in and out of his cage on his own. Over time he would come to the edge of the table and slowly start walking on my hand. It took a lot of time, but eventually he would run all over my hands and legs as he wanted to. After several months he will now finally let me touch him and pet him. He didn’t like being touched on his body, and that’s why it took me so long to achieve this with him.

- Pippin exploring me on his own free will. He decides if he wants to touch me or not.

Please keep in mind that this is just a guideline. Most mice should react in a positive way if you take it slowly and let them decide the pace. But not all mice are the same. Some might never be really tame – and you just have to accept that. They are just as lovely animals and companions even if they won’t let you pet them. I love Pippin with all my heart, and I fully accepted that he didn’t want to be touched in all these months. I was happy with letting him run all over me, and he was happy to, as long as I didn’t try to pet him. Of course I was filled with joy the day he decided to let me pet him, but even if that day hadn’t arrived I would still love him as much.

I really hope this little guideline can help if you have problems with taming your mouse. I will gladly answer any questions if you have some, and remember you can also post at comment on this post.

- The Mouselife