Houdini mouse or Cannibalism?

I've run into a bit of a weird situation. I try not to feed live unless I have to but I still have some baby carpets pythons that won't eat. Yesterday I went out picked up some pinkies and three hoppers. I usually feed fuzzies so I was hesitant to put the hoppers in with any of the snakes and leave them unattended. I left the three hoppers in the container(deli cup) they came in while I slept thinking I'd feed them off when I woke up. Now there's only two mice in the container. There were definitely three in the container when I left the pet shop and I never opened it. There's also no holes in the container outside of the small air holes that were already there. The top was also still secure when I noticed the missing mouse. I've heard of rodents eating each other before but there were not signs of that in the container.

I'm very confused.

Crazy....

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They wouldn't eat the fur of the other mouse.

Weird... I'm placing my bets on that it was a Houdini mouse though, I think there would be signs of a struggle if one was eaten.

I know adult mice can be cannibalistic but I'm not sure if a hopper would... Do you happen to have a roommate or family member who might be playing a trick on you? Or someone who might have taken one of the mice out to feed a snake while you weren't watching? It's strange to think it could've escaped and then the lid be back in place....

Adult mice can squeeze thru a hole (or space) the size of a dime, & hoppers are even smaller. Are you sure he didn't squeeze out thru some play in the
lid or folds in the bottom (depending what kind of container or box it is). I'm betting he's loose...

I've seen (many times) pet stores sell rodents & put them in containers I KNOW they can escape from...even paper bags, lol.

I gotta say though, that would be a great (evil) trick to play on someone.

They were packaged deli cups they received their crested geckos. The only holes in the container are tiny.

mid post edit: I just discovered one of the remaining mice eating the lower jaw of the other that must have died in the last hour or so. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I noticed what I'm now guessing was the same mouse messing around with the mouth of one of the others when I sat the deli cup on my rack last night. I also found what looks like most of the tail from the missing mouse. There doesn't appear to be any fur in the wood chips though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheIconGuy

They were packaged deli cups they received their crested geckos. The only holes in the container are tiny.

mid post edit: I just discovered one of the remaining mice eating the lower jaw of the other that must have died in the last hour or so. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I noticed what I'm now guessing was the same mouse messing around with the mouth of one of the others when I sat the deli cup on my rack last night. I also found what looks like most of the tail from the missing mouse. There doesn't appear to be any fur in the wood chips though.

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Um, you left them in a deli-cup without food or water, and for HOW LONG??? No wonder! :O

Had you been drinking before you purchased the mice?
Lol

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FYI, when I clean my mice (their cages) it takes maybe an hour. During that time, I've pulled their water bottles to clean & re-fill, so until I'm done they're
without water. Again, for only an hour or so. The MINUTE I put the water bottles back in to their clean cages, they are drinking water...they are already
thirsty! Mice have a high rate of metabolism...next time you buy live mice, at the very LEAST give them some lettuce (for moisture) and something like oats
to munch. Never leave them for long in a deli-cup either...they're most likely over-heating in there & that's cruel as well. I don't care if they are "just feeders"-
please show some respect for living animals. If you'll be buying them live on a regular basis, buy a small ventilated "critter cottage" for transport & short-term
keeping.