She had babies!!!

And didn't kill them! She had eight of the little critters. I'm so proud of her. The last couple of days I thought she'd never give birth, but she did at some point in the night.

I haven't got pictures or anything I didn't want to disturb them at all. I've been leaving them be until I'm ready to cull a couple. Now if only the other female and the male would do the nasty and have me another litter... Ugh!

Well the other female started killing these babies (the one who murdered her own litter) so we've removed her and humanely euthanized her. She'll be fed off to one of the snakes tonight.

I feel really bad. I hate that I killed her, but it had to be done. Didn't it?

You did good, Em, don't feel bad. Let one of the females grow up to breed. That way she will already be part of the colony and won't need to be introduced.

Thanks Wade... I felt so horrible, I even cried. I'm just going to have to get used to doing this sort of thing and build up a thick skin to it. Your encouragement makes me feel a whole lot better. Thanks again.

I have killed tens of thousands of mice. I’ll tell you the truth, I felt bad about it when I was first starting. I didn’t like it one bit. My wife still won’t come in the room while I’m killing the mice. She feeds the snakes every week but she doesn’t want to see the mice until they are frozen.

I am accustomed to it now and don’t really think about it at all. I am sensitive to it to the extent that I try to make it as quick and painless as possible. Beyond that, it is just something that needs to be done.

I thought it would be easier. The mice aren't working out for me...

This morning we found the male eating one of the babies; several more were dead. The two we managed to save were abandoned by the mother. We were careful not to touch or mess with any of the living ones at all. I think the stress of losing the other two was a bit too much for her or something.

I'm thinking of starting again with gerbils, but I'm not sure. We didn't kill the male, we're taking him back to the store as I promised the guy who sold him to me that he would not go for feed. The only males they had weren't plain white mice, they were colored, and were to be sold as pets only. I guess now that the others are dead I could try again with him and my current female... Would that be possible?

I would try again. It is not unusual for a female to loose her first litter. She is stressed and learning the process. The same is true for the male. That fact that he was eating one of the babies does not necessarily label him as a baby killer.

It will take at least 3 or 4 weeks for the next batch of babies to arrive. That will give both of the adults time to settle in and become accustom to you and their home. I think you will find it is really easier than this first attempt has been. When I’m cleaning cages, I clean no matter what. I have moved females while they were in the process of giving birth and not had problems with them. They will become accustom to you in time.

Do you think now that they aren't pregnant at the moment and everything that I should go ahead and start handling them? I've been afraid of getting too attached so I try not to handle them much at all, that I don't want to cause them any problems. But if need be, I can handle the parents.

I'll try again and see how they do. It's just been really depressing for me, I was expecting more success and less... of the other stuff.

Thank you very much, Wade.

You have to take into consideration that I have a lot of mice. I clean cages once a week and that is the only time I ever handle them. It really isn’t necessary to handle them unless you want to. My mice are in the garage. So people are coming and going every day. Lights get turned on and off. The mice become accustom to what ever is normal traffic. It will be the same for you want ever is normal for your situation.

If you want to handle them go ahead. It doesn’t matter if she is pregnant or not. Fact is, the females go into heat about 2 hours after giving birth. If the male was present at the time, she is probably pregnant now.

Raising mice can be fun and educational. When I have scout troops over to see my snakes, they spend as much time with the mice as the snakes. It can be a very interesting extension of the snake hobby. I hope you have much better luck with the next go around.

Thanks Wade.

Oh good... I hope her next litter goes better than the first. I'm going to keep the male, he was doing really good until caught eating one of the babies, but I think by that point she had abandoned the babies already and it may have died. If he were going to kill them he would have done it earlier. Right?

In the wild they eat their babies if they think they are going to die anyway. That way all to good protein doesn’t go to waste. If the mother loses her milk, or the colony is threatened or for whatever reason if the babies are going to die, the mother eat them. Mom nature is harsh sometimes.

It makes sense. Humans are wasteful!

yes I agree with Wade, you should have more luck with the next litter, one of my best breeders ate her first litter but after that she was brilliant. Also know what you mean about killing them I couldnt do it to start with always had to wait for my partner to do it, but in the end I toughened up (usually due to getting fed up waiting for him to do it) now I kill them, all ages. It is hard but at the end of the day they are bred for food and that is the way I have to look at them now. Not only that before they are killed they do have a good life in nice big viv with wheels and toys and are fed each day.

Anyway better luck with your next litter it all comes with a bit of experience once the parents get the hang of things and get established you wont be able to stop them breeding.

Thanks very much claireree.