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Feeders Any and all issues about raising rats, mice, or anything else that you feed your cornsnakes.

Loosing litters
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Old 04-22-2015, 07:58 AM   #11
crazyd82
I'll keep an eye on them and as find pregnant females I'll put them in separate bins. Any offenders turn into BP food. Hopefully we can get back to raising up babies again soon.
 
Old 04-22-2015, 06:23 PM   #12
compasslogic
Ok so I don't know how to answer this from a snake owner perspective (I have never owned or bred mice), but I am a mammalogist and can answer it from a rodent behavior perspective. There could be several reasons.

Many animals will engage in this behavior if they feel that there are not enough resources to care for the young, such as not enough food or a high-stress environment.

Another reason: males have been known to kill/consume offspring in an attempt to bring females back into breeding availability faster. This varies by species, some rodents have fathers that will help with child rearing and others have males that are uninvolved and therefore might participate in this behavior.

A third reason: defective litter. If an offspring comes out with an abnormality mother's have been documented killing the young, and even the entire associated litter. This is something that can occur more readily with inbreeding due to inbreeding depression.

A fourth reason: young mother. Some mothers abandon/kill their first (or first few) litters if they feel that they are "not ready" to be mothers. This would be very unlikely in a small rodent though.

But, with little rodents it's most commonly stress related, and that's my best guess. So something is stressing out your mice. It could really be anything. Too bright/dark. Too hot/cold. Too loud, too small of cages, too little exercise, too many mice together, the male is too pushy/aggressive. Something stressful bordering the cage (like a watchful cat or something). Really could be tons of stuff.

Anyway, there's my two cents!
 
Old 04-22-2015, 08:58 PM   #13
Rigby & Marcy
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyd82 View Post
I'll keep an eye on them and as find pregnant females I'll put them in separate bins. Any offenders turn into BP food. Hopefully we can get back to raising up babies again soon.
My only concern with this is that adult mice can be really hard to reintroduce to each other once they've been separated. Most mouse keepers would agree that it's psychologically healthy for mice to live with at least one companion.

I'm not an expert, I only know what I've seen from a year's experience, but I'm not sold on one mouse being a habitual problem baby-eater. I would lean more towards stress, personally, from diet or environment or something else.
 
Old 04-28-2015, 04:16 AM   #14
gekosin
I just lost 2 of my female breeders to another female while they were in their "recovery period" after weaning/ removing the last litter. There are still 2 females in there so one/ both is the culprit. I have never had a problem like this with rats so find mice to be a tad more "evil" than i initially anticipated.
 
Old 04-29-2015, 06:17 PM   #15
bushsnake
i had the same problem and i dont think anyone can really figure out why it happens it just does. Dont give up, keep trying. If you know anyone with an established colony try getting some of their stock. It took me three attempts to find good mice.
 
Old 04-29-2015, 11:49 PM   #16
crazyd82
We just got another litter today so we'll see what happens.
 
Old 05-02-2015, 01:14 PM   #17
Cane
I think building a nest goes a long ways towards the mice feeling secure. I did breed mice for years a long time ago and never had this problem. I did add yarn in their terrarium which they spent a lot of time fussing with and hiding their babies in.
 
Old 05-02-2015, 09:31 PM   #18
crazyd82
We lost the litter but my gf did find the culprit and my BP got a snack.
 
Old 07-11-2015, 08:17 PM   #19
JWWI
Mice cannot teach each other cannibalism.
 

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