Mom mouse died...

[Nagah11979]

I had 2 pregnant females and both gave birth last night, the problem is that one of them died shortly after. Can the one mom take care of both litters or should I intervene?

Also, would I be able to introduce another female at some point or should I just scrap the idea and wait for one of the babies to grow up enough to breed?

 

[danvega]

Depending on the size of the litters, it may be possible for the one female to care for all of the young. In my experiences, I have noticed females cull offspring when there are too many to feed.

 

[snakemom1961]

I Personally would try and cull some of the babies so the one mother doesn't get stressed over trying to care for so many babies. If you don't have snakes that are on pinks then I guess I would freeze them for future use. I can't see letting the one mother trying to care for too many babies and expect her to stay healthy in the end. Hope you have luck with them and good luck!

 

[Nagah11979]

Thanks for the replies!
Hmm, I may have some cornsnake babies in a few months...when would be a good time to check out the nest? I heard that mice have been known to eat the babies if the nest is disturbed too early.

 

[Rebecca]

Sorry to hear that your female died, but congrats on the babies! =)

In general, as long as other conditions are good (enough protein and fats in the diet - kitten chow and black oil sunflower seeds work well - enough water, enough room in the cage, some nesting material or a hide box, etc.) then you should be just fine to check them after two or three days.

If you need them sooner, it's always worked for me to remove mom from the cage briefly while she's away from the nest. You should be able to cull from the litter without problems.

Mice can handle quite a few babies at once, especially as they get older and are more experienced breeders, but if you're hoping to grow these up to be feeders you won't want her to have too many all on her own. Don't forget that the female is most likely already pregnant again if you left the male in the cage - she'll have another litter in 21 days so raising up a lot of pups now is going to be a strain. (If you know how to sex the pups, you could cull just the males so that you still only have the one male's odor to deal with!)

Introducing a new female would be a good idea, although I'd wait until the pups are older.

Good luck!

Rebecca

Thanks for the replies!
Hmm, I may have some cornsnake babies in a few months...when would be a good time to check out the nest? I heard that mice have been known to eat the babies if the nest is disturbed too early.

 

[Ssthisto]

I personally would let a couple of mum's daughters grow up with her - if you introduce a new female now, you're running the risk that the newbie might kill the babies. This can even happen up to hopper-aged babies.

One tip to help reduce the likelihood that the female will eat the offspring is to really thoroughly "wash" your hands in their dirty bedding - doing this, I don't usually get litters eaten even if I pick through them with mom standing right there - but then, my mice do know me and my scent well enough that I've never had trouble picking through even newborn babies as long as it's not the first litter that an entire cage of mice has had. Females can be quite tetchy about the first litters in a cage - we lost six females' litters' worth when they had their first ones, because they ALL killed and ate them - but after that they've all been very good mums. I tend to foster in new girls with experienced females, which also helps reduce the risk of litter killing - because experienced mum will care for the babies.