Well, I've done it!

[jazzgeek]

ROFL Dale, you work at PetNO?

Ah, but "PetNo" is no longer. They've made a deal with the devil. :devil01:

We move them to another holder as well, BUT you still have to take them out. After the first two nasty little buggers bit me, I started scooting them into their little "dome homes" for transport. I let the night crew inspect them for wet tail, they can have the battle scars. :grin01:

Good move! The screechy lil buggers will try to bite if you look at them wrong.

regards,
jazz

 

[dwyn127]

This year, I'm increasing from 1 snake to 1 pet and 3 breeder pairs.

So I have this thought, "maybe I'll pick up a few mice and breed my own food; yea, that's a great idea!" :idea:

So I go to my very 1st thread on feeders and I read all your posts.

Thank you...thank you, all of you for talking me out of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sidestep: :laugh:

 

[A_Mc]

Well, you know what they say....the only good mouse....... :eek1: LMAO
JK...I applaud anyone that can raise their own colony. Like I said, it was too much for me. They don't stink or try to bite me when I reach in for some frozen peas..... :sidestep:

 

[mbdorfer]

Pinkies!!!!!!!!!!

Well it's only been 3 weeks and there are about 10 pinkies so far! There are 2 under 1 female and about 5 under another, there are 3 that are just laying there in the open, are these being rejected for some reason? Should I do something? Any help is appreciated :wavey:

 

[sdmessmer]

Pinkies

Well it's only been 3 weeks and there are about 10 pinkies so far! There are 2 under 1 female and about 5 under another, there are 3 that are just laying there in the open, are these being rejected for some reason? Should I do something? Any help is appreciated :wavey:

Sometimes when the mom moves around and the babies are nursing they will drop off along the way. They are not being rejected. Most of the time the mom will find them and move them back into the nest. For moms that don't have as good a maternal instinct you might have to move the wayward youngsters back to the nest. If I see pinkies with no milk in their bellies out of the nest I will always put them back. Young mothers are not as good at keeping their babies together as the more experienced moms. Its good to keep a good old mom mouse in with younger moms to learn by example.

 

[mbdorfer]

They're Gone!

So much for yesterdays excitement. I pulled 4 dead pinks out this morning, There is 1 still alive. I assume the others were eaten :shrugs:

 

[Traci1]

my mouse story...this morning I found two carcasses (barely anything left to them) and these were fuzzy size babies. I wonder why the adults decided to eat them now? so I pulled the rest and offered them to my baby ball pythons. at least one is eating so far (they are imported CH babies)

 

[Jessicat]

For moms that don't have as good a maternal instinct you might have to move the wayward youngsters back to the nest.

sorry, taking this somewhat out of context and going off it...

early interactions with their young stimulates FosB, a gene which supplies rodents with maternal inclinations.
If the FosB gene was not activated that would be an explanation for lack of "maternal instinct."
Your mouse mother may be mutant, causing FosB to remain unactive even after stimulation.
Also, there's a chance, and this i'd think has a greater possibility, that upon purchase your females were already pregnate. If so and the pinkies were not produced by the male(s) in your colony the male will kill/eat them because they are not his own.

just kinda how rodents go about their buisiness :sobstory:

 

[breedingcolors]

Sorry Mike!

Sorry Mike, I know this is frustating.

I am also at the beginning of my mice colony. I had to change the male because the other one was dead. And it was long before they start to make babies. But some of my females started finally to have babies. Not big litter but that is a start. Keep trying and they will make beautifull babies for you soon, and probably don't eat them anymore.
After that the problem is to kill the so cuuuute little babies that they will produce. Pinkies are not a problem (for me). But they are sooo cute when they get to fuzzie size. :awcrap:

Good luck to you and keep us inform.

 

[Guenhwyvar]

So much for yesterdays excitement. I pulled 4 dead pinks out this morning, There is 1 still alive. I assume the others were eaten :shrugs:

Stupid mice...I have had similar responses when first starting with the mice.

 

[mbdorfer]

Thanks Giant BB, Guen, and girlsnake...er..I mean breedingcolors.....uh :grin01:
Should I just keep the same 3 females and 1 male for a while and see what happens next time?

 

[breedingcolors]

I would do that. It seems that they really not like to be rearange all the time. Give them some time to be confortable with eachother. It should be fine.

 

[mbdorfer]

Second litter!

Well, came home for lunch today and there is a second litter of pinks! I can see that 2 of the females are nursing them, so I'm hoping for better results with this one :wavey:

 

[sdmessmer]

Good sign!

Well, came home for lunch today and there is a second litter of pinks! I can see that 2 of the females are nursing them, so I'm hoping for better results with this one :wavey:

If more than one female is nursing the new litter that is a very good sign! Now hopfully the male with be OK with the litter, as in he thinks they are his. If he does not he will eat them. I've found that once a litter has made it to the fuzzy stage any additional litter is safe from the male.

Silvia

 

[mbdorfer]

Thanks Silvia, just checked again and the pinks are being nursed by 2 females still, the male is hanging out in his tube. The first litter was scattered about the cage, but this one is all in 1 spot and they are feeding. I got a good feeling I'm on my way to "mice out the A** :crazy02:

 

[mbdorfer]

Quick Question

Today is my normal cleaning day fo the mouse tank. Being that the litter was just born yesterday, Should I hold off disturbing them for a bit? Or is it OK to remove everything and clean as usual? Thanks.

 

[kathylove]

Although it can be difficult to tell from photos, that mouse looks kind of old and scruffy. Did you buy full adults, or young weanlings? I usually only keep mice on the production line for one year. After that, production goes down a lot. If you bought full adult mice of unknown ages, you might consider raising up replacements sooner rather than later.

Because males can often take a beating in a young colony, I usually start with 2 males and 5 - 10 females, depending on the cage size. Once the first litter is born, I inspect both males (if they have both survived). Usually, one is smaller, more raggedy, or has bite marks near his tail. I remove him and leave the dominant male. That way I avoid starting all over again if I lose the one and only male in the colony.

I always clean them whenever it is time, and just move the mice and their babies to a new cage (cat litter pan) together. If it is their first litter, it could prove to be stressful for them, but once they get used to it, I don't notice problems.

 

[mbdorfer]

Thanks Kathy, One of the females is old the other 2 are fairly young. This is the second litter and someone is killing a few of the babies still. The first litter had zero survivors. This second litter is from one of the younger females, but the older momma has been helping her nurse the pinks