Babies !

Today i took out all the 8 day old babies to see if i could tell the sexes (i couldent figure out who was female and who was male anyway though) and i noticed one of the babies is about half the size of his/her siblings.Im concerned that she isnt getting enough nurtrition and might die.The other babies are growing hair (like actual hair) where as she just has a little peach fuzz.

I have another female who has babies just a tiny tiny bit smaller than her, should i put the baby with her and her own babies ??

Would she eat him/her if she finds out that is isnt one of her own ??

What should i do ?

Heres a picture

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...1/DCP06567.JPG

He/She is the little pink one with the two black "eye brow" looking markings on her/his head at the bottom of the picture to the right side.

I really don't know much about mice, but I'll tell you that when I was breeding hamsters, if I saw a runt that was looking like it needed a little help, I'd get kitty formula and an eye dropper and feed him/her...

She looks a little runty, but they usually do alright. Since it's the mother's first time having babies, she may not have enough milk, not know how to take care of them at first, etc. The second litter should be bigger and better cared for. You can put the runt in with the other litter, but it's not necessary. If you want to ensure it getting enough milk, you can take the other 3 away for an hour or so so it can nurse and not get pushed out of the way. You can keep the other 3 in a box or something with a heat pad underneath part of it. Make sure they don't get too hot though.

Hope this helps a bit. How many babies are in the other litter?

Thanks becky, that sounds like a great idea, i will try that. :)

There is 8 babies in each litter.

Oh wow! I didn't realize there were that many. Way to go Moms! :) Good numbers for first timers. Let me know how it goes with the lil' one. It may just need some extra attention from mom. I like the colors of the ones in the picture. They look like little cows :) The small baby has especially cute markings.

If you need help identifying male from female, it's not too difficult. They are at a good age to start looking. The females usually have nipple spots, so that should be the main indicator. If you can't see those yet, then females have the urethra, the vagina and then the anus. Males only have the urethra and anus. Females = ._ . Males . . LoL, Hopefully that helps a bit. The males testicles will start to descend pretty early, I think it may be around 3-4 weeks, if not sooner. Just make sure they all(males) have two testicles, and if not, just feed him, and don't use for breeding. The monorchidism(one testicle undescended) and cryptorchidism(both undescended) is genetic and can lead to cancer if not dealt with soon.

Good luck with all the little boogers. :)

Ok thanks.

I noticed nipples on only two from that litter.

The one i really wanted to keep is actually a male....so i wont be keeping him now, i have no use for another male...ohh well.

The runt is doing alot better, she is catching up with the others and is now coverd in nice soft white hair :)

These guys are coming up on three weeks now in a few days.

Once they are weaned im putting them in another 95 quart rubermaid until i get rid of them, are they going to be alright in there ? will they breed with eachother ?

They can breed at about 4 1/2 to 5 weeks from what I have been told.

Anyways, if you are planning on feeding them to your snakes, why does it matter if they breed? I dont mind feeding a fat pregnant female mouse to one of my snakes as a meal

Brandon, here's some information I found that might be useful to you:

Quote:

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Rats and mice have a gestation period of 21 days. They wean their young in 21 days and immediately produce another litter. Rats and mice can be mated at 10 weeks of age and should be retired from breeding at six months. Replacement breeders should be obtained from the third or fourth litters and can be mated brother to sister. A ratio of 1:2 males to females per container is ideal.

Male and female weaners (three weeks old) should be kept apart to prevent breeding. Mice can become pregnant at five weeks, although they may not have a large enough pelvis to give birth.

You should keep a breeding record, which will tell you breeding performances and the age of the offspring.

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