Pdt>. 23 ,1914 
Life Habits of Meadow Mice 
527 
playful, but the vigorous exercise of the older animals seems more like 
the necessary release of superabundant energy, or sometimes an expres¬ 
sion of nervous excitement. In the cages they get abundant exercise 
and apparently much enjoyment from running in their hollow revolving 
wheels or around on the inclined disks, sometimes two running side by 
side in a wheel, or two to five running together at high speed in perfect 
time and step on a rapidly revolving disk. They soon acquire great 
skill in jumping off and on without checking the motion of the disk, and 
if the motion is checked they may all reverse and start at full speed in 
the opposite direction. In a cage with a large number of occupants the 
wheel is kept going much of the time both night and day, even by old 
and fully grown animals, but with one or a pair in a cage, 1lie early morn¬ 
ing and evening are the busy hours for exercise, or play, as you choose 
to call it. 
FIGHTING 
In their own families and among their own friends meadow 
mice are generally friendly, playful, and even affectionate, but there are 
times when with strangers, rivals, or intruders they are vicious little 
savages. The mother will fight anything from another mouse to a bull¬ 
dog or a man in defense of her young. Possession of a cage, a nest, or a 
favorite corner is sometimes the cause of a quarrel, of squeaky disputes, 
or even a fight in which the intruder generally yields and retires. The 
mating of a strange male and female often begins with several little 
fights in which the male sometimes gets a bloody nose, while the female 
seems never to be injured, but usually after a few minutes they are fully 
mated and the affair has passed as a mere formality of microtine eti¬ 
quette. If the female is not ready for mating she may keep up attacks 
on the male until he is forced to retire to a corner and nurse his injured 
feelings, if not an injured nose. 
The real fights are among rival males and usually males from different 
families, and these are apt to be serious or sometimes fatal. One nearly 
full-grown male that by mistake was dropped into the cage with an older 
and larger male was nearly killed in a few minutes before it could be 
rescued. Both fought savagely and so fast that their motions were a 
complete blur, so that nothing could be seen of their methods of attack. 
When separated, the smaller one was found to be so badly injured that 
he was killed and his skin and skull saved for a specimen. He w^s bitten 
around the head, on the back, belly, feet, and tail, two large gashes were 
cut across the abdomen, and the skin of the back was so full of holes that 
it looked like a shotgun target. He would have been killed in a very short 
time if left in the fight. The larger male seemed stiff and sore for a few 
days, but recovered from his injuries. Occasionally, a male is trapped 
in the meadows with his skin cut full of holes from a fight, in which case 
he may be safely assumed to be the sole survivor of a fatal combat. 
SANITATION 
Like most wild animals, meadow mice are as neat and cleanly in 
habits as circumstances permit. Although often digging in the earth 
and running through the mud they also run through shallow water and 
swim and dive on occasion. Their fur is fairly waterproof and when 
wet quickly dries as it is carefully combed and cleaned. After working 
in the earth the mice clean their nails and comb their fur, which they 
