# Please help. Zebra mice males and young.



## InForTheSkrill

I have had two male zebra mice and a female fancy mouse housed together for almost a year. So far they have not bred at all and lived very happily and closely. 
My two males are brothers and not aggressive at all towards eachother or my female. 
Recently I was cleaning their tank when I found two baby stripy mice in the den. Both Zebra mice are definitely male and it must have been my fancy mouse as she was getting very large over the last few weeks.

My problem is that one of the male mice is spending all of his time in the den with the babies while mam feeds and drinks and sometimes enters the den. My other male mouse has been sat outside the den seeming guarding it from me. Are my male Zebra mice looking out for the young? or should I be worried. 
Previously My female had litter with a fancy male, I separated her and she had a litter of 7 and killed them all straight after they were born. 
I dont want to separate her again from the male incase she needs the support like females would offer. I think the babies are 3 days old as they are very small and have closed eyes but are a little furry and have distinctive stripes. I have looked all over for help. please some offer advice?


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## SarahC

fancy mice and zebra mice cannot breed together.The zebras must be a pair and the one with the babies will be the mother or a wild house mouse gained entry and bred with the fancy mouse.However if the babies are striped they are zebras.


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## InForTheSkrill

My two Zebras are definitely males had them checked twice since I accidentally got a female fancy. Thy are in a large sealed tank high up on a shelf, no other mouse could have got in. I just cant think of any other way these stripy babies could be here. My female is also still quite large and acting the way she was with her first litter I think he may still be pregnant. 
I will check my Zebras again but I'm completely sure they are male. and all my mice have been housed together for 1 year and they havent bred before. This is still very odd to me too.


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## SarahC

it's impossible.They aren't the same species.Fancy mice aren't able to interbreed with other species.Wild house mice are the same species but any babies would be plain wild colour if that were the case.If nothing else can get in it can only be the zebra mice that are a pair.


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## PPVallhunds

Can you take photos of the zebra mice genatils?


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## InForTheSkrill

Yes I can, however the Zebras do not like being handled and one of them will not leave the den so you may have to wait a little while until they come out as I'm afraid to disturb the nest. If one of the Zebras are female, will it freak her to handle her when she comes out the nest?
The other Zebra may be female, but if so It doesnt explain why they havent bred before after being housed together so long and it doesnt explain why my fancy mouse looks like she pregnant, (a previous fancy mouse got her pregnant before and she looked very much the same)
shes resting alot and panting more that usual. Ill post an image of my female.
I really appreciate the help and advice these are the first mice Ive owned and Ive done so much research on them but I couldnt find any help on this situation so thank you.


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## InForTheSkrill

another image of female


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## InForTheSkrill

UPDATE:

Well it seems, one of my Zebra mice are female, You were right, the little ones have poked their noses out the house and are alive and well.
Should I separate Link (my male) from the others? So far all hes done is make a nest outside the house and groomed my female stripy when shes emerged but no signs of trying to mate with her.
Also should I take my fancy female to a vet, she is still very overweight, appearing pregnant, but that cant be the case. She eats the same foods as the other mice and has spent more time than usual resting. 
Again I appreciate any help I can get thank you so much.


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## PPVallhunds

When we had them the zebras were never big breeders. We left the buck in as we allways had trouble introducing the girls to new bucks (the girls were the ones to cause fights) so it was easyer to leave the adult buck and we never got back to back litters. But others may have different experance with them.

It could be you girl is just fat or it could be a health problem. Is she a different coat type? Her coat looks thin if not.


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## InForTheSkrill

Her coat has always been quite thin and wiry, but its gotten thinner as gotten heavier, causing her to look slightly pink. Should I ask a vet about her?


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## reeserueryn

I believe you should go et her checked. If it is not a pregnancy and she just got bloated is panting and has thinning her I would be quite alarmed. How old is she?


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## InForTheSkrill

She is a year and a half old and I went to two vets, both are asking for very high prices just to look at her


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## reeserueryn

Hair* Sorry to hear that though. Are they your only two options? I did a little research and found this on the RMCA website. Not saying it's this but this is what I found and if she still continues showing these symptoms and you cannot get her checked whether it is this or not I believe it would be wise to euthanize her.

"Q: My mouse has a swollen belly. What's wrong?
A:
Swollen belly, excluding pregnancy, of course, is a symptom of internal cancer. By far, the two most common internal cancers of mice are leukemia and lymphoma. Like with mammary tumor, leukemia and lymphoma are only common in older mice, over a year old. Other common symptoms of leukemia and lymphoma are shallow breathing and swollen lymph nodes. With early treatment, combination chemotherapy such as doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide for leukemia (Avery and Roberts, 1977) and doxorubicin-interleukin 2 for lymphoma (Ho et. al., 1993) typically results in complete remission and easily adds 2-3 months to the lifespan of the mouse. Clinical signs of leukemia and lymphoma, however, generally present themselves at advanced stages of the disease. In particular, swollen belly due to ascitic fluid build-up is an extremely painful condition. Euthanization is strongly recommended if leukemia or lymphoma is diagnosed."


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