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  1. #1
    BPnet Senior Member Lolo76's Avatar
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    Babies on the way!

    I've had my breeding trio of mice for over a month, and was starting to wonder if they were doing anything... then today one of the girls came out (they're usually hiding - only the boy is friendly), and she is HUGE!! I picked her up to feel her belly, and it's just full of little mice. The lumps still feel quite tiny, so I'm not sure how long until she gives birth, but she does look incredibly fat & pear-shaped. So when should I expect to see babies, and is there anything I need to do in preparation?

    FYI: They all live together in a small cage with two wooden "houses," exercise wheel, water bottle, etc. I use Carefresh bedding with a little shredded paper mixed in (they love nesting with it), and feed a diet of mostly commercial mouse food w/ some treats... usually just sunflower seeds, nuts, plain cereal, and maybe a little bread. Is that all okay once the babies come? And is it safe to leave the male with them? I only have one cage for now, so he'd otherwise have to live in a critter keeper - which I know he would hate, especially without his beloved running wheel. Also, since I feed mostly live & need prey of varying sizes, should I leave all the babies in the cage until they're ready for feeding? TIA for any advice on my first litter!
    Last edited by Lolo76; 10-13-2009 at 04:34 PM.
    Lolo's Collection...
    Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
    0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
    3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)

  2. #2
    BPnet Senior Member GoingPostal's Avatar
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    I wouldn't feel up her belly, that's probably a good way to damage the babies. Hard to tell when she will pop, some stay pretty small, mine once they reach "golfball" stage usually give birth within a few days. Is the other female pregnant as well? It's best to have them cycling and having babies together, otherwise they may kill the younger litter. They may kill this litter, some aren't great the first time around.

    Don't mess with them for at least a few days after birth, just add food and water and spot clean as needed. Food sounds fine, male should be fine, however he will try to breed the female babies too young so you may want to separate them out at 4 weeks. Male babies same deal, they will breed mom or sisters at 4 weeks and also will start fighting amongst themselves, I feed off males first.

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    Lolo76 (10-14-2009)

  4. #3
    BPnet Veteran nixer's Avatar
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    just leave them be. i dont take the male out, but some do.
    you dont have to take them out till its time to feed them off or their weaned and there is a new litter of pinks(sometimes the weanlings will eat the pinks)
    males will get bigger faster once weaned so if you need adult mice you might want to think about that when picking out feeders.

    mine all go into a single tub when they are weaned and i feed from there.

    right now i have 40 females across 5 tubs. im still playing with my numbers but i have one tub with 1.11, one with 1.9, and the other 3 have 1.7 groups.
    im using the ars 2020 mouse grow out levels.

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    Lolo76 (10-14-2009)

  6. #4
    BPnet Senior Member Lolo76's Avatar
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    Quote Originally Posted by GoingPostal View Post
    I wouldn't feel up her belly, that's probably a good way to damage the babies. Hard to tell when she will pop, some stay pretty small, mine once they reach "golfball" stage usually give birth within a few days. Is the other female pregnant as well? It's best to have them cycling and having babies together, otherwise they may kill the younger litter. They may kill this litter, some aren't great the first time around.
    Thanks! And don't worry, I wasn't pushing on her belly or anything - I lightly ran my finger down, just to make sure it was babies & not fat. I got the females about 1 (maybe 2) weeks apart, so I'm hoping they're both pregnant right now... I think the other one is, but she doesn't look quite as far along. I'll let you know when they arrive!

    P.S. How soon can you tell their genders?
    Lolo's Collection...
    Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
    0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
    3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)

  7. #5
    BPnet Senior Member Lolo76's Avatar
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    A few pictures of the trio, taken earlier tonight while cleaning their cage...

    Big momma on the right, boy on top left, possibly pregnant girl on the bottom


    The girl who may or may not be pregnant (sorry it's so blurry!)


    The one who definitely is... how far from delivery does she look? Do you think I should separate her until the babies are weaned?
    Last edited by Lolo76; 10-14-2009 at 06:30 AM.
    Lolo's Collection...
    Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
    0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
    3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)

  8. #6
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    I think the one in question is preggers. The one you know is preggers has a few days give or take??? I just went through this after picking up a pregnant feeder. The best way to explain is stated above......when she looks like a golf ball with legs, you are within days.
    She will give birth before you know it.
    Last edited by accidental777; 10-14-2009 at 10:18 AM.

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  10. #7
    BPnet Senior Member Lolo76's Avatar
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    Guess I'd better get ready for the pitter-patter of little feet! That's why I cleaned their cage yesterday, since I don't want to disturb anything too close to (or after) the birth. How far behind do you think the other girl is? She's definitely got a pooch, but as you can see it's not that big yet.
    Lolo's Collection...
    Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
    0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
    3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)

  11. #8
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    I read that the gestation period is 21-23 days. I would say maybe a week in. She looks how mine looked when I decided not to feed her off. Just fat enough to make you wonder.

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    Lolo76 (10-15-2009)

  13. #9
    BPnet Senior Member Lolo76's Avatar
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    The smaller one is definitely looking preggers now, so hopefully she's only about a week behind... and the big momma is ready to blow, for sure. If only snakes reproduced this fast, LOL!
    Lolo's Collection...
    Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
    0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
    3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)

  14. #10
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    Re: Babies on the way!

    Would be great if it worked that way. I don't really even have a male mouse. I just keep picking up pregnant ones from the pet store. They don't separate their males and females. After all of mine pop, I will probably have to get one though.

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