bleeding??

i dont know if anyone will respond to this in time... but before a mouse gives birth, do they start bleeding from their.. well, you know, where the babies come from?? i picked up Nibby about 10 minutes ago to check her out, and i noticed some blood on my hand. it was just a little smear, no huge drops or anything. but it's coming from her "opening" and i dont know what that means. :? does it mean she'll be giving birth soon??

also, she has a wheel in her tank. is it ok for her to be running on it 24/7 while she's pregnant? just curious :)

one more thing. will it be bloody and what not when the babies are born?? i'm assuming it will be, just like a human birth... i dont have any experience with breeding mice, so i have no idea what to expect. :)

thanks!!!

How long is a gestation period for a mouse ? didnt she just get pregnant ?

The bleeding is normal. She should have her babies very soon. Don't worry about the wheel, she'll figure out that she needs to stop running on it when the time comes.

A mouse's gestation can be as short as 21 days.

Oh.. and if you get to watch them being born, it's a little bloody, but not a lot. Mama mouse will probably pull them out, one by one, and clean them off.. that's how the rats are anyway.

21 days.....thats amazing.

Rats are the same, they usually have a gestation of 21-23 days, with 21 being the majority. I thought it was 17-21 days on mice...? Yeah, the average is 20, sorry I had to look it up in a school book :) I should have baby ratties(pets-hairless) in 2 weeks and baby mice in 3 :) Whee!

The babies will be hairless ??

Thats so cool, you gotta get some pictures.

Adult hairless rats are so cool/funny looking they look like pinkies on steroids

We have 3 of them, 2 males and a female. I have pictures of 2 of ours, Willard(black rex dumbo) and Elliott(Mink Bareback hairless dumbo-who isn't quite hairless yet). They are baby pictures, but cute nonetheless.

Elliott:
https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...44/Elliott.jpg

Willard:
https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...44/Willard.jpg

They are both going to be huge though, only 2 months old now.

Is there any reason why you wouldn't want to use hairless rats as feeders? One pet store around here has them.. I considered buying one.

thanks Shelby!! she's building her nest like crazy now, so i hope i get to see it maybe tonight. blood doesnt bother me at all, and i'm going to try and take some pictures. im excited!!

It's neat to watch. I've seen my rat give birth twice out of four times. She's about to pop any day now. :)

So, all the cute pinkies are born.. then you gonna pop them in the freezer? :P