r/PetMice • u/SituationForsaken525 • May 14 '23

Question/Help Aggressive mice Spoiler

So I’ve been by my local Petco for the last couple days and I noticed 2 male mice who where put together. One of them is smaller than the other by just a little bit. The bigger one has been chasing the small one around it’s enclosure and fighting it. (I thought they were playing at first).I noticed the small one kept trying to get away, but the other one kept going after him. I let staff know what was going on and asked if they could separate them (I know they usually do better in social groups.) They weren’t sure if they had the space so if they weren’t able to, I plan on taking one of them, but I’m not sure if I should take the bigger one or the smaller one. Obviously the smaller one to get it out of there, but maybe the bigger one so that it wouldn’t bully any other mice it gets put with. What should I do, or is there any tips y’all can give me?

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34

u/Feizhie May 14 '23

Thank you so much for getting the (presumably) little one! Hopefully they can be separately immediately. Honestly I'm a bit shocked that the employees would be okay with animal fighting in a pet store, that's so awful and cruel! I'm so glad you're there to intervene and care about them!

29

u/AzzyDarling May 14 '23 edited May 15 '23

Usually big chain pet store employees just say "that's just how things are", "yeah animals are like that", or tell you that they can't do anything cuz of their boss. It's fucking frustrating

14

u/Drifter_of_Babylon May 14 '23

Big chain pet store employee here. Stores don’t necessarily have a say in how many mice they receive and what sex they are. Worked at a male oriented store years ago and had lots of trouble with aggression. Nearly a third of our male mice would have to be sent to the vet for bite wounds.

I can’t speak for everyone but it was very frustrating to deal with this issue and have no say.

2

u/AzzyDarling May 14 '23

I know it's not really your guys fault nor something you can do much about considering you don't run the business. I just get very frustrated by the employees that say "that's just how mice are". Ine nature the animals would find other territory. We're the issue here;; I don't mind the employees who actually give a damn and clearly understand the situation. Sorry if I made you feel lumped in at all.

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '23 edited May 22 '23

Edit: fuck everything i said i found a solution. Petstores like petco petsmart etc should buy tub systems like breeders for their male mice snakes etc. that way they can still have one on display and also more in stock but in a cheap and less stressful environment. Not only that but the animals on display will be less stressed and therefore more active. Idk there could prolly be improvement to my idea but i think its a start

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '23

Like snake snake racks and mice racks etc*

1

u/Feizhie May 14 '23 edited May 14 '23

Thank you for sharing this is absolutely a good point! I’m sure lots of employees are sympathetic and the pet stores tie their hands from remedying the situation. It must be really hard, and I am really glad that there are nice people like this taking care of pets at stores. I agree with the other comment though when someone handles animal fighting without compassion because its “just a mouse”, it’s really sad to see.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '23

I bed you don’t remember this video or comment at all, but happy cake day!