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Anyone ever produced tailless mice? I'm about to kill out a bloodline of them that popped up in my colonies b/c I prefer my mice with a handle (makes cleaning etc so much easier).

>>Anyone ever produced tailless mice? I'm about to kill out a bloodline of them that popped up in my colonies b/c I prefer my mice with a handle (makes cleaning etc so much easier).

I have had tailess rats show up sporatically but nothing I could consistently produce that were healthy. Many ended up infertile and unable to keep themselves clean. Some made babies that did poorly. I agree it is inconvenient to not have a handle for them.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

Sonya, about 6 years ago I had several tailess rats come out and would keep them all in a cage together. They never had babies. Are tailess just infertile all around? Do you know if there is a certain variety of rats that carry the tailess gene?
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Shannon in Reno
1.0 savannah monitor (Pombe-means "beer" in Swahili)
2.4 dogs
1.0 cat
5.32 rats
6.44 mice
7.50 chickens
1.2 beardies
0.1 black rat snake
~500 hissers
1 giant millipede
0.1 Chissel tooth kangaroo rat
1.1 rabbits
1.0 wonderful husband

I would sell them as pets. A lot of people who keep pet rodents just don't like the tails.
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~Sara~
6.6 ball pythons
1.0 Black-lined plated lizard (Lizzy Butt)
0.1 Burmese Python (Pixil)
4.4 Pet Rats
1.1 Dogs (Ozzie and Mandy)
0.1 Cat (Isis)
0.0.1 Synodontis Catfish (Big Spotty Fish)
0.2 Convict Cichlids

Well if as said with the rats, and they are unable to keep themselves clean.. I think they would make for ill pets.
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2.0 Beardie
1.1 Common Boa
1.1 Ackies
0.1 Giant BW Tegu
Thousands of Roaches, T's, and Scorps.
R.I.P. My Beautiful Savannah Monitor.. and my prized Leopard Geckos..

Tell that to the thousands of rat fanciers who keep, breed, and show these rats. They are very popular and go for more money than normals... more around the price of hairless.
I wouldn't think they should have a problem keeping themselves clean. They DO have problems in hot environments though, because rats cool off through their tails and feet. Maybe if they got too hot, they may be likely to be in distress and not want to clean.
I know with my rats, if one is old and not cleaning itself, the others pin them down and clean them. Are you keeping the tailless with regular rats, or just with other tailless?
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~Sara~
5.5 ball pythons
1.0 Black-lined plated lizard (Lizzy Butt)
0.1 Burmese Python (Pixil)
2.1 Pet Rats
1.1 Dogs (Ozzie and Mandy)
0.1 Cat (Isis)
0.0.1 Synodontis Catfish (Big Spotty Fish)
0.2 Convict Cichlids

Manx rodents (tailess) can make perfectly fine pets. The concern you need to be worried about with a manx rodent is a deformity in the pelvis bone which could cause complications or death if they are bred.

Rick
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