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#1829159
Rebecca Wright
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Uh oh HELP RE MICE 
Well my female had 7 babies... 1 is really small compared to others but all are fine.... I had to clean the nest because the whole cage got soaked (they keep putting things up against nozzle on the water bottle) and since I did that mom is not taking care of her babies... none of them have milk bands now!? Help! how long should I give her (its been like 3hrs) before I give up on her and would it be ok to give them human baby formula or do I have to use KMR type stuff (which I dont think I can get in town we dont have a pet store here)...?
thanks
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08/13/08 01:23am
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#1829210
Dragongirl6
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Message To: Rebecca Wright In reference to Message Id: 1829159
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Do you have any of the old bedding left? Even if it’s wet, put a handful back in around the babies. Make sure the babies are in a little box or something enclosed where mom feels safe. You won’t be able to bottle feed one day old babies with much success, so just keep them in a dark, quiet, warm room and hopefully mom will take to them again. Give mom a treat, maybe a bit of canned dog food or produce.
There isn’t a male with her is there? It should just be her and the babies.
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08/13/08 02:46am
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#1829518
Rebecca Wright
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Message To: Dragongirl6 In reference to Message Id: 1829210
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
no I removed her and one of the other females I suspected was prego about 24hrs before she gave birth... and she actually gave birht first even tho I thought the otehr female was farther along lol... but I did try that bedding thing and it worked quite well (THANKS!)... well kinda... the other female went over there and was sniffing them and cleaned them then she go into an argument with the other mom (or at least it sounded like it) and now mom is doing ok... but she didnt take back the run... the other moms got it :) so hes (I think its a he anyway) got his own personal mommy for the moment :)... they have their babies in baby formula cans and htey seem to like it... I usually put about 3 in there... 2 with holes that they can get into so they have a place to hide right now kinda thing and then anotehr with a big enough hole they can chew on it cause they seem to like to choose how the opening is lol
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08/13/08 12:10pm
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#1829926
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Rebecca Wright In reference to Message Id: 1829518
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
I would take the other female out of the cage . Some times they will steal the babies away from the mother .Leave her alone and she should take care of them. Is this her first litter ?
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08/13/08 05:37pm
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#1829938
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Dragongirl6 In reference to Message Id: 1829210
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Before anyone jumps on me let me clarify why I said to take the female mouse that is not the mother out of the cage . Some people say its fine to keep several mothers and litters together in the same cage . If they have both been in the same cage for a long time and have had babies before, there may not be a problem. BUT , many times a new mother will eat her babies especially if you bother them or another female is in the cage . Some times the other female will kill or eat the babies or try to steal them away . I have seen this happen. I personally would not take the chance . I would have separated them prior to her giving birth to be on the safe side . Its your call.
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08/13/08 05:45pm
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#1830308
Dragongirl6
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Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1829938
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
I actually wouldn’t. I’ve raised hundreds of baby mice and rats with multiple females to the cage, no problem. That’s the way wild mice do it, and it’s true of most small mammals. Males? A whole other issue. There are times when it doesn’t work, but in this case I think changing anything more in her environment would stress her out further. For you first litter, it may have been wise to have her on her own, but I really think that you should just leave everything be and let her calm down before anything else changes.
The second female, it sounds, has taken to nursing the babies, which they often do. Which is good, since they need it!
Dark room, familiar smells, warmth, and as little change to the environment as possible. Try not to change the litter for at least a week, or do spot cleanings (remove the dirtiest parts and add fresh litter) so it all smells the same even though you are keeping it clean.
Good luck, keep us posted.
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08/13/08 11:17pm
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#1830310
Dragongirl6
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Message To: Dragongirl6 In reference to Message Id: 1830308
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
To clarify, the second female has now taken the runt of the litter and is nursing it. Removing the second female may leave the runt without a mom completely if the original mom rejects him. Moving the runt and the second female together may stress out the second female and cause her to stop nursing him.
Like I said, just leave him be. Female rats rarely fight too severely, it’s males that are the pain.
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08/13/08 11:20pm
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#1830332
Rebecca Wright
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Message To: Dragongirl6 In reference to Message Id: 1830310
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Sad news guys... the little runt didnt make it :( ... he died with a full belly poor guy :( but there are still 6 more happy healthy guys... and for the females normally I would not put a pair of moms together except for in the case of this group...they are all (all three) exceptional surrogates.. and are good about sharing babies... I have had them nurse pups even when they werent pregnant or had babies.. and one I know is a good mom... at least for teh first few days lol... this is not her first litter two of my females have had babies before (including the one that just did) however those babies have always been removed and used for snake food around a week old... so this will be the first she has until they are weaned... the extra female in the cage has not been bred before but is due soon... they are also really good about staying out of each others nests... usually what happens is they will all set up nests, generally in different corners of the cage and when there are babies they divide them up amongst the group which is funny but works...
for anyone who is interested I posted pics in the other forum :)
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08/13/08 11:43pm
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#1830473
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Rebecca Wright In reference to Message Id: 1830332
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Are you 100% sure that the other mouse did not kill the runt ?
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08/14/08 07:59am
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#1830474
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Rebecca Wright In reference to Message Id: 1830332
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
I know that they all live together in bunches in the wild but do we really know how many times do they kill others babies ? I just would not take a chance especially with a new mother. I had no way of knowing if this was her first or tenth litter .
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08/14/08 08:01am
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#1830476
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1830474
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
There was also nothing posted about the one nursing the new mothers runt .I can only comment on the information given in the posts . I believe that the other mother may have killed the runt and more babies are in danger .She did stae that when the other mouse went over to see the new babies there was an Quote: argument .
Why take a chance on them being killed?
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08/14/08 08:07am
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#1830542
Dragongirl6
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Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1830476
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Quote: There was also nothing posted about the one nursing the new mothers runt
Quote: but she didnt take back the run... the other moms got it :) so hes (I think its a he anyway) got his own personal mommy for the moment :)
There was definitely something posted about it. I read everything very carefully before opening my mouth.
It’s ok, we disagree. I seriously doubt the new one killed the runt. You’d be able to tell - there would be a lot of blood or else no evidence at all.
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08/14/08 10:16am
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#1830920
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Dragongirl6 In reference to Message Id: 1830542
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Oh your right . Sorry I must have skipped over it . My mistake .
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08/14/08 03:46pm
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#1831111
Rebecca Wright
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Message To: Skullkeeper In reference to Message Id: 1830920
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
I think there was something wrong with the runt... cause I did find the body and there wasnt a single mark on him.. but he was like 1/2 the size of the others and really pale so I know the other mom didnt murder him... if she had I would have removed her immediately... the other 6 pups are doing great... 4 of them are still completely pink but the other two are starting to darken up... one looks like its going to be all dark except a few spots and the other looks like its going to be dalmation colored kinda... but wont know for sure what colors til we have fur :) I cant wait! I am glad though that they grow fast so you dont ahve to wait long lol
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08/14/08 06:25pm
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#1831190
Skullkeeper
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Message To: Rebecca Wright In reference to Message Id: 1831111
Uh oh HELP RE MICE
Many mothers will kill or let a baby die if there is some thing wrong with it . Glad to hear they are doing well. Keep us posted . Good luck.
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08/14/08 07:55pm
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