Storytime 8 (The Saga of Amalthea and Her Friends) ·°·°·°·°·° After Baby Skye passed away last week, I was left with 3 doubles. I decided to try combining the two peaceful pairs. Everything went swimmingly during the first playtime between Cosette/Svanhild and Amalthea/Ghirardelli. Cosette seemed a little out of her depth (wide eyes, lower curiosity than usual, some stress poos), despite the 100% peaceful playtime: she's only 18.5 months old, and during 17.5 of those she's lived with the same 2 cuddly sisters. As far as she's concerned, there ARE no other mice in the world! ·°·°·° On Christmas Eve, the 2 groups moved in together. I cleaned it really well, but other items, like already-clean wheels, I gave up on. I know it's not great to give a newly mixed group something that smells like only half of them, but 3/4 of the colony is older ladies not inclined to fight. I tried to break it down 50/50: 1 wheel from Amalthea's group, 1 wheel from Cosette's. Two toys from Amalthea, two from Cosette. And some new burrows/toys, and some washed items that I would normally clean (the pictured monster house, the water bottle, etc.). And the move-in... went.... so... WELL. No squeaking. No fighting. No wincing. No avoiding. BEST INTRO EVER!! Cosette still looked a tad cautious, but everyone else didn't seem to care one whit that their colony was 100% bigger than before. Ghirardelli lavished grooms on Svanhild. They both took to running on the wheels, one of their favorite activities. Over time Cosette relaxed and took to the cuddly company. And she + Amalthea built the monster house nest! ·°·° Cosette and Amalthea really are two peas in a pod. They love to care for, look out for, and groom their cagemates, and most importantly -- build them SPLENDID nests. I read on one of CreekValleyCritter's recent videos ("Amelia makes a Nest for her Family") about nest-building behavior, and Cosette + Amalthea are definitely THOSE mice. Svanhild, Baby Skye, and Freyja would help bring paper, and Baby Skye would even help build the nest. But I think Cosette and Amalthea are the major nesting architects. I love their joy at caring for their loves! The End...for now! ~·°·~·°·~