Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I adopted two female mice 10 days ago. One of them is getting very fat and I wrote to the shelter and they said that they had had them over full month before I adopted them and that they had been sexed by a vet. I checked out sexing pages and they do indeed seem to both be female (I have a male mouse in a seperate room and they have had no contact what so ever). And the shelter said that they were sure they didn't come in contact with any other mice while in their care.

Her belly started to show signs of swelling about 3 days ago. I'm worried. I read about tumors and it doesn't appear to be that becuase its sort of all over her belly evenly, no bumps. Could there be something else wrong with her? She drinks a lot of water. I have a box and lots of fluff for a nest in case she is pregnant. I'm really worried about her. She's still active and spends a lot of time running on the wheel although today she is a lot slower then normal and she waddles a little bit becuase her belly is getting big. I don't know a vet in the area that knows anything about mice and I can't find a good website with health information.

If anyone knows a good website with health (and pictures) for mice or can help me find a good vet in Southern Ontario I would much appreciate it. Also if you have any suggestions as to how to tell if she is pregnant.

Also both mice have nipples and I read that males don't have nipples. My male mouse (happens to be a wild deer mouse so I can't handle him) doesn't have nipples (I've seen him on the cage bars).

I'm so worried and I love the little girl (Marshmallow aka mars (red eys) aka Marshy).

Please help

Thank you so much

Pamela

From what you describe, she sounds pregnant to me. Especially if she looks like she swollowed a light bulb. If she is indeed getting really big she probably have her babies within the next couple days. If you watch her closely you should be able to see the babies moving within her, kind of looks like twitching along her stomach and sides. Best not to handle her much or at all during this stage as it is easy to hurt her now that she is that big.

As to how she could have become pregnant, there are several possibilities. She could have been housed in a cage that was directly against a cage containing male mice (especially if a wire cage, if both in aquariums or solid sided cages, then this theory won't work) it is possible for the male to mate with her through the bars. ALso, if any wild or loose mice were in the area she was kept at the shelter, same possibility could happen. Even if housed with a male for a short period of time, she could have been impregnated (it takes as little as 3 seconds for a male to do the 'deed' with a receptive female).

Another possibility is she retained sperm. Some rodents can stop a pregnancy from progressing for several months till conditions are just right (ie weather, crowding issues, security etc) before continuing with the pregnancy.

I don't think a male deermouse can impregnate a domesticated female mouse, but other kinds of wild mice can (field mice I beleive are the wild ancestors of domesticated mice, but not 100% sure on this).

Other than pregnancy that can cause swellon of the stomach as you described could be a whole bunch of tumors or one very large one that just grow to dominate her insides, giving a pregnant look (or perhaps in her ovaries/womb). However, for it to get that large and not affect the overall comfort and health of your mouse, I don't think is likely. Internal bleeding, infection or swelling due to trama may swell up the stomach area but these situations would have other symtoms, such as lathargy, rapid breathing, lose of appetite, cause discomfort or squeeks of pain if handled, etc.

I suggest giving her a few more days to see if she has the babies or starts to show other signs of illness (such as I mentioned above). If showing signs of illness a vet visit will be in order. Check your yellow pages for vets who deal with pocket pets or small mammals. ALso check nearby communities or cities as well. Even phoning what vets you do have in your area, could reveal names and numbers of vets who can handle small animals. ALso, you can also ask at the place you bought the mice from. They may know of a vet who will treat small animals.
-----
PHLdyPayne

Thank you for the awesome insightful reply. I will wait and see if any little mouses appear. Do I need to remove her female friend from the cage? They both have nipples and I'm pretty sure they are female as originally assessed by the vet. The 'fat' mouse does not appear to be in any pain and is eating and drinking and running on her wheel (fat belly and all). She looks a little funny running but she seems to enjoy it. She is perky and appears healthy. I hope she is pregnant and not sick. I will try and check later if I can see movement in the belly. I'll only do it if she's willing to walk onto my hand. I don't want to hurt her or the babies.

Thanks so much for everything. You've been more helpful then any other reference i've found.

Pamela

It is fine to leave both female mice together. Having her cage mate around is beneficial as more often than not, she will help the mother with teh babies, help cleaning them, keeping them warm and basically everything else except of course feeding them.

Considering how close your female is to giving birth, it is also a good ideal to limit any stress either may be feeling. Mice mothers are known to eat their own young, if they feel stressed. So avoid any changes to the cage, *other than normal cage cleaning but if you happen to pick the day to clean and she has had babies, recently or in the progress, leave her alone completely). Removing her cage mate can also stress her out, so best to leave her in there.

Once you realize she had her babies (sudden loss of weight, for one LOL) it's best to resist the temptation to look and handle the babies for at least 3-4 days after birth. Also, if cleaning day falls during that time, skip it. After the 3-4 days have gone by, do a partial clean of bedding (basically opposite side of where she had the babies).

If your female had the babies and after about 5 days show no signs of stress or aggression while you are looking in on, it may be alright to take her out and her cage mate out of their cage. Then you can clean the entire cage if it needs it, leaving some of the original 'nest' material with teh babies (make sure you don't miss any, they are small though by 5 days should be starting to grow a peachfuzz coat of fur). Also a good time to check for nipples to see which are the females. Once the cage is clean, put babies back with some of their old nesting matterial then put the females back in. Leave alone for awhile for eerybody to get settled back in.

Oh for the expantant mom, give her foods with a higher protein and fat content than normal. Undyed dry dogfood is a good way to give to your mice, just make sure the kibble is small, a too big kibble will be more difficult for your mice to eat (actually, it won't be any harder, just take longer for the mice to consume each peice and higher chance the piece will get covered in urine etc). Rodent lab blocks for nursing/growing mice work as well. Something with at least 18% protein and 8% fat content is best. Once the babies are weaned and ready to go to new homes, you can stop feeding the dog food completely or offer as a treat, in addition of regular food.
-----
PHLdyPayne

That is so absolutely weird about being able to stop a pregnancy from progressing till conditions allow for babies! I'm getting so fascinated with rodents, and this just makes me more interested in them. That's a very neat bit of information, too.
-----
Kadee Sedtal

home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal) and Kyky The Amazing RRRRando! "Sousa" (pharaoh hound)