# moving the nest alot



## kiowa_ruby (Aug 27, 2012)

I have three does in a ten gallon. With their three litters all in a community nest the babys were all born within a three day period one each day ... Each litter has nine bubs. Mums and babys are doin great .. the second mama keeps moving and rebuilding the nest all around the tank. The other two does don't seem to mind ... But the nest has never stayed in the same place for 24 hours. She sometimes moves it a couple times in day. The other girls don't help her or anything. She builds the new nest then moves all 27 pups all by herself ... Strange little thing. This is her first litter well all threes first litter. (side note mice love grass for bedding or nest material would probably love hay too ) should I just let her move the pups and nest around ?


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

This is why most mothers need to be seperated into their own tanks to give birth. Sounds like she is trying to steal all the babies for herself and keep the other mothers out. This can lead to fighting. If you can seperate them now and know who's babies to give to who..(or devide equally) I would personally do it. She is moving the nest because of stress.


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## kiowa_ruby (Aug 27, 2012)

I was thinking about taking her out. But they all are getting along great the other Mums just move into the new nest with her it kinda seems like she keeps making better nests and not liking them so making a new one


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Mice don't move babies to "make a better nest"....they move babies because of stress. If you do not separate her and some bubs, you could end up with her killing ALL of the babies from the stress.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

I cannot re-iterate enough. What Stina says is absolutely true. You've got yourself a major time bomb.


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## kiowa_ruby (Aug 27, 2012)

i took her out ... shes fine this morning taking good care of the nine random bubs i put in with her .. but when i look in her cagemates cage .. theres four bubs left .. if you dont count the dead and half eaten ones .. took the four and gave them to the other female .. ( ill foster them over to whichever female has pups next .. ) cant help but feel i made the completley wrong choice in taking the third female out .. they were fine until i did ..


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## kiowa_ruby (Aug 27, 2012)

oh the pups would be a week old on friday (saturday and sunday ) and were just getting their pigment .. =(


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Don't worry sweetie. You did the right thing. Stress in animals comes in all forms and its very possible the other mother felt that 9 were just too many to handle. Culling down to 6 or 7 is your best option. If you don't cull yourself, the mothers will do it for you. Sometimes more than you would have done yourself. Don't blame yourself, nature is a funny thing and you cannot always predict what will happen. If you end up with pregnant mice again it might be best to keep all the does separate before they give birth but just look after the remaining babies and let the mothers do what they think is best. I am sorry you had to see the babies dead though =( I caught mine eating one once and it was horrible. But they were brilliant mums to the remaining babies.


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## kiowa_ruby (Aug 27, 2012)

they all three were doing great till i moved the nest mover .. i think im going to watch the other two closely and give them seven of the babies back .. thatll leave cyder with seven .. i dont have to work all day.. so i can sit in there .. and probably let my rats out to exersize and run around the room .. thatll just .. leave me worried that theyre gunna eat them while im gone thursday .. =( ugh ... im ok with them culling when they are a couple day along .. its when they wait a week and only after i take a cagemate out .. =( ( cynder moved her nest again ..since she was in the seperate cage)
this is cynder..


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

It could be one or both of the pair are pinkie munchers and that was why the other female was getting stressed and kept moving the nest about. So if you haddent split them you may have lost them all.

If you want to give them any babies back id also split the pair up, that way you will know if it was jsut the one who munched them as she may well munch again. Also if you rebreed them split the pair up to birth and see if they munch again. Some mice dont make good mums, the best siamese i had bred was terrible and munched her litters and any litter in with her. If they munch again id advise not to breed them and to keep them away from others litters.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

> they all three were doing great till i moved the nest mover


Just because the babies looked healthy does NOT mean all 3 were doing great. A doe moving a nest repeatedly is a doe that is NOT doing fine.......it is an unhappy, worried, stressed out doe. like ppvalhunds said, perhaps the doe moving the babies was doing so because one of the other does was acting strangely......It WAS a ticking time bomb situation, and you did the RIGHT thing by separating them. You lost some....and that is truly sad and unfortunate...but the odds of losing them all were far higher by leaving them all together.


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