Mice Not Breeding...

[NightOfTheRaven]

I bought three mice about 5 weeks ago. They were about 3 weeks old. I have them in a 10 gal. tank with 2 inches of pine bedding, a hanging water bottle, a food dish, and a small hide. I have two females and a male. I have seen the male trying to breed, but the females push him away. For some reason, I don't think my mice are in the process of breeding at all. There are two things that could be the problem and I would like to know how to solve them. Number one, I have a snake in the room but she is on the opposite side and is cleaned out very often. Number two, I have two kittens who run around the house, but don't really pay attention to the mice. The issue really is the smell. I read that some mice won't breed with a predator in the area. Can I solve this in anyway? My kittens are too young to be outside alone as I have three very large, very protective geese who could crack their skulls open without effort. Please help?

[I-KandyReptiles]

I don't wean my mice till their four weeks old. I have a girly who's two and a half months now and no babies yet.

Usually if the females push the male away their not in heat :/

I know my males doin his job though because I've seen sperm plugs

[C&H Exotic Morphs]

If they are only 8 weeks old they are just at the age when they will start breeding (usually they will start when they are 6-8 weeks old). So it is very possible that they will start breeding for you very soon or the female could already be pregnant and you just can't tell yet visually. Just give them alittle more time and I'm sure you will start to notice your female plumping up!

Having them in the same room as your snake is not an issue. We keep all of our breeding rats and ASF's in our reptile room without any issue. Also I doubt your kittens will be a problem unless they are actively trying to get into the mice's cage. Our cat loves to come in and check out and sniff at the rats but has never tried to get them and has never casued any issues with our breeders.

Edit: What is the temp in the room they are in? This can be an issue with them breeding and also with their possible litter sizes.

[NightOfTheRaven]

About 80 Degrees. 85 at the highest and 75 a the lowest. My room usually pretty warm. It stays just below 80 most of the time. I've also checked a couple of times for sperm plugs, but never really saw any. Although the only one I have ever seen was in a photo so I don't exactly know what it looks like in person. That might have something to do with it.

[NightOfTheRaven]

My mice aren't ASFs. Is that a serious issue? I don't know where to get ASFs and can't afford 50 dollars in shipping to get them off the internet.

[Andrew21]

You don't need asf's. How long have you been trying? Gestation is 21 days, and it takes a while for them to get going. They go into heat about every 5 days. They should be breeding when they are at 6 weeks. Maybe earlier. I have 2 snakes 2 feet away from my mice, they are breeding great. 78 degrees. They are probably to young.

[C&H Exotic Morphs]

About 80 Degrees. 85 at the highest and 75 a the lowest. My room usually pretty warm. It stays just below 80 most of the time. I've also checked a couple of times for sperm plugs, but never really saw any. Although the only one I have ever seen was in a photo so I don't exactly know what it looks like in person. That might have something to do with it.

You don't really want your temps to get over 80 degrees. If the 85 is just for a short period of time occasionally it shouldn't be an issue, but if it is for extended periods of time it could effect their production.
So just monitor your temps and give them some time since they are still young.

My mice aren't ASFs. Is that a serious issue? I don't know where to get ASFs and can't afford 50 dollars in shipping to get them off the internet.

Not having ASF's isn't an issue at all. ASF's are just one of the feeders that we work with.

[JaGv]

try with older mice

[NightOfTheRaven]

My mice are about 7-9 weeks old. I just checked my thermostat and it's 78 degrees in my house. My male mouse seems really eager to breed, but the females just squeak and run away. I have plenty of food and water for them so I guess all I can do is wait. Thanks guys!

[satomi325]

I have my snakes, rats, and ferrets in the same room. The poor rats are surrounded by predators, but they still breed fine. My ferrets love to climb on top of the hardware cloth of the rat tubs to peek in. The rats are equally curious about the ferrets.
No problems yet.

I agree with the others about your mice being too young or possibly breeding now.
Breeding is very quick and takes a matter of seconds during a session.
And peek breeding time for rodents tend to do it around twilight/night.
So it could be possible that you have missed them mating.