WHATS GOING ON? The male mouse is aggressive

so i am attempting breeding mice for my ball python. i originally only had 2 mice, a male and a female, until i read that more females are necessary. when i just had the male and female i periodically herd them squeaking really loud and i just figured that they were mating. after a few days, i noticed that the female stayed in hiding and i only saw the male come out, and when i did check to see if the female was ok, i noticed that she had what looked like a spot of blood and it worried me. i just figured that if i add a couple more females it would give that particular female a break from the male. I went to the pet store and purchased 2 female mice today and a large bag of bedding for them. literally as i was reaching for the tank the original 2 mice were in, i saw the male attacking the female mouse and seemed like he was trying to eat her, and i had to physically put my hand in the tank and push him off of her. i continued to put the 2 original mice in with the 2 new females, and i had no issues from the male. after cleaning the tank and putting in fresh bedding, water, and food, i put all 4 mice in the tank. about 6 minutes later i see that the male is attacking the same female but even more aggressively, and i again had to reach my hand in and get him off her. i removed him from the rest of the mice and put him in a plastic rodent container and came here to find out what to do! HELP!

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Originally Posted by NessahMamahz

so i am attempting breeding mice for my ball python. i originally only had 2 mice, a male and a female, until i read that more females are necessary.

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A 1:1 (Male:Female) is usually fine for mating.

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when i just had the male and female i periodically herd them squeaking really loud and i just figured that they were mating. after a few days, i noticed that the female stayed in hiding and i only saw the male come out, and when i did check to see if the female was ok, i noticed that she had what looked like a spot of blood and it worried me.

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There are many different genetic lines of mice. Some of them are prone to aggression.

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i just figured that if i add a couple more females it would give that particular female a break from the male.

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That is sound logic.

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i see that the male is attacking the same female but even more aggressively, and i again had to reach my hand in and get him off her. i removed him from the rest of the mice and put him in a plastic rodent container and came here to find out what to do! HELP!

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So: First things first: Are you able to confirm that the 'female' that is being attacked by the male is actually a female and not an undefined male? Sometimes people sex white mice wrong because their reproductive parts are not as obvious as ones with darker colors. Two males that were not raised together will definitely draw blood.

I won't get into the details of mouse biology, but, if your male mates with the female(s) enough times he shouldn't continue to harass them. Some people may recommend rotating the male through the females and then eliminating the male when you have a replacement available. My experience is that aggression is usually an inherited trait--if you really do have a 1:3 and the male is still fighting then you will want to pick up a different male. :)

Are you sure the "other female" is a female?

I've raised mice for many years (still do), & sometimes one of my male mice becomes aggressive with females, usually with previously unknown females, but not always.

Often it's right after cage cleaning- bear in mind that mice know each other by scent, & when that changes, that can cause the sudden aggression to what is perceived as
an "outsider". (I'm assuming your mice are correctly sexed.) BTW, the male mice have most of the odor, which is rubbed off onto their females & offspring...keep this in
mind if you raise more mice & wish to mix them up so they aren't inbred. Males may also attack babies from another litter if you aren't careful (like if you try to even up litters so they all get fed...some litters are too many for one mom to feed).

Sometimes a distraction* will help smooth things over: a food treat (like sunflower seeds, peanuts, mealworms) may distract the male long enough for all the mice to once again "smell the same". It also helps to put some of their litter over them to do the same thing...help them smell the same as each other. *Gerbils are even WORSE about "outsiders" (though either mouse or gerbils may kill other males) & years ago when I had some gerbils, I successfully got them to accept each other by putting them in acontainer with some clean dirt to dig in (something they love to do) & in short order, they all smelled like the dirt, & became a "family unit" instead of going to war. ;)

When that fails, even some males that were previously good breeders & peaceful...the hyper-aggressive male becomes dinner to one of my snakes & another male moves
up to the rank of breeder...at which point, sometimes the females go after HIM because they don't "know" him....:rolleyes: Mice! :rolleyes: You can always order frozen...LOL

If you only have one snake to feed, or even a couple, it's not cost-effective to breed your own rodents, plus you'll end up with too many.

And the short answer is, some male mice are just jerks. LOL

I find the best ratio for breeding is 1.2 (one male, 2 females) Most females cooperate with their babies (but make sure, no guarantee) & the male has 2 females to divide his "attention" instead of pestering just one.

yes
i am sure its a female
it was time to feed my snake anyway so the aggressive mouse became dinner for Danger

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Originally Posted by NessahMamahz

yes
i am sure its a female
it was time to feed my snake anyway so the aggressive mouse became dinner for Danger

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Good call...in my experience, once they get "like that" they don't change back to nice (trustworthy) males. I select males to keep for good breeding skills, of course, but also for their temperament.

thank you for that info. i decided not to breed the mice i guess since i only have 1 BP. i want more but my bf wont let me get any more snakes. i might just come home with one without telling him. i see it would be more time and money (on bedding, food, and other necessities for the mice) to breed the mice then to just go to the store and spend $4-$5 on some mice every 2 weeks (i buy enough rodents to last till my next paycheck incase i dont have any money the next week to go get him a mouse) anyway... the agressive mouse became dinner for my BP Danger, last night so that issue is taken care of, but i do appreciate the info though, it will come in handy when i do end up purchasing another snake

Well at least you know what's going on with the mice & what you're getting "into", if you ever need to breed your own. ;) And for every one that asks a question
here, there are others (too chicken to post) that have the same questions as you did.