Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay i started breeding mice about a month ago..the guy at the store said i would need a ratio of 4 females to 1 male..everything seemed to be going well..the other females seem a bit small still but one got pregnant so far...but.....i found 3 that werent fully developed and 2 eaten pinkys...and 3 that are still alive...would this be because its her first litter? she still looks fat is it possible for another litter? should i continue to let them breed ? and is it going to happen again? i keep them in a 29 gallon tank..constantly dark (in a closet) ummm they have a cardboard box as a little house/hide any reasons why this may have happened? please reply if u have any suggestions or answers

ive read further down and it seems that the eat the first litter sometimes? so i shouldnt be worried too much? what can i do to reduce stress in them? i leave them alone constantly unless giving water or food i check them once a day if that and once i saw she had pinks ..i noticed blood then some undeveloped ones..should i just let the other females grow then? 2 seem to be pregnant but im not sure if they are too small ? will she still raise the 3?

I wouldn't leave them in the dark 24 hours a day. Though mice are most active at night, they do need a day/light cycle. When I was breeding mice I kept them in their own separate room with natural light through blinds to give them a day light cycle and I never had problems with even first time moms eating their young. Only once did I have a mom start to eat her litter and that was only because I was half way through cleaning the cage when I realized she was giving birth. I put her alone to finish and the pinks she had not eaten I mixed few a few day old pinks from another female.

Malformed babies could be caused by alot of things, including too much inbreeding. I would leave her with the remaining living pinks and see if she's nursing them fine. Even if it turns out to be a small little, the babies will grow fast and with the male housed with the females, she will get pregnant again if not already. Mice can breed again within 24 hours of giving birth. If she keeps having still borns and malformed babies, I would look for another source of mice. Either get a new male to introduce or brand new females. Or just get rid of the one female if the other three produce healthy offspring.

See my post above, if constant eating of babies i would elimanate the mother. I would seperate all preg females into pairs or by them selves and give lots of TP or fluff and a wheel keeps their mind of things also.
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My roomates are2 boas, 4 corns,Rotti,3cats and snake food AKA the food chain.