Couple questions about my first colony.

[andrew68]

I kept a colony of mice in a place that had zero air conditioning and I can attest to the fact that they breed just fine in 90+ weather. The only thing you need to watch for is to provide them with enough water. They'll drink a lot more in the heat.

As for keeping the smell down, I never had much success. I have seen it suggested online to keep a layer of puppy training pads beneath the bedding. Here's the link to the post where I found this suggestion.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/food-...g-fresh-2.html

I googled this; 'breeding mice for reptiles keep smell down' You can try whatever variation you want. I found a little good advice, but mostly its just something you have to live with if you want to breed your own feeders.

You might want to try an air purifier like an ionic breeze. It should be something that runs fairly quiet so it doesn't disturb the mice, and remember that they can hear into higher ranges than humans. In fact most of mice communication is done in the ultrasonic range.

And yeah, that's perfectly normal mating behavior. All the squeaking is basically the female deciding if she likes the male or not. I had one male mouse that was much younger than my females, and they actually chased him into a corner and wouldn't let him breed until he got bigger. I would strongly suggest buying a book on care for mice as pets, as they usually describe typical mouse behavior. There are some warning signs to look for. The only one I can remember off the top of my head is that if any one of the mice is huddling on its hind legs with its front paws up and shaking, its being severely harassed by the other mice. This is an 'I surrender, please don't hurt me' pose.

I would also suggest removing the male after two weeks, so the females aren't constantly pregnant. This can cause a lot of stress for them.

Thanks for the additional help and input.

Thought I'd update everyone on the mice. I had to remove 2 mice a week ago because they just weren't healthy looking. They were kinda lethargic and skinny from when I got them from the pet store so next time I need to be more picky with the mice I choose.

Now I just have 1 female and 1 male that are doing good. The female is definitely pregnant and getting bigger everyday.

Can I bring in 3 new females after this litter is born? They shouldn't fight the female that's already there right? I'm gonna be using the pinkies right after they're born so I'm not worried about anything getting cannibalized.

[Sita]

There's always a risk of fighting when introducing new mice, but if the cage smells like the first female, the other 3 probably won't gang up on her. If at all possible, the ideal situation would be to raise up any female babies to use as breeders. That way you know they won't fight and you'll have young mothers to continue breeding with, rather than pet store ones that you have no idea how old they are.

If you decide to take only the male babies, make sure you leave at least 3 pinkies. I've noticed my females tend to abandon/eat litters when there's only 1 or 2 pinkies.

[andrew68]

Wanted to update you guys... She had 8 pinkies last night!

[I-KandyReptiles]

Wanted to update you guys... She had 8 pinkies last night!

Don't be too worried if you go check tomorrow and there aren't as many. It's her first litter, yes? Sometimes they don't understand what's going on and eat all the babies. Try her a second time and if she does it again, feed her off.

But congratulations! Baby mice are adorable!!