>>breeding mice in the same rack as rats? I've heard that mice will not breed with the scent of rats around? My rack is a mouse and rat set up, mice on top, rats on the bottom, my problem is that my rats breed ok, but I'm not getting any results from the mice, I've added more males, even gotten females from the petstore that look like they've swallowed a golf ball - but then a month later still no little mice - I did get one batch - they ate them. Any suggestions? It sucks having to run to Petco for 20 feeder mice per week! When I have twenty out in the shed that wont breed!
Your mice aren't breeding because every time you change their colony in any way you need to reset your date of when to expect babies. Change males....wait two months. Often, when setting up new groups you need to give them a full two months. Starting with young mice is easiest. Bringing home obvious pregnant ones may work with rats but often with mice, unless you buy the whole group and keep them together with absolute minimum stress, you get mice home and they abort or reabsorb babies and start out with the new male. Plus, starting with older mice may take LONGER than if you get a group of weanlings and grow them up together.
Plus, first time mouse moms often eat their litters. STRESS. Mice don't like change, mice don't like you peeking at them and mice don't like you to move males around. Adding more males just gave the males an alternative to breeding....trying to kill each other.
My best advice. Start fresh. Leave them entirely alone for a couple of months and don't trash them just 'cause they eat their first litters. When you want more in the group, a new group or replacements then raise up babies in your colony. Girls raised in the group and bred tend to avoid the cannabalize the first litter thing....like they learn to be good moms from their moms.
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Sonya
Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron
