How long

I have had a male mouse in with my females for about 3 weeks there was a bit of squeaking for the first few days as I have had the females since March.

How long will it take for them to breed?
How can I tell if the females are pregnant?
And how to I keep down on the Oder that is now really bad?


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How many females? Best ratio to breed is 1.2 (one male, 2 females). More than that is chaotic & less fertile, in my experience.

How long to breed depends on many factors: age & health of the mice, the compatibility (some fight), the ratio, quality of food, suitability of cage, luck etc.
Temperature is extremely important...too cold inhibits breeding (like in winter), but fertility also disappears about 80*. 70*-72* is optimal. Mice have a high
metabolism...if they are too crowded, they'll be too hot sooner than if the cage has more room for them. (that's another reason that a large "harem" is bad)

Pregnant females get "fat" (pear-shaped)...I think you'll know.

Odor: hold your nose...mice do stink. Males more than females (for scent marking); cleaning more often helps but mice still stink.

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Originally Posted by Parsons483

How long will it take for them to breed?

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Males are breed age @6-8 weeks of age
Females are breed age @4-7 weeks

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How can I tell if the females are pregnant?

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It is safe to assume that if your male mouse is breed age and living in the same cage as your females-then they are pregnant. Gestation is aprox. 21 days on domestic mice.

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And how to I keep down on the Oder that is now really bad?

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Mice smell. Ammonia gas is lighter than air and rises. I ventilate my cages to the outside with an overhead fan system.

Mazuri's 6F rodent blocks has added yucca shidigera extract in recent times to reduce ammonia levels (it does work-but, it is only reduction).

If you have a large colony and cannot ventilate--I recommend that you run a dehumidifier constantly (in close proximity to the rodents) to extract as much moisture from the air as possible. No moisture = no active bacteria = no ammonia by-product. :)

Ok thank you I am going to assume they are pregnant. The male is bigger than both of my females and they seem to be at their adult size they haven’t grown really since March. And ok I will look into that a reduction is really what I’m looking for. When it was just the two females I was able to go 4-5 days between cleaning but now it’s sooner than that because the smell gets over powering.


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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

How many females? Best ratio to breed is 1.2 (one male, 2 females). More than that is chaotic & less fertile, in my experience.

How long to breed depends on many factors: age & health of the mice, the compatibility (some fight), the ratio, quality of food, suitability of cage, luck etc.
Temperature is extremely important...too cold inhibits breeding (like in winter), but fertility also disappears about 80*. 70*-72* is optimal. Mice have a high
metabolism...if they are too crowded, they'll be too hot sooner than if the cage has more room for them. (that's another reason that a large "harem" is bad)

Pregnant females get "fat" (pear-shaped)...I think you'll know.

Odor: hold your nose...mice do stink. Males more than females (for scent marking); cleaning more often helps but mice still stink.

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I have two females and one male. I Clean the cage every 3 days. I don’t wash everything with soap I kinda just rinse everything and then dry it off with a cloth I keep specificity for the mice. and I use aspen shavings for bedding.


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