Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 3 mice living together (2 female, 1 male) in a 20 gallon tank and I'm pretty sure one female(Emily) is pregnant. So should I remove the male or not? I have a smaller holding cage for him, if necessary. I have read conflicting opinions, I just want healthy and safe babies.

Thanks,
Brian

Yes, definitely get the male out of there. Once the female has her litter she'll become pregnant again almost immediately. That is *very* hard on their bodies. The other female will help with the litter and the male will be fine alone. I have several lone males and with lots of toys and a wheel and lots of time out of his cage he will be perfectly happy. If you have the money and a competent vet you could have him neutered. I have a neutered mouse who lives with four girls... it's so funny watching him try to impress them, I don't think he's realized he's neutered yet.
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Kadee Sedtal

home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats-Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, Fillmore, Norbert, and baby Franz, the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Rasputin, Johann, Chaminade, Dorothy, Glenda, and Em, and the wonderful winter white dwarf hamster- Feather
"I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, yahoo! I'd have all my money back." -Jack Handey

I read that the male will help with raising the babies sometimes, is that true? Is it possible to take him out for a day or two and then put him back? How long is the female able to get pregnant after birth?

Sorry for all the questions, thank you for your help!

Even if you take the male out, the female will be able to get pregnant again about every five days. I would just keep the male out. Mice forget each other after only a few hours and if you take him out then put him back in after a few days he will probably kill the babies. Just let the other female help your pregnant girl with the babies. She'll do just fine, and if something happens and the mother is unable to nurse, the other female may be able to foster them. There's no reason to keep the boy around especially if there's another female there to help. Back-to-back pregnancies are very hard on the female and it will also be very difficult to place that many babies in good homes. The male will be fine on his own, just let the other female help with the litter.
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Kadee Sedtal

home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats-Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, Fillmore, Norbert, and baby Franz, the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Rasputin, Johann, Chaminade, Dorothy, Glenda, and Em, and the wonderful winter white dwarf hamster- Feather
"I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, yahoo! I'd have all my money back." -Jack Handey

And P.S., it's good that you're asking questions. A lot of what you read on the internet is false and the only way you can get accurate info is to ask someone. I have a winter white hamster who I thought might have wet tail, but on the internet I read that they can't get wet tail. I asked some hamster people and they said yes, they can. So that could have ended very badly if I hadn't asked. Hope your litter does well, do post pics. I'm having a bad case of baby rodent fever at the moment.
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Kadee Sedtal

home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), the rats-Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Pachebel, Fillmore, Norbert, and baby Franz, the mice- Vivaldi, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, Rasputin, Johann, Chaminade, Dorothy, Glenda, and Em, and the wonderful winter white dwarf hamster- Feather
"I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, yahoo! I'd have all my money back." -Jack Handey