BIG fat mouse

[unknownclown]

Hello again :)
ok a while ago I bought somefeeder mice andsince the snakes werent all that hungry they have become breeders. Im pretty sure that this mouse is due any day if not over due. As with snakes I am also new at breeding rodents. This mouse is huge its as fat as it is long, about the size and round as a golf ball. Is this normal? Ive gone surfing on mouse breeding sites and they say that sometimes you cant even tell if they are pregnant because they dont show much.... if this poor gal gets any bigger I think she may burst.
Im starting to kinda feel sorry for her I think I will give her a week and if there is no change I am going to put the poor thing out of her misery. although I am realy praying some of you will say that this is normal so I can quit feelin sorry for her.

[Pixie]

She's just about to pop! :) Most of my mice show lots like you describe yours. Some look like they are literally going to explode but when they are that big I know the pinkies will here in about 24-48 hours before I have pinkies. Mom will be okay :)

Pixie

[Lisa]

She will pop, this is about the point when we seperate ours from the males to avoid them from feeding on the babies... btw you may want to put her in something like a 10G tank to avoid escapees, those wire hamster cages are useless for that. (see magic mice)

[unknownclown]

:) cool thanks :)
Believe it or not I just got done buying a 10 gallon tank. I have the male and the female both in a glass tank right now. Ive heard that the males wouldnt eat the babies but I think I will go with your advice since Im tired of buying feeders ;)

[Linds]

Originally posted by Lisa
She will pop, this is about the point when we seperate ours from the males to avoid them from feeding on the babies... btw you may want to put her in something like a 10G tank to avoid escapees, those wire hamster cages are useless for that. (see magic mice)

There shouldn't be any problem with males eating babies, unless there are multiple males in the cage, in which case you would have problems with fighting before the babies were even there. Removing females from a colony (mice or rats) is counter-productive. The female needs to be reimpregnated again when she gives birth, so by the time she is ready to wean her litter there is another on the way, instead of having to wait for the female to wean her litter, then be reimpregnated and have to wait. There is better chance of a mother eating her babies over a male eating them. I have never had a male eat a litter before.

[unknownclown]

YAY she popped ..or is popping so far only 5 :)

[Pixie]

Nice! Should be more than 5, especially if she was really big so she's probably not done giving birth. I usually average litters of 8-12 except for older and very young mothers.

Over here it's a pinky festival!!!! I have 2 moms who just gave birth and 1 that's due any minute now. It was just in time cause I had some mouths to feed! Both tarantulas, my gecko and little milksnake got a nice tasty meal!

Pixie

[unknownclown]

Nope she wasnt, there are at least 12 in there now. She made her nest in the in the corner of the tank so I can sorta see in there but its hard to know for sure. I counted 12 heads but who knows if there were any underneath or ones I missed. Actually I only counted the heads with the dark eyes. This is her first litter so Im sorta trying to leave them alone right now. Ill do a "real" head count as soon as Im sure its safe..... anyone know when it may be safe to disturb the nest without freaking out the mom?

I took the male out so hes in with another female now :) I have 2 other breeding tanks as well (3 males, 6 females) so hopefully soon I wont ever have to buy feeders again.

[Pixie]

You should be able to go into the nest pretty much anytime. I use a couple of tricks like giving her a treat to get her out of her nest herself, I'll run my fingers through either her bedding or food to leave a safe and/or pleasant smell. I haven't had any trouble with going into nests.

Good luck :)

[Syst3m]

I've not really had many problems with male mice killing the babies even when there were multiple males in the cage, as long as they are long term cage mates to begin with, Usually the whole crew will take turns taking care of the babies. Males and females. But it really is best to just have one male. If you want tame mice handle them from day one. Mothers will not eat the babies because of your scent. But keep in mind that you are breeding feeder mice. Not pets. The more effort you put into making them tame, the more likely you will get attached to them.

Good luck, I tried the whole mice breeding thing and with all of my snakes and a full time job it just became to much to handle for me. But If you can manage it. It is VERY rewarding. I noticed a considerable growth spurt in my snakes when I fed them my mice that I bred compared to the mice and rats I bought from the stores. A Good diet for you mice = a good diet for your snakes. The more nutrition your Mice get the more nutrition your snakes get.

[marylyn101]

i use a smallstick that won't hurt or leave a scent. i leave the stick in there so it has her smell. (just to let you know, my male ate the babies so i fed him to my king *basterd*)