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New female mouse died (+ other questions)

mynee

mynee

New member
I recently (meaning Friday, May 8th) purchased my first pair of fancy mice for breeding. I always check the 10Gal tank they're in at least once a day for food, water, etc. I checked on them early this morning and all was well. I just checked on them again about 15 minutes ago and the female was deader than a doornail.

I was disappointed because she was the friendlier of the two and seemed like an all-around good little mouse. She ate well, played with her mate, would come investigate my hands when I had them in the tank, etc. She appeared to be a young adult, so I was really suprised to find her dead.

She had no external wounds, no bleeding from anywhere, no blood in the tank. It really seemed like she just curled up and went to sleep and then forgot to keep breathing.

(Annnnnnd now for the barrage of questions...)

-Could this be the result of stress from being introduced to a new environment?

-Could the male have harrassed her to death? He didn't seem to be bothering her too much, in fact, I often observed them snoozing together.

-Is there a possibility of this being genetic? About a year ago, I purchased a male from the same place. He died after roughly a week, even though his tank was in a quiet room with no threat of "aggressive" observers (namely the family cats). The location of the new breeding tank is similarly unavailable to the cats and other scary critters.

(Last one, I promise!) :D

-I removed the body, cleaned the tank and everything in it and put the body in the freezer. Even though I don't know how she died, is it still safe to hold on to her until next feeding day? I've got an adult Okeetee that would looooove to make her lunch after he's done shedding.

Thanks a bunch in advance!
 
her death may have been from poor breeding but it's hard to tell. I wouldn't feed her to the snake not knowing why she died but that's just my opinion.
 
There could be many reasons why she died, like angelboa said could be bad breeding or it could be that she had something wrong with her. Not knowing what she died off I wouldnt advice feeding it to your snake.

I had a couple of fancy mice and mine werent that healthy either I tend to stick with normal lab mice never seem to have any problems with them.
 
mynee said:
-Could this be the result of stress from being introduced to a new environment?
Click to expand...

It's possible but I am thinking it was something internal or you could have misjudged her age.

-Could the male have harrassed her to death? He didn't seem to be bothering her too much, in fact, I often observed them snoozing together.
Click to expand...

If he was harassing her, you would have seen some of the carnage on her body. I don't think she died from harassment, but maybe some underlying, unknown factor.

-Is there a possibility of this being genetic? About a year ago, I purchased a male from the same place. He died after roughly a week, even though his tank was in a quiet room with no threat of "aggressive" observers (namely the family cats). The location of the new breeding tank is similarly unavailable to the cats and other scary critters.
Click to expand...

Possible, but again stress, change in food and water, different substrate, etc. could affect them negatively. It is possible for it to be genetic. I know some small pet stores, breed their own rodent stock.

(Last one, I promise!) :D
Click to expand...

OK!

-I removed the body, cleaned the tank and everything in it and put the body in the freezer. Even though I don't know how she died, is it still safe to hold on to her until next feeding day? I've got an adult Okeetee that would looooove to make her lunch after he's done shedding.
Click to expand...

I would pass on feeding her to your snake. She could have had an internal parasite. If you feed her to your snake, that will transfer the parasite to your snake. I would not recommend it.

Thanks a bunch in advance!
Click to expand...

Your welcome!

Wayne
 
Thank you all for the advice! It is truly appreciated.

Currently, the male is still doing fine. He eats, drinks, poops, plays, etc. I will dispose of his mate's body appropriately where it won't come into contact with any of my critters that may have desires to eat it.

I also thought of another question after my first post.... If I acquire another female, would it be feasible to place her with my male or should I just get a whole other breeding pair and feed my current male off? He's kind of a little jerk and doesn't appreciate being handled much. He will let me pick him up, but does try to bite if I handle him in the effort of looking him over for general health. I wouldn't mind having an easier-to-handle mouse, though I suspect that this can be a "luck of the draw" kind of thing.

Thanks again!
 
mynee said:
I also thought of another question after my first post.... If I acquire another female, would it be feasible to place her with my male or should I just get a whole other breeding pair and feed my current male off? He's kind of a little jerk and doesn't appreciate being handled much. He will let me pick him up, but does try to bite if I handle him in the effort of looking him over for general health. I wouldn't mind having an easier-to-handle mouse, though I suspect that this can be a "luck of the draw" kind of thing.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

I hate my mice, none are pets though so I expect them to try and bite because they are not handled at all. I would imagine you could handle one of his babies on a regular basis and may have success in "taming" one that way.

In regards to introducing another female, I would change the bedding and really clean the accessories to get rid of any "territorial" smells and then introduce them into the new enviornement together. You should be ok at that point.

Good luck,
dc
 
I wouldn't buy any more rodents from the same place. It may not be the location itself, unless they breed the mice there, but could be the breeder from where they get them. I tried buying breeders from the shop down the road MANY times but they would always die and usually only a few days later. I bought mice from a different location and they have been breeding happily ever since. I have 3 productive colonies now.
 
Camby and Psychoprimate make good sense. If you introduce a new female, getting one from a different line, in this case, would probably be beneficial. Just in case it's something genetic. Me, personally, I am not worried about inbreeding when it comes to feeders. But, if you are having an unknown problem, then you should outcross.

Clean the tank thoroughly, as Camby mentioned and make sure there is lots of food for them to work on. That way they will concentrate of feeding, instead of each other.

Good Luck,

Wayne
 
Mynee, I would try to find a breeder of mice near you, instead of a shop. Breeders can help you set up and usually have clean, good stock (it is there job/hobby).
 
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