Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can anyone tell me why some mice colonies eat there babies? I started 4 colonies, but 2 of them killed there babies as soon as they were born.They are in ten gollons with 1 male and 5 females.

Mice are vicious creatures..anything can set them off..I find that keeping their water full and their food plentiful will help..but there's other factors also..males will eat babies, to cycle the female sooner..i.e. no babies to nurse..cycle of life starts again..females could decide they're in need of something.. and go psycho (it happens in ALL species).gone babies...12 hours of light helps..ect..you have to go to the feeder forums to get to the nitty gritty..I spend more time with my feeders than I do with my reptiles..it's a pain in the ass to tell the truth..
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Richard Evans

no not THAT one

no, usually males do not eat the babies...the females will eat the babies, other females or even the one that just gave birth,,it's a protein need thing.....

and it also has alot to do with stress, new mothers will not know what to do and will eat them, they have already died alot of times...

good tanks will not eat the babies even when they are stressed and need food and water ,,till they really need to...

as they get older they get better,,,until they are too old ,,then they may start eating them again at times...

some strains of mice are more prone to doing this than others also.......check with where you got them....lab grade mice are different than normal American mutt mice....they may have been reared on higher protein diets .

I use 18 / 6 18% protein and 6% fat,.......good enough.....
some people /labs will use 19 / 11 or even 22% protein....dog food is like 22% protein but some how it is made for dogs and not mcie so it doen't seem to do as well on a mouse colony ,even with the higher protein count..

.male mice are programmed that when females give birth,,,their brain tells them not to kill ANY baby ,,,due to the fact that IF they kill the kids they MAY be ther's ,,,so they let them live,,,,females can tell different kids from their own at times it is said....but with my colonies I switch kids all over the place all the time,,,mine has been closed more or less and technically all the mice are related one way or another somehow......even if they are just 10th cousins....

some mice cannot take normal household dirt either,,,cold ,damp,musty even basements can kill alot of lab grade mice......mine can take anything .....they were bred that way for a decade and a half.....like I said.mutts......(with English,Swiss and other lines mixed in ).

check the food content and the place tou got them....it takes a month for babies and a month for the second batch.....if they keep eating them, get new mice....
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1. if the females are lacking nutrition they'll eat their young (what are you feeding them?)

2. if young are deformed or sick she will kill/eat them

3. if food supply is limited she'll eat some young in order to supply sustenance for other offspring

4. if females are killing their ENTIRE litters, it may a result from stress, or the hostility from other mice in the colony makes her kill them (because they wouldn't survive anyway)

5. Female mice lose energy after they give birth (feeding on young replaces the lost nutrition)

6. Aggressive females from another litter may kill/eat them as well

7. Male Breeders may kill young mice (so that females ovulate sooner)

~ZF
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Floridana Morphs: Resource Site

I tried breeding mice but found it much easier to just buy frozen.
Rats are much easier to breed.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

the above replies are all good!
But shrink the colony to a 1.2 or 1.3max in a 10gal.
and no water will evaporate your pinkies by canibalism by the lactating Moms

>>the above replies are all good!
>>But shrink the colony to a 1.2 or 1.3max in a 10gal.
>>and no water will evaporate your pinkies by canibalism by the lactating Moms

I tired breeding mice and did well for sometime. I like the ASF rats much better. Less smell bigger litters and less haslle. Takes awhile to get a colony going. But once the start going you will be amazed at the reslults.

I tired breeding mice and did well for sometime. I like the ASF rats much better. Less smell bigger litters and less haslle. Takes awhile to get a colony going. But once the start going you will be amazed at the reslults.

i like the asf also,but they take a bit longer to mature,but they do have mouse size pinks,what is your biggest litter of asf,i have a few trays and noticed asst Qnty in litter size and how long do you wait to retire the breeders,BTW sorry to be off topic a'lil but Kings love 'em
Ihave also heard they take the summer months in stride,i aquired mine last fall but was thinkin if i should focus on ASF for Summer production Thanks Chris......

my ASFR started with a litter every 23 days and average 17 in a litter....they can do more..

they do grow slow to get to adult size...

they are loved by kings and milks and ratsnakes and all...

they do bite

they do have a couple special needs.....

.......I retire all rodents after 6 months of breeding ,,,but you can just keep an eye on them and see how they do,,,and start over when you see them slow down too much.....

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I used 10 gallons for years, decade......I now use kitty litter pans in a rack

I use 1 male to 15 girls now...I used to keep (better) 1 male and 10 females in a tank.......good number.....

.the more the better........production is what you want....

I have just 56 tubs of regular mice.and put out thousands of babies a month......

......I supply more than just me,,,even though I may use up to 700 mice in a week at times....

good luck......

......males will usually fight..so just one per tank.....

if he dies and you NEED to add a male.most females will then fight with him,,,,cover him in baby powder to give him a better chance of not being killed......(I also use 3 or 3 males when adding when needed,,,they usually won't kill all 3)......

have fun
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Females ovulate the same day they give birth. The males will start trying to breed the female as soon as 12 hours before birth. she lets him breed her directly after birth. so, the males don't kill the babys in order to induce the female to ovulate sooner. this is true in other animal species, however. some primates, for one. Rusty