right, mickey has gone, my friend offered to take him on as she had a spare wire top mouse cage which she used to have a dwarf hamster in, and she liked the little guy so hes now out of the picture which is a relief
on to the babies and mums to be, they are even rounder this morning than last night, i swear it, the mums are of different ages but some are very small and look to be about half grown, about half the size of the chunkier mice. all seem to have very much rounded tums. all these mice are related, mickey was from one of the new litters so im guessing hes impregnanted his mum along with any sisters he had, and possibly aunts too if the original does were related too. this cannot be good for the babies. the does are all eating very well, and are putting away 3 bowls of food a day, and are drinking lots too. all seem much happier than they were when in the soaking wet plastic tub at the place we got them from.
i have a spare tank and will split them into 2 groups which is the best i can do for now, should i separate the more rounded mums into one and less rounded into the other or just go for a 5 in the bigger tank 4 in the smaller? also, to make sure of no pregnancies, as in i am looking to rehome a few of these does, how long should i wait to ensure they arent expecting?
i remember when i was much much younger, maybe 7 years old, and my brother had 2 black and white mice from petsmart and one gave birth, was a bit of shock having a mouse named gilbert popping out 7 pinkies one night

anyway, 6 of the babies survived, even with me and my brother lifting the nest, playing with the babies, playing with mum, 1 baby was pushed from the nest from the hour it was born, she just didnt like it for some reason, it died through the first night. its not the first time ive seen mice have babies, but on this scale, when all i wanted to do was rescue a few in need of a new home ( :roll: my soft side is so annoying) if they had been in a clean dry proper cage with ventilation, i would have easily left some there. now i have the prospect of 9 litters-its terrifying :shock:
on to the really awful bit, how do i do the nasty deed with the pinkies, im thinking its best to do it as soon as possible after the birth? ive heard of putting pinkies in the freezer, but im not up for that i dont think, surely thats an awful way to go.