I loved to watch the females interact with the babies and each other. The youngest females are very careful and gentle with their little pink jelly beans. They worry about them, groom them constantly, replace strays back into their clean nests. They have circles under their eyes and are ungroomed themselves.

The old females are totally different. For one thing, they are huge (comparatively speaking). They are calm, fearless, and run the show. If they find a stray from any litter, they grab it by an available body part and fling it back into the nearest nest. They do not brook any monkeyshines, thank you very much! They baby-sit so that the mothers can nap up in the towers and get away from those damn babies for a while.

They also stand guard around the communal nests, terrorizing any male who dares venture too near the babies. They nurture the young mothers, and, I’m sure, give them lots of advice. If I encroached on the nests when cleaning the habitats, they would bop my hand with their teeth. They didn’t bite, but the message is unmistakable: “Off Limits!”

When the babies begin to wander out of the nest, the mothers all become very anxious. They race through the habitats and tunnels looking for strays. When they find wanderers, they return them to the nest, scolding them in the little chatters. While the mother is returning one baby, five others have made a break for freedom. The mother, who is pregnant again anyway, gives up the battle when the new litter arrives.

These mice became very athletic and adept at problem solving. Lilith finally woke up and she was confronted with one of the aggressive Rambo males. She took one look and hid under her log. She wouldn’t tackle them unless she was very hungry. I should mention that Lilith is over five feet long and two inches in diameter.