Question about travel

[sinclair]

I have to travel for Christmas and will be away for seven or eight days. It's a 4-5 hour drive taking into account stops. I have a female mouse who gave birth about 5 days ago. She's in a 10 gallon tank with a male and another female. I'm concerned that the stress of being loaded into the car and driven could cause her to eat her babies. My first two females recently gave birth and ate or abandoned their entire litters within the first day, so I'm walking on pins and needles with this one. Would it be better to take the tank with me, or leave it at home and provide enough food and water for the week? I'd have to remove the male and other female and bring them with me in order to have enough food/water to last her the week. Which choice would be the less risky proposition?

[satomi325]

Personally, I would probably just leave the mother and her litter. With enough food and water, they should be fine for a week.
I personally have traveled fine with rodents and their litters, but since your mice seem more sensitive to stress and/or change, it's probably best to leave her alone.

[sinclair]

Personally, I would probably just leave the mother and her litter. With enough food and water, they should be fine for a week.
I personally have traveled fine with rodents and their litters, but since your mice seem more sensitive to stress and/or change, it's probably best to leave her alone.

Thanks for the reply. Do you think the removal of the male and other female will freak her out? Also, the cage is in need of a cleaning. Would you just scoop out and replace the shavings surrounding the nest?

[satomi325]

I don't think the removal of the male and female would freak her out. But re-introducing them back might.
Yeah, just clean around the nest. You could probably even pick up the nest and replace the shavings, then put the nest back. And I would definitely keep the nest in tact so the female will be able have that familiar scent.

[Rhasputin]

If you have a hopper for food, that should be okay if you just fill it up. Water for a week, I'd give them an extra bottle or two, because if they run out of water, they can only last a while, and the babies will definitely get eaten.