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hello! i need a little bit of help...
as mentioned in a previous post, I have 4 female mice (A, B, C, and D), and one male mouse (Z).
A, and B are in one tank, C is in one tank, and D is in another tank. Z is in a wire cage.
About twenty-some days ago A, B, and C mated with Z. last week i cleaned their tanks and noticed them building nest both in their nesting boxes and out in the open.
on 5/19/10 mouse C had 9 pups inside her cardbord nesting box (pics are here viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3500)
yesterday, 5/22/10 i woke up and saw 21 pups in the corner of the tank with mouse A on top of them nursing. mouse B was eating and drinking looking thinner than how she looked before, mouse A however was still chunky.
i noticed throught the day that both mouse A and mouse B would alternate taking care of the pups, licking them, feeding them, keeping them warm. then both would be doing so at the same time. i'm still confused as to whether the pups are combined from both mouse A and mouse B or only from mouse B.
last night i could hear pups sqeaking, it wasn't coming from the tank with mouse C and pups, but it also wasn't the 21 pups in the middle of the tank, it was coming from the other side of that same tank and you could hear cardboard rustling.
this morning i checked up on them and they all seemed fine. mouse A is now skinny (still only see 21 pups) and whithin 30 minutes of me checking them, mouse A moved the pups to the cardboard box where i heard the sqeaking last night.
my thoughts are that perhaps the 21 pups are from mouse B, and mouse A delivered last night and they simply moved the 21 pups from mouse B to the box where mouse A delivered so they can nurse all pups together in private.
That being said, i've been keeping a close eye on them and it's been about 7 hours and the mom(s) have yet to return to the nest. mouse A has burrowed like crazy and sealed off the door to the box where the pups are. both mouse A and mouse B are simply hanging out in the tank eating, sleeping, climbing, running in their tubes as if nothing happened. is it posible that they may have just abandoned their pups? i can still hear them squeaking so it seems they're fine but i'm worried they won't be nursed and may die. i know if they didn't want them, they'd kill/eat them. could i just be worrying to much or is this possible? i want to check in the box but also want to wait 'till day 4 (today is day 2) i also want to clean out both tanks.
would it be okay to take the moms out and place them seperately, then keep the pups in their cardboard box while i clean the tank? i'd then return the cardboard box with the pups inside, add all the basics then put the moms in. is this a good idea? if not what would be the best way to clean their tanks? it's vital to do so, the tank with mouse A and mouse B is a horrible mess! plus tank with mouse C is covered in poop!
any help is greatly appreciated!!!
as mentioned in a previous post, I have 4 female mice (A, B, C, and D), and one male mouse (Z).
A, and B are in one tank, C is in one tank, and D is in another tank. Z is in a wire cage.
About twenty-some days ago A, B, and C mated with Z. last week i cleaned their tanks and noticed them building nest both in their nesting boxes and out in the open.
on 5/19/10 mouse C had 9 pups inside her cardbord nesting box (pics are here viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3500)
yesterday, 5/22/10 i woke up and saw 21 pups in the corner of the tank with mouse A on top of them nursing. mouse B was eating and drinking looking thinner than how she looked before, mouse A however was still chunky.
i noticed throught the day that both mouse A and mouse B would alternate taking care of the pups, licking them, feeding them, keeping them warm. then both would be doing so at the same time. i'm still confused as to whether the pups are combined from both mouse A and mouse B or only from mouse B.
last night i could hear pups sqeaking, it wasn't coming from the tank with mouse C and pups, but it also wasn't the 21 pups in the middle of the tank, it was coming from the other side of that same tank and you could hear cardboard rustling.
this morning i checked up on them and they all seemed fine. mouse A is now skinny (still only see 21 pups) and whithin 30 minutes of me checking them, mouse A moved the pups to the cardboard box where i heard the sqeaking last night.
my thoughts are that perhaps the 21 pups are from mouse B, and mouse A delivered last night and they simply moved the 21 pups from mouse B to the box where mouse A delivered so they can nurse all pups together in private.
That being said, i've been keeping a close eye on them and it's been about 7 hours and the mom(s) have yet to return to the nest. mouse A has burrowed like crazy and sealed off the door to the box where the pups are. both mouse A and mouse B are simply hanging out in the tank eating, sleeping, climbing, running in their tubes as if nothing happened. is it posible that they may have just abandoned their pups? i can still hear them squeaking so it seems they're fine but i'm worried they won't be nursed and may die. i know if they didn't want them, they'd kill/eat them. could i just be worrying to much or is this possible? i want to check in the box but also want to wait 'till day 4 (today is day 2) i also want to clean out both tanks.
would it be okay to take the moms out and place them seperately, then keep the pups in their cardboard box while i clean the tank? i'd then return the cardboard box with the pups inside, add all the basics then put the moms in. is this a good idea? if not what would be the best way to clean their tanks? it's vital to do so, the tank with mouse A and mouse B is a horrible mess! plus tank with mouse C is covered in poop!
any help is greatly appreciated!!!
