# cannibalistic animals



## LolaMyLove (Apr 5, 2013)

Ugg! My sons pet mouse ate my daughters pet mouse tonight! I went to check their food and water (which they had plenty of) and found Nia eating Kiss-a-lot. This is not the first time, one or both of them ate my mouse Honey a few months back, but I wasn't sure who the corporate was. I guess now I know. 

What causes one animal to eat another? They were by no means starving and they get daily exercise. They were both about two years old and have been together their whole life. 

Now I get to tell my daughter in the morning...


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## Team Gomberg (Apr 5, 2013)

Wow.... Im sorry. This creeps me out.


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## Minority1 (Apr 5, 2013)

Here's a couple of things I found;
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110511211356AAuJxqZ
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_mice_eat_other_mice
http://www.orkin.com/rodents/mouse-facts/what-do-mice-eat/
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/pets/mice/mice_about.html

Seems it could stem from poor diet, behavior problems, genetics/breeding rats that had cannibalistic tendencies, and some other reasons. 
They its natural for them to eat "dead or sick" mice but if they were alive then you might have some disturbed critters. 

2 strikes already. No more roommates for that mouse.


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## LolaMyLove (Apr 5, 2013)

These were both feeder mice that my kids rescued so Im guessing the genetic line is not very strong. However, judging be the scene of the crime, its looks like Kiss-a-lot may have passed away before Nia started.... At least I will convince myself of that. So sad, and gross at the same time. The worst part, telling my 6yr old tomorrow.


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## Kerryann (Apr 5, 2013)

littleatella said:


> These were both feeder mice that my kids rescued so Im guessing the genetic line is not very strong. However, judging be the scene of the crime, its looks like Kiss-a-lot may have passed away before Nia started.... At least I will convince myself of that. So sad, and gross at the same time. The worst part, telling my 6yr old tomorrow.


Sorry for your loss. In high school biology we learned sometimes cannibalism is triggered by stress.


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## Tom (Apr 6, 2013)

This ended in my mouse and rat colonies with the addition of some daily dog or cat kibble. Just a few pieces in addition to their regular diet.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Apr 6, 2013)

Kerryann said:


> Sorry for your loss. In high school biology we learned sometimes cannibalism is triggered by stress.



It can often depend on where in the house their cage is located. It should be in a nice, quiet corner, otherwise, the stress can drive them to turn on each other.

Of course, it is also important to make sure they have adequate nutrition.


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## CtTortoiseMom (Apr 6, 2013)

I am so sorry, I know how upsetting it can be. Years ago my daughter was raising two frogs from tadpoles and one was maturing way faster than the other and we couldn't figure out why, then one day we went to check on them and the larger had eaten the majority of the other one. Ugh, we were devastated!


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Apr 6, 2013)

CtTortoiseMom said:


> I am so sorry, I know how upsetting it can be. Years ago my daughter was raising two frogs from tadpoles and one was maturing way faster than the other and we couldn't figure out why, then one day we went to check on them and the larger had eaten the majority of the other one. Ugh, we were devastated!



Cannibalism may be fairly rare in reptiles, birds, and mammals, but it's quite common in fish and amphibians. For tadpoles, the big eating the little is often just part of growing up, both in aquaria and in the wild. :/


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## RosieRedfoot (Apr 6, 2013)

I've had mice eat their companions before. Never have I had a gerbil eat its companion, instead they bury it, or sleep next to the dead pal and groom it. 

Since my mouse canibalism event I gave up on owning mice.. The males were too musky and my females in one group turned on each other (once they learned to kill I had to separate them since in two days I went from like 6 mice to 3). I've had rats, mice, gerbils, degus, guinea pigs, spiny mice, hamsters, etc. and my only ones to eat a live companion were the mice.


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## Zamric (Apr 6, 2013)

we had a mouse at School (in the Middle School Room)that did the same thing. Lots of food and water 24/7, big cage (40 gal breeder). Ate 2 of its roomies in a little over a years times. 2 differant instances and never more than 2 mice in the habitat. The 1st time we thought the little guy had dies and she ate the remains.... but the second time you could tell there was a fight. She spent the rest of her days alone (about another year).


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## lkwagner (Apr 6, 2013)

In high school we were working with feeder mice and a momma ate all her babies and we thought it was due to stress since stupid kids were messing with her and her babies way too much plus she was in a different environment


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## EricIvins (Apr 6, 2013)

2 reasons why Mice kill and eat each other - 

1 - Moisture ( Don't think that just because you had a dripper or something similar doesn't mean that there wasn't something wrong with it or they just couldn't/didn't know how to use it )

2 - Protein - Both Mice and Rats need protein in their diets, and they will kill the weakest animal(s) to get it


Rodents are a product of hardcore instinct. That's why they have colonized the world over. They know what they need and how to get it from any situation, and they aren't the type of animal to just sit and waste away if conditions aren't right for them......


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## RosieRedfoot (Apr 6, 2013)

I think some of them, just like any species, are a bit "off" and will have antisocial tendencies or react to stress differently. I've had some rodents that were aggressive towards me or a cage mate but were completely fine with no pal or a different one. We all have those people we don't like for some reason, just most of us don't eat them when conditions aren't right. 

Hard to say 100% why it happened, but hopefully your kids took it as well as they could in such a situation.


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## Tony the tank (Apr 6, 2013)

Tom said:


> This ended in my mouse and rat colonies with the addition of some daily dog or cat kibble. Just a few pieces in addition to their regular diet.




When I was breeding feeders for my snakes.. There was a lot of canabalism... I was feeding them rodent cubes... Introduced some cheap dog food and no more canabalism....


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## LolaMyLove (Apr 6, 2013)

I checked her food, its pellet food I get from a local breeder, high on protein. I will add some dog food to the mix for Nia. I used to give them cat food as a treat but I haven't in a long time.

I broke the news to my daughter and she was upset for awhile... then came back to me and said "Now can I get my own tortoise?" 

- the answer was "No" by the way, but I loved her timing.


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## RosieRedfoot (Apr 7, 2013)

My rodents always get a homemade grain mix of oats, millet, flax, barley, wheat, total cereal, pumpkin seeds, and I add in dog food (they love Mazuri tortoise food too).


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## shelloise (Apr 27, 2013)

it's not uncommon in mammals from what I have seen. I know hedgehogs, chinchillas, and other small animals do it.




GeoTerraTestudo said:


> CtTortoiseMom said:
> 
> 
> > I am so sorry, I know how upsetting it can be. Years ago my daughter was raising two frogs from tadpoles and one was maturing way faster than the other and we couldn't figure out why, then one day we went to check on them and the larger had eaten the majority of the other one. Ugh, we were devastated!
> ...


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## Tom (Apr 28, 2013)

littlestella said:


> I checked her food, its pellet food I get from a local breeder, high on protein. I will add some dog food to the mix for Nia. I used to give them cat food as a treat but I haven't in a long time.
> 
> I broke the news to my daughter and she was upset for awhile... then came back to me and said "Now can I get my own tortoise?"
> 
> - the answer was "No" by the way, but I loved her timing.



Aaaaaawe come on Mom... Let the kid have her own tortoise. Dangle it like a carrot for a while to get some good behavior or good grades, but sheesh, don't DEPRIVE her of the life changing experience that is tortoise keeping. 

I told my daughter she could pick any one of our 40 something tortoises and that could be "her" tortoise. WE don't need any more...


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## LolaMyLove (Apr 28, 2013)

Aaaaaawe come on Mom... Let the kid have her own tortoise. Dangle it like a carrot for a while to get some good behavior or good grades, but sheesh, don't DEPRIVE her of the life changing experience that is tortoise keeping. 

I told my daughter she could pick any one of our 40 something tortoises and that could be "her" tortoise. WE don't need any more... 
[/quote]

... Well mommy does want a few females for her male down the road. She can name one of them and call it hers, but at 6 she's still not allowed to hold them.


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## Tom (Apr 28, 2013)

Mine's six. She holds them, fetches them, puts them away, sits on them (big sulcatas), hoses them, waters their plants and grass, feeds them, carries the tubs of babies in and out to their outdoor pens, etc.

She can handle it Mom. Go ahead and expand her horizons. 

Sorry. So off topic. I'll stop now.

Yes. Give your remaining mouse and any future mice, a few pieces of dog kibble a day in addition to the rodent chow. Okay, I'm back on topic now...


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## LolaMyLove (Apr 28, 2013)

ok, ok... I'll easy up a bit.  She does help watch him when he free roams the yard at night. Boy he can move when he wants too.  

HaHaHa. as I type this, she's throwing a fit over helping clean the mouse cage today. "It's not my mouse! That one ate my mouse!"... and she's right.


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## Chinque (May 6, 2013)

Oh my gosh! That is terrible! I have a mouse, too, but I can't imagine her eating anyone else (mostly because she has a gimpy led and probably won't win a fight vs another mouse because of it. Ps I don't know how she got it, I think she had it before I got her... Just in case you're wondering)...


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## rideburton87 (May 7, 2013)

I used to breed mice for my snakes diet and they had many successful litters, then one night my mouse ate all of her babies totally stunned me. I didnt change a single thing to house or anything. After that she ate every single one of her litters.. Needless to say that was the end of my mice breeding days..


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## shelloise (May 7, 2013)

rideburton87 said:


> I used to breed mice for my snakes diet and they had many successful litters, then one night my mouse ate all of her babies totally stunned me. I didnt change a single thing to house or anything. After that she ate every single one of her litters.. Needless to say that was the end of my mice breeding days..



I have had that happen with hedgehog babies....once in a while u get a female that does that so I don't breed her after that. Who knows why they do that..


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