Why Do Pet Mice Bite? Reasons and 4 Effective Solutions to It
The most common and concerning part of a mice owner is, “Why do pet mice bite?”
Pet mice can bite for many reasons. They can be biting you at the beginning to play with you. But as they grow, they will bite in order to protect themselves.
In this article, you will learn the reasons behind pet mice biting, whether their biting is dangerous, and how to stop your rodent mouse from biting you.
Reasons Behind Pet Mice Biting
Mice are not aggressive as other rodent animals. When they are small, they try to bite their owners to play with them. Those bites are pretty normal and do not hurt that much.
But gradually as they grow, they stop biting for playing. At that moment, they will bite when feeling threatened. The owner of this rodent animal is secured as he/she stays with the mouse the whole time.
But when other people try to pet them or scare them, they feel threatened and bite them. The bites are not that serious, but seeing a doctor is the best advice. Mice bites can bring a lot of unwanted diseases.
Sometimes, your pet mice may smell bad. For that reason, they can bite you too.
Are Pet Mouse Bites Dangerous?
Mostly, pet mouse bites are pretty dangerous. The problem occurs when the viruses and bacteria spread into your body as an infection.
The most dangerous infection spread by mice can be hantavirus. This virus can give you a lot of symptoms like fever, swelling, high body temperature, fatigue, dizziness, etc.
Whenever a mouse bites you, it is necessary to wash that place and put antibiotics over there or go see a doctor. Else, this can give you body pain for some days.
🐹 Do you know, like mice, wild hamsters can be aggressive too? They also attack people when they feel in danger.
How to Stop Pet Mice from Biting?
It is essential to learn to stop your pet mouse from biting you. Else, you may face danger because of this reason. Here are some ways you can follow to stop your pet mice from biting you-
Build Trust with the Mice
Why does a mouse try to bite? It is because they feel trust issues with that person. So, the first and foremost thing to do for you is to build up trust.
Once the mouse feels comfortable around you, it will stop biting gradually. You do not need to do anything. Just let them get the scent of you for a week properly. Give as much time as you can to your mice so that they can recognize you and feel safe.
After building up the trust, they will not bite you anymore. When your baby mouse is small, you should treat it properly from then. And yes, you can obviously touch the baby mouse.
Washing Hands Properly
Sometimes, when you provide food to your mice, the scent of the food may stick with your hand too. If so, then you need to wash up your hands properly before holding your mice.
If you do not wash your hands and try to pick your mice, they will get the scent of the food and try to bite your hand.
This is the reason why after providing them the food, you should always wash your hands.
Provide Entertainment and Comfort
Stress is one of the worst enemies of mice. As they are small and fragile, proper comfort is necessary for them. You can easily entertain them along with providing comfort.
Because of stress, they may bite you. So, what you can do is provide a comfortable room where there is no loud sound.
And for entertainment, provide them with toys or talk to them soothingly. They will feel comfortable.
Handling Mice Carefully, Gently, and Infrequently
One of the most important parts of making your mice not bite you is handling them carefully. Most of the owners do not follow this and get bitten in their hands.
In the beginning, it can be stressful for mice because the pet owners frequently try to handle them. You need to provide the space and let them play by themselves for some time.
Hold them gently, and also be careful not to wiggle too much. And do not do it every day. Provide them some playtime by themselves.
Final Words
Mice are cute and small animals that can be friendly with people. But for some reason, they may feel fear and bite people. The reason for “Why do pet mice bite?” is pretty normal. But if you follow the above things properly, you can be the best friend of your mice.
But do not overdo anything, they may not like it.
