[kellyc88]

Hi, my name is Kelly and i am a long time mouse lover. However i am no breeder.
At the end of March i got my son two Fancy Mice from a 'breeder' called Rosie's Rodents. I was sold two females, however now one is pregnant and i have no idea what to do with my mice now, other than the obvious splitting them up. Can anyone help me with tips on helping my pregnant doe, what to do with the babies when they arrive, when to begin handling them and the best way to home them when the time comes. Last thing i want is to give them to someone who just wants reptile food. Obviously Rosie the breeder has disappeared and i can no longer contact her :roll:
Thanks for your help!
Kelly - accidental breeder :lol:

 

[Tinkers Mousery]

hey there kelly. sounds like rosie pulled a fast one!! ok so split them up. what sort of cages do you have?? as for the pregnant doe keep an eye on her. usually when my does have been giving birth they let out little squeaks so u know they are having them. some does give birth over night tho. check the bed once in the morning and once at night. when the day comes where you see pinkies ( the baby mice) just check that they have got milk bellies ( a white band across the stomach) and that they appear pink, wriggley and healthy. Untill the babies are about a week old i always rub my hands in the shavings of the bed before handling the pinkies. this is so the pinkies still smell of mum when you handle them. when the pinkies are here check them every day and you should be fine at 2 - 3 weeks the babies will go through the flea stage ( they hop everywhere and are incredibly hard to catch and hold) so i dont usually handly at this stage. at 4 weeks old you need to sex them, seperate boys and girls, the girls can live with the mum and the boys need a seperate cage. Anything els you want to know just ask. but i think this sort of covers it

 

[kellyc88]

Hi again,
Thanks a lot! I got the rotastak creepy castle (My son chose it) so i thought id just split the two levels and get an extra water bottle and wheel for it. How long after they get really fat do they usually give birth? Iv heard that its usually only a week after she starts to show. Will a normal vet be able to sex the babies properly? (cant chance having more unplanned pinkies :lol: )

 

[Tinkers Mousery]

ummm not sure on the cage. the rotastaks are really suitable for does giving birth :? once they get the little bolges either side of their belly they usually have less than a week. i think a vet will be able to sex them yea.

 

[kellyc88]

thank you, one more thing. My mice were sold as sisters from the same litter. Do you know if them being so closely related could affect the babies? Oh and is there any chance of introducing another male to our boy? Dont want him to get lonely

 

[Tinkers Mousery]

no the babies will be fine. a certain ammount of inbreeding can be done with mice. Once a buck ( the male) has mated with a female he has to live on his own. if u put him with another male they will fight to the death. or pretty close to it! so sorry its a life of solitude for him.

 

[kellyc88]

ok thanks! Hopefully it will all work out nicely! My mum told me a lot of mice die giving birth...is that true?
Sorry i know i ask a lot of questions lol, but i know literally nothing about breeding mice! They were supposed to be really easy pets for my son!

 

[Loganberry]

It does happen sometimes, but not often. Feed the doe up from now on, and keep going when she has the babies - scrambled egg, stale bread soaked in milk, anything like that. It will help her out.

 

[Anne]

If enerything goes well I think you should keep a female from the litter to keep your doe with company. While boys are better of alone, does needs to be with other mice. Good luck with it all

 

[moustress]

Boys aren't really better alone, unless you have a couple of hours a day to spend with them in hands on play. Bucks and their male offspring frequently get along pretty well. You could keep one of the little boys from the litter to keep Da company after the little one's weaned. That usually works if the buck and the little boys grow up together, though. If you separate the buck from the doe before birth, that won't work either, in most cases. Sometimes bucks will accept a juvenile male as a cagemate, but you need to keep a close eye on them.

 

[kellyc88]

I have separated them, but if there is a way he may accept another male i am willing to try it. How safe is it to put him back in? I think the doe (pixie) is pretty close now she has begun squeaking quite a lot, eating A LOT and spends all non eating time in the box i put in her cage. Diesel, the buck (formerly Dora lol) seems so sad, he spends all his time pacing the side of the cage or just standing with his paws against the plastic

 

[Cait]

Don't put the buck back in or you'll end up with another litter immediately after this one! Bucks are fine to live alone but does do benefit from female company. You will probably need a different cage for the female to give birth in and raise her babies as Rotastack aren't great for mice at the best of times, let alone to raise a whole litter in. The ammonia tends to build up in them and that's something you really don't want if there are young babies in there. You don't have to go and get an expensive alternative though - there are lots of cheaper options that do just as well.

 

[moustress]

Agood cheap alternative is a 5 1/2 gallon or 10 gallon plexiglas tanks with a screen top. These should cost under $20 altogether. They are easy to clean, easy to see the meeces, and quite secure. The male would benefit from a wheel if hes going to live alone. It'll give him something to do and a way to expend energy. Try one with a mesh running surface or solid plastic surface, as the ones with rungs can injure their tails. The metal wheels are a pain because of the noise they make, it's enough to drive me nuts, and that's sometimes a short trip on a good day. :roll:

 

[tinyhartmouseries]

It's really a crap shoot with bucks of unknown lineage. While some breeders may have males that are more tolerant, they have bred for generations for this purpose, and just going out and getting a buck from anywhere doesn't mean he'll get along with another buck. And, to top it off, one could kill the other in a minute flat. They really are territorial by nature. Your son doesn't need to see that. It is 100% safer, and totally FINE for a beginning mouse-keeper to keep bucks seperate.

I am sorry "Rosie" did that to you...sadly this is the introduction to pet mice that I see many getting. I know you can do a great job! You've already taken a wonderful first step in asking caring and helpful questions to people who are willing to help!

Few does die in birth, I agree with the added protien intake, and to not intro the buck right back in with her.

 

[kellyc88]

pixie had her babies last night but she had them in a box and i cant see them too well. I have no idea how many she has had. How long will it be until i can disturb her nest and handle the babies as i would need to move some of them out of the way to count them all and make sure they all made it. Thanks everyone!

 

[AnnB]

Some people handle the babies from day one but I'd be tempted to give her at least 24-48 hours to settle and feed them before taking a look.

 

[kellyc88]

Ok, im not in a hurry i don't want to hurt them, however she has now taken two of the babies and left them outside of the nest. It seems that she doesn't want these two and i don't know what to do with them. Do i put them back in, leave them to die or take them out altogether? If there is any possible way for me to keep them alive i will do it im just not sure how!

 

[Laigaie]

You won't be able to raise them without the mum's help at this point. They have no temperature regulation and need to eat really really regularly. I'd put them back in the nest if she's left the out for a while, and try to see if she won't take them. It could be she has too many, or these are smaller than the others, or these aren't as healthy. Do a count while you're in there to pop these back in. You're best off trying to mess around in the nest when she's not around; just pick her up when she goes to get food/water/run on her wheel.