Mouse in labor!

My mouse is in labor and I'm worried. Her first "baby" came out looking like a ball and in two pieces. She didn't even bother looking at it. Her sides are sucked in and she's breathing heavily. She was not very round, so I was unsure she was pregnant until today. Should I be worried?

What you need to do is step away and leave her alone, nothing you can do to help anyway, however your presence and the fact that you are watching can be disruptive enough that she might decide to kill any offspring she might give birth to.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

What you need to do is step away and leave her alone, nothing you can do to help anyway, however your presence and the fact that you are watching can be disruptive enough that she might decide to kill any offspring she might give birth to.

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Thank you. I have stopped watching. I peek in every hour or so from the door. All 3 mice are in labor currently. I think I saw babies, but the nest is well covered so we will wait and see :)

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Originally Posted by SCWood

Thank you. I have stopped watching. I peek in every hour or so from the door. All 3 mice are in labor currently. I think I saw babies, but the nest is well covered so we will wait and see :)

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Remember mice are very prone to stress, they know what to do so leave them for now and tomorrow you can check the babies.\, have a head count and check for milk band if that makes you feel better.

In general mice are a lot less trouble and in close to 9 years of breeding I have never loss a mouse while giving birth which is not the case with rats.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Remember mice are very prone to stress, they know what to do so leave them for now and tomorrow you can check the babies.\, have a head count and check for milk band if that makes you feel better.

In general mice are a lot less trouble and in close to 9 years of breeding I have never loss a mouse while giving birth which is not the case with rats.

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Thank you :) I'll be sure to check in tomorrow. Will it be safe to move the mothers to perform a head count? I don't want to upset anyone

I feel much better. I'm going to steer clear. Less stress for me and I'll get more done :)

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Originally Posted by SCWood

Thank you :) I'll be sure to check in tomorrow. Will it be safe to move the mothers to perform a head count? I don't want to upset anyone

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It really depends on are well adjusted your mice are and their disposition, I can do pretty much whatever I want with my colony.

She died :( the other 2 mice are okay. Should I attempt to save any babies?

I usually give mine a couple days before I mess with the babies. My colonies are still pretty newly established. Then I move the mother to another enclosure, clean out any bloody bedding, shift bedding around to distribute my scent so it's not just on the pups, do a head count, put the mother back and leave them alone again. One of my rats just gave birth a week ago to over 16 pups... 16 was where I lost count. That was from just a quick peek into the cage though the screen while I was bestowing a few treats to distract her, rather than opening it and really counting. By the time I did an actual count, it was down to 15 pups. I think there were probably just too many for her to feed, so she thinned them out. She's happily raising the remaining 15 now, and they're all strong and healthy.

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Originally Posted by SCWood

She died :( the other 2 mice are okay. Should I attempt to save any babies?

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I'm very sorry to hear that... in my own experience, though it's not nearly as extensive as that of many others, you might be best off just leaving the babies in with the others and they may adopt hers as their own. I've heard of people putting mouse pups in with new rat litters, as well, and the rat mother adopting them, though I've never tried that and can't vouch for it.