Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had a problem with my breeders eating eachother. I was keeping a ratio of 1.2. On two different occasions I cought one mouse eating the other. On both occasions I killed the mouse that was eating the other fearing that now the mouse had the taste for fresh meat. I now have new mice at a ratio of 1.4. They live in a 10 gallon aquarium and have a wheel that they love to run on. I'm hoping that the mice wont get bored and attack eachother. I feed them a blended pellet that the breeder (Rodent Ranch) has had specially manufactured for rodents to produce healthy mice. Given that this guy has a half million rodents I dont think its a neutritional defficiancy. I'm stumped! Any help to this matter would be much appreciated.

Also, should I separate the male once the mice have been impregnated, or will the male not eat the babies.

Thanks in advance for any help with this matter.
Jason

Fighting is one thing, but killing is a big problem... I would say nutrient deficiency or crazy mice... That shouldn't happen often.

Leaving the male in is fine, if he is the father or has been housed with the female since early pregnancy should be fine. If not he may kill them so he can spread his own genes

Thanks
I think they were nuts. When I talked with the breeder, he sounded shocked. Maybe it was the ratio? Hopefully 5 is the number that works. Thanks again for your help.
Jason

I just started with mice, but from what I have seen, stress can be a big problem... Mine were doing great, until I moved them to a slightly smaller enclosure and the next day I saw blood.

any idea how old the mice doing the eating were? Sometimes senility can set in...also, if the mice are kept in a high-traffic section of the house, the constant activity may stress them out too far...if you're feeding the food I think you are (bought from S&S), then the food isn't the problem; I myself use it and swear by it. I do mix a cheap hamster/ gerbil blend and some dog food with it twice a week, but the rodents I have truely prefer the stuff from S&S (comes in a ziploc bag, may by Rancho Raton...)
A lot of times the mice may know there's something wrong healthwise with a tankmate far before we humans do, so perhaps they were just correcting it for you...or they're psycho and needed to become snake food sooner

Kim & crew

So did you actually SEE the murder take place, or just the grisly cannabalism afterwards? Because mice WILL eat their dead, but usually they don't deliberately murder each other because they have a taste for mousey meat. And leave the male in, he should help with raising the babies, and keep your females pregnant. Have you checked to be sure that they are getting water and have enough food? Because I've had a few mice get sorta psycho when food or water deprived.
-----
~Sasheena

I am with Sasheena. Likelihood is that they are cleaning up dead. Murdering in mice is often due to introducing a new group, but once they are settled just leave them. 'Taste for blood' will have little to do with it. Lack of food or water..especially water can cause murdering. Putting in a new mouse in an established group will sometimes result in murders.
Set up the group and leave it be. DO NOT move males around or you will have more murders.
-----
Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

Thanks for all of your advice. You all have taught me alot about the world of mouse breeding. However, now I feel bad because the original mouse that I killed and feed to a snake, I never saw kill the other mouse. I just assumed it did since I saw it eating the mouse.
I only have 1 male and four females. They have been together a week and appear to be doing good. I have them in a 10 gallon aquarium, would this be too small?
They are in a quiet room with minimal traffic.
Thanks again for everyones help
Jason

thats fine, I know people who house more than that