EDIT: thanks for all the advice! There seems to be many different techniques on how to scruff the mice and where to hold on to tail etc. Like I mentioned below, this was a course and we were taught a specific technique, so if you tried to do it differently, the instructions would correct you and have you do it "the right way". Also, many comments mention the importance of working fast and be confident, which I will keep in mind for the future, but for now, "work fast and be confident" is not really realistic. As much as I would like to start the learning curve on expert level, I unfortunately need to train to get there 😁. The advice on pressing down gently at the back to prevent the mouse from turning was super good advice as it is easy to do without thinking in several steps, so a huge extra thanks to dobgirl (and others) for writing this!
(Also, when reading your comments I actually realise that this thing of pressing down was probably mentioned at the other station (we were split up into two training stations with two different instructors), as I overheard something about it from there. At my station, we had an instructor assistant who told us she had tried to handle mice two or three times before, so she was definitely not super experienced, maybe this is why she didn't mention it. )
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I am taking a course in handling lab animals, and today we were learning about mice. I have never worked with, or handled mice before. I took it up from the cage with a tunnel, and put it on a mat, as instructed. While holding on to the base of its tail and preparing for scruffing, it simply just turned around an bit my finger several times (on the hand that was holding the tail). My instructor just said that we should avoid keeping fingers in front of it, but how can I avoid this? Any advice is highly appreciated, as I feel slightly discouraged, even though I understand that it is not uncommon that lab mice can bite. Thanks!