Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You
Click for ZooMed
Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You

Hello.. new to the mouse world.

Venus_Spirit Jan 02, 2004 11:34 PM

Hello

We are new to the mouse world. My 10 year old son got a petco giftcard from Christmas and wanted to get either a rat or mouse. I was told hamsters and gerbils are for girls only..lol. (I had some rats a few years ago so we know what we are getting into) Anyway, when we got there, they didn't have any rats or fancy mice, so my son begged to get some "common/feeder" mice. He didn't want them to get eaten. We looked though and picked the most active, healthly and friendly young looking little ones. One black and two white females. (I'm 100% sure they are all females) I know it maybe possable for they to have babies because they where in a mix sex cage, but they only had one black and it was a girl.. All three are doing great. We have a 20gal long glass tank with a locking screen top for them. (already had it in the garage) We got them Carefresh bedding, water bottle, feeding dish, chew toys, a large wooden hidding box for sleeping, an exerice wheel and some play tubes and toys. Future plans are to get some of those fancy cages with all the tunnels and tubes. Now my question is what is the "real" difference between the fancy and common mice? If any of the girls had breed, what is the longest we have before babies? Any suggestions or comments?

Thanks for any help.
Venus

Replies (3)

Ravyn11 Jan 03, 2004 10:35 AM

Hello, and welcome! I'll try and answer some of your questions.

Firstly, it is very likely all three of the females are pregnant if they were in a mixed sex cage. The average mouse litter is about 6-12 babies, with some having as many as twenty in one litter! You're shortly going to have your hands very full

A twenty gallon is more than enough room for up to about six females. Males from the same litter can usually be kept safely together so long as they have enough room, enough food dishes, and enough hiding spots to have their own little territories. I keep no more than four males to a twenty long, each with his own house. Even then, you have to watch them to make sure they're not harrassing each other. If they fight (blood drawing fight, not normal wrestling/squeaking), or if one is being kept from the food and water and is visibly stressed, they will have to be seperated.

But, back to your girls. Mouse gestation is about 21-24 days. If you have no babies in a month, you will have no babies. You'll swiftly be able to tell if the females are pregnant. Their tummies will get visibly fat roughly a week or so before delivery. They'll look like little pears, or lightbulbs. HOWEVER, some females will stay skinny and suddenly pop out a litter of ten, so until the month has passed you can't be a hundred percent sure they're not pregnant.

Give them small amounts of kitten food to help with their protein buildup. Pregnancy and nursing are hard on little mices, and they need the extra nutrition. If they are not pregnant this will not harm them, but if you see patches of fur starting to go missing, cut down on the kitten food. They may be getting too MUCH protein.

If they have babies, it's okay to keep the females all together. They will help each other nurse and take care of all the babies in a big group. Contrary to popular belief, its rare for a mouse to eat her babies. If she does, it's usually due to a problem with the pup itself, she has too many to feed properly, or she is simply too young and doesn't know how to deal with them. Leave the nest undisturbed for a day or so following the birth, but after that it's important to start handling the babies. Remove the mother(s) from the tank and check over the kiddos. Remove any dead babies the mother hasn't eaten, and any bloody debris you might find. Count them over, and check their tummies for white bands. This indicates they're nursing well. Put the nest back the way you found it and put the females back.

Handle the babies at least once or twice every day. The more you handle them, the more friendly and sociable they will be when they get older. Just be careful, especially when they are in the 'popcorn' stage. They will suddenly pop right out of your hands and can be injured if they fall too far.

It's possible to sex babies from birth but I find its a lot easier and more reliable if you sex them just as their fur is coming in. The fur grows around the nipples, making them very obvious. Girls have nipples, boys do not. It's as simple as that. Males must be seperated from the females at about five weeks of age. They will be weaned and should be eating solid foods at this time. If they are not seperated, they can and will impregnant the mothers and all their sisters.

I tend to avoid cages with those plastic hamster tunnels. They are a pain to clean as mice will pee in them, and a really dedicated mouse can chew through the plastic and escape. Mice are happy with a few hides, some toilet paper or paper towel tubes to chew, and a wheel or two.

As for the difference between fancy and common mice, it varies between pet stores. Down to the meat of it, there is no difference. They are the same breed and species. Most pet stores label them 'fancy' if they are pretty or uniquely colored, or have one of the more rare coat types (rex, angora, long-hair fuzzy). They label them common if they are small, or are the traditional 'feeder' pink-eyed white.

Some pet stores get their mice from two seperate sources...one that inbreeds and mass produces, and one that specializes in the more unique colors. The inbred ones are 'common', the others 'fancy'. But it is all in a name. There really is no difference, and it's mainly an excuse to charge more for a 'fancy' type mouse...though that fancy mouse may be brother or sister to half a dozen mice that were plopped in the 'common' tank for not being unusual enough.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful. One really good mouse sight to visit is http://www.mouse@horns.com

They have all sorts of information on litters, care, and varieties of mice.

All the best of luck!

Ravyn11 Jan 03, 2004 10:36 AM

Sorry, I got the link wrong. The address for Mouse@horns is:

http://www.horns.freeserve.co.uk/mouse.htm

My apologies

Venus_Spirit Jan 07, 2004 07:14 PM

Well we are pretty sure at least one of the gals is going to have babies. In the past couple of day her tummy and sides have gotten HUGE. So we did a major cleaning of the cage (wash all the toys, walls, etc.) and figure we shouldn't hold her for the next few day just to make sure. I'll keep you up to date as time goes on.

venus

Site Tools