Last month I got 1.3 regular mice and when I went to feed them a few minutes ago I noticed they were all in the nest box. When I looked inside there was a bunch of baby pinks. I'm guessing that she had them last night while I was sleeping because I never heard any squeaking. Am I still at risk of cannabilism? I only peeked in for a second but it looked like they were all moving still. How long should I wait before I can take a good look?
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First pinkys!
- Thread starter Kerri
- Start date
Russell
New member
Every Thursday morning the rodents get cleaned. With sixteen colonies of 1.4, you can bet someone somewhere has newborns! I don't even give it a second thought. Does it disturb the mommas? Sure it does! But it seems they do ok with it and go on to raise up babies for me. That all said to say it probably won't bother them much at all and they'll go on to raise the babies just fine. I've done cleaning where momma was having the babies, had one or two in the bucket while I cleaned their tub, and went on to have the rest of the litter just fine and no cannibalism. At the other extreme is you find mice just HUGE and you get excited in anticipation and the next day you find skinny mice... Such colonies don't typically see the light of another day...:devil01:
You need to be ruthless when breeding mice! So easy for things to go wrong but if you have the numbers and try to have a strategy about it, you'll get out ahead and have plenty for your snakes. This I assume is your first colony? If you don't have to disturb them, then don't. But don't fret about having a look at them or pulling what you need to feed your snakes. Yes a mother could flip and cannibalize or do something else nutty. But see, if you keep selecting mice for what YOU want in your mice, your bound to get a good working colony down the road. Been there, done that! :eatsmiley
You need to be ruthless when breeding mice! So easy for things to go wrong but if you have the numbers and try to have a strategy about it, you'll get out ahead and have plenty for your snakes. This I assume is your first colony? If you don't have to disturb them, then don't. But don't fret about having a look at them or pulling what you need to feed your snakes. Yes a mother could flip and cannibalize or do something else nutty. But see, if you keep selecting mice for what YOU want in your mice, your bound to get a good working colony down the road. Been there, done that! :eatsmiley
claireree
New member
If she is a first time mum then try not to disturb them too much, but if you do need pinkies etc for your snakes then get what you need and then just leave them alone, they do say try and rub your hands in the bedding it just masks the smell a bit.
It really all depends on the mouse, I have 3 different breeding cages and most of them are ok with me taking the babies away that I need but I do have a couple that I leave alone.
It really all depends on the mouse, I have 3 different breeding cages and most of them are ok with me taking the babies away that I need but I do have a couple that I leave alone.
This is my first time breeding mice and this is also the first time the mice have bred. This 1.3 is my only colony so I plan on leaving them alone until they double in size. How long can I leave them alone before it becomes necessary to check for dead ones, or will they always eat the dead ones?
KatLaz
New member
I also just started a 1.3 colony, all 3 of my females were noticeably pregnant, and then the other day one of them was really skinny but I couldn't find any babies or evidence of any either. I assumed they ate them since a lot of first time mouse mommy's do. The next day I checked on them again and one of my other mice had just given birth to 7 babies! I was so excited and hoped they wouldn't get eaten. A few hours later, I heard some loud chirping coming from the tub, so I ran over to look and the last female that hadn't had babies had taken three of the babies out of the nest box and was killing them. Needless to say, I've removed her from the main colony, and as soon as she has her babies she will be snake food lol. I cleaned the colony's tub out when the babies were just 2 days old, and they didn't seem to mind at all. I just stuck the babies back under the nest box when I put them all back in and they built the nest up around them like nothing happened. It's pretty cool because I have a clear tub, and if I slide it halfway off the table, I can see the babies and momma from underneath. They have no clue I'm watching them so I get to see them interacting normally. Such little cuties!
Buzzard
two corny
I also recently started a few colonies. What Russel stated is the best way. Have a plan. Know what number you need and stick to it. Think of them like cattle. As far as leaving the mice alone. I usally do for the first day. The first change of the tank I usally put a little bit of the nest (that the pinks are in) back in the cleaned cage. After 2weeks (If there not snake food by then) I change all of the cage, nest and all. Then week 3 or 3.5 I wean the babies(the larger ones are for my bigger snakes).
crazy4reptiles88
New member
I can't wait my female mouse is pregnant but has looked like that for over 3 weeks what should I do? I am getting 2 more female mice as back up. Melissa
!!Call me LUCKY!!
All three of my mice had their babies in a 2 day period and I planed on leaving them alone for four days....but I just had to check them out. Last night I put the 1.3 in their other aquarium so I could clean out the one they were in and check out the pinks. Between the 3 girls they had 53 live pinkys and I have not seen any signs that they ate any of them. It really didn't seem to bother them that much at all, this may be because my kids have tamed them up pretty good, I don't know. I really never expected to do so well the first time!
All three of my mice had their babies in a 2 day period and I planed on leaving them alone for four days....but I just had to check them out. Last night I put the 1.3 in their other aquarium so I could clean out the one they were in and check out the pinks. Between the 3 girls they had 53 live pinkys and I have not seen any signs that they ate any of them. It really didn't seem to bother them that much at all, this may be because my kids have tamed them up pretty good, I don't know. I really never expected to do so well the first time!