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First litter

1017 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Cait
One of my female mice that we call white mouse gave birth to 7 babies two days ago. I have done tons of research, but have a question on her behavior. I have noticed that she tends to leave her nesting box quite often, sometimes she will lay outside of it and sleep. The babies are all alive and she has been nursing them the last 2 days. I was under the impression that when she had babies she would be with them at all times, except when getting food and water. Is it normal for her to roam the tank and leave the babies for up to thirty mins? Sorry if this is a dumb question, the babies seem fine im just confused on why she leaves them.
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If the babies are growing well and are not getting cold then she is probably doing okay. You can check the babies (from 2-3 days old) by holding them in your warm hands and looking at their tummies if you can see a nice milk band then she is feeding them well, you may need to check a few times through the course of the day depending when she feeds them (remember to rub your hands in the shavings/bedding before you handle the babies and its best to check them when she is away from the nest, you can always place her in another cage while you do this check).
I have noticed my does coming away for "time out" they have a wash eat and a quick sleep, this could be upto 30 mins.

Hope this has helped :)
I wouldn't check them too often for the first few days in case the mother gets upset - I don't think this was a planned breeding, so you didn't have time to make sure your doe trusts you and that she was suitable to be bred etc. If she is still feeding them then don't worry if she takes short breaks from them. Mine tend to stay in the nest a lot of the time but then I usually have two (or more) does to look after the babies so there's always someone with them. When it's just one doe she'll inevitably have to leave them at some point!
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