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Question about 1st litter

ShenziSixaxis

ShenziSixaxis

Sticking To The Ceiling
So I checked the receipt when I bought my mice, and that was on June 12th. The buck mated furiously with both my does the first few nights, and last night I heard him going at it again with the brown one. The albino doe is lookin' pretty fat, bulging a little in the sides, so I'm very certain she's pregnant and will drop a litter in a week or so.

However, after three weeks, I would expect a huge doe (or happily two) and a litter of pinks. Haven't gotten anything so far. The gestation period for does is 18-23 days from my understanding, but my albino doe doesn't look like she'll drop a litter any time soon, and the brown one doesn't look pregnant at all.

So... just checking, is this normal? How much time should I give them all before I replace them in case they're infertile for some reason or until one drops a litter?
 
Newly established colonies can take 4 to 8 weeks to have their first litter unless you happen to get a girly that is already preggers. I got mine somewhat before yours and just now am seeing a nice round female. Of course my lil horn dog of a male keeps trying to get at her anyway lol! Be patient, it will happen :)
 
I'd wait longer. She sounds like she's fairly close. My doe was preggy for 23 days. Mice can also surprise you. I've noticed my mice won't look pregnant until basically the last few days prior to birthing..Then drop 11 pups. Additionally, the gestation time can be a few days longer (up to 28) if she was exposed to a buck prior to the current one.
 
I have fancy rats not mice but I am working towards my second litter. One buck and two doe. All virgins, first litter was 22 days on the black rat and 24 on my white/tan one. Now after that I am on day 32 & 30 after those litters dropped and my black one is fat and nesting and the white one looks to have a bit to go. So don't loose hope! Our animals never go by the books.
 
Thats true and it depends on age and genetics. I have had late bloomers that do not even start breeding until close to 6 months old. Their parents were that way too. So it depends the lines they are from. Petshop mice are not bred to drop babies like crazy, not like lab mice! However you can selectively breed for bigger, faster litters by watching how the females do. Have one that birthed at the early end of the time period and had big litters, save girls from her for future breeding. Had a girl that with one male had small litters but with a different male had bigger litters? Save a male from that pairing to breed for more fertile males. Since mice breed so fast, it can be easy to breed for better lines within a year.
 
You didn't mention their age I don't think. It's quite possible they're past their prime. Whenever the babies do come, you're gonna want to definitely start a new breeding group or two from the babies. Throwing adults together is never a good idea. Raise up a 1.3 colony or whatever your cage can support from when they're little and you'll do great. Also make sure they have a healthy diet and that they always have clean water or their breeding success will be lowered.
 
Temp in this room doesn't go above around 75F, and when it does get to that, I turn off the snake heat pads if they haven't been fed and get the cool air from the living room and hall way going in here.

I'm not 100% certain, but I KNOW the buck is around 10-12wks of age now, and I bought him when he was around 6-8wks. The does, I'm not 100% at all, either. They could be any age, but I think they are probably around 10wks if they weren't sold to the store as retired breeders.

I've got a good water bottle, good food thrown in with occasional supplements/treats (whichever term you prefer) and medium quality cat food. The food seems to be doing them good; except for the heavily pregnant female, the other two are active all the time throughout the day.

Quick question regarding the heavily pregnant doe. I can tell she's getting the big bulges in her sides, and she's considerably heavier than the other two mice. However, she sleeps A LOT, except to get food and water. Normal? Because she wasn't doing it for the first two weeks or so.
 
Raptor said:
Cat food is too high in protein. I use dog food.
Click to expand...

:shrugs: I don't use a whole lot of cat food, but I couldn't find any dog food that had a good protein and fat level that didn't have dyes in it. What brand of dog food do you use?
 
Probably can't find it, but I sure can write the ingredients down and compare it to some brands I can find here.
 
At the ages you mention the females should be just getting ready to breed. you should see babies in a couple of weeks. I never buy breeders under 3 months of age. Usually mine are 3-6 months old when I get them at the shop. I raise out babies to keep it going. Good luck!
 
It's hard to fail with mice. Just follow the basic rules and you'll have mice coming out your ears. There are lots of things that are "better" or "worse" to do, but the basics will get you there. If you're not having luck after a while there's something majorly wrong. You can always set up a second cage as well.
 
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