Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I breed mice and rats in the same closet and they both get the same attention, but my rats are breeding like wild fire while my mice all died off? Has this happened to anyone else and what could be the problem?

Could be many things...a virus that infects only mice, old age, poor husbandry conditions, repiratory infections etc..Provide more details about your setup, age of the mice, how often each female is bred etc. and it will be easier to narrow down the possibilities.

I was buying them from the same pet store I bought my rats from and two weeks later they always died. I kept 1 male and 4 females in a 10 gallon,pine shavings (Walmart), and (mazurai) rodent cubes for all life stages or rodents. A food dish,water bottle and wheel. I cleaned them every time I could smell them or the rats. I tried 2 other times with mice from 2 other pet shops all to the same end within a month! So I gave up on them until I can stop killing them, and solve the problem.

Did you buy adult mice at the petstore or baby mice (5-6 week old mice)? They may be selling you adult mice that are near the end of their lifespan (1-3 years). Or, the may all be getting their mice from the same source who may be selling mice already sick or in poor health.

If none of the above conditions are suspect, I would look into the food and water you are using. Is the lab chow really old? (the brand seems to be one recommended by some mouse/rat breeders). What do you use to clean the cages with? Any toxic cleaners could be poisoning your mice/rats. What are you using for bedding? Also, how many do you have per cage and what size are the cages?

The only sure way to determine what is killing these mice, is getting a vet to do a necropsy on them.

Nevermind the size/bedding question...noticed you already answered that. A 10 gal tank is kind of small for 5 mice so over crowding may be contributing to death. Also, glass tanks with poor ventilation can lead to the build up of ammonia from urine unless you are cleaning just about every other day in a tank that size.

I would recommend buying a large rubbermaid tub to house your mice in. Cut large sections out of the lid and cover with screen (Or leave the lid off completely, if you have no other household pets that could get at the mice). Pine shavings isn't the best to use for bedding due to the toxicity of pine (cedar is much worse). Aspen shavings are better. I use a thin layer of aspen over a few layers of newspaper (with soy-based inks only though). The mice have alot of fun just shredding the newspaper to line their nests. You should also supply at least one (2 or 3 would be better) exercise wheels (make sure they have either a mesh or solid bottom, the ones that sit on the bottom of the tank is better as you don't have to worry about mounting it to the side of the tank). Toilet paper and paper towel tubes make good toys for the mice to play in. I use coffee cup holders you get at any coffee shop cut in half as little hides for the mice (again, all disposible and don't have to clean them).

With lots of toys, room and comfortable environment available to the mice, it should promote better health and breeding.

When you had mice before and they died...did you notice them looking sick, being lathargic, hiding all the time, or cowering in a corner? Or were they thin, scruffy looking, with matted, dull or dirty fur when you bought them?