# average weights for mice?



## madmouse

I finally got around to buying myself a digital scale for weighing my mice. What would you guys say is an average weight for a pet mouse vs. a show mouse, plus a buck vs. a doe? I'd just like to weigh all my mice and see how they measure up, out of curiosity. Now keep in mind that I am in the States! I know that our show mice here are likely derived from European bloodlines, but I still wonder if they're quite the same size as the original European stock. So please, when you give me your estimated weights, please specify whether you're talking about American or European mice (or Australian or Asian, etc).


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## Cordane

Well for my meecers (all are pet shop babies or a generation or two away from pet shop) my lightest doe is 36g while the heaviest is 45g and my boys, (only two) are 41g and 43g.
No idea if that'll help - oh and New Zealand mice


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## pro-petz

madmouse what you are asking is very difficult to answer as mice vary weight with age irrespective of whether they are feeder pet or show or which part of the world they come from.

As a guideline as I have all three types at 3 months of age I would expect does and bucks to be in the region of 30g and slowly increase in weight after that.


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## love2read

My show-types average between 60-70g, while my mix types are between 50-60(for some reason, about 75% of them are exactly 57g, lol). I had a big boy that was nearly 80g, but had to put him down recently. *cry*

I believe mine are on the smaller side compared to most nice show-type mice.


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## pro-petz

Why are people posting weights only are all your mice the same age? Are they all 6 weeks old and weighing 30g plus. Come on more information is really required to assist the op than just pure weights without the age.


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## Cordane

Ok, fine. I shall be more specific. I only have a few mice but I shall list their weights and birthdates and how far away from pet shop mice they are. All weights were taken on the 4th of January 2013
Opal born 11th September 2012 - 43g. Mum was a pet shop mouse.
Saf born 11th September 2012 - 37g. Mum was pet shop mouse.
Topaz born 10th September 2012 - 38g. Mum and Dad were pet shop mice.
Basil born 19th July 2010 - 43g. Mum and Dad were pet shop mice.
Junior born 29th May 2012 - 43g. Mum was pet shop mouse.
Xia born 29th January 2012 - 35g. Pet shop girl herself. Nursing 5 babies (2 boys and 3 girls) born on the 21st December.
Ava born 4th May 2012 - 37g. Pet shop girl herself but not 100% at the weight check date.


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## pro-petz

Thanks cordane, that will help the op alot more to assist in checking the health of their meeces.


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## love2read

Pro-Pet, maybe it's just me, but you're coming off a but rude...

Madmouse only asked for weights, not ages. She obviously wants adult weights so she can have something to compare her mice too. I only counts weights on adult, non-pregnant mice so I have consistent information. It wouldn't be very helpful to give baby weights because they grow at different rates based on the line, their parents' sizes, litter size, etc... there are too many variables for baby weights to be consistent, imo.


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## madmouse

Love2read: You're right, I only wanted general estimates to make simple comparisons to my mice. I certainly realize that age, sex, variety, type, condition, and breeding history will all effect the weight of a mouse. But I'm honestly so clueless about weights that if someone said a buck was 35g, I wouldn't know if he was pet type, show type or runt. Also, I was just curious to see how my mice measure up to others' mice. Funny you should say that many of your mix types are 57g. My biggest buck is a show-pet cross and he is 55g, but to me he looks BIG. But now I know he's pretty average for an adult male cross type. Thanks!!


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## PPVallhunds

diffrent lines will have diffrent adverages. My first pet mice were 25g and fat at 30g, i soon got the line to around 45g at a healthy weight. My foxes that i breed for showing are 45g adverage, my 2 bucks for the siam project are 60g each and a healty weight. Id go more by size and mass rather than weight, look at them and see if you think there fat or thin as one lines healthy weight will be another fat weight.

Also diffrent varitys of show mice will also have diffrent sizes, the pale self tend to be bigger and the marked can tend to be smaller.


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## tinyhartmouseries

I weigh at 3 months and keep a casual eye on it after that. I've found that after about 4 months, weight doesn't really change too much. So keep in mind that my weights, unless specified, refer to showish mice that are 12-16weeks old, which is considered young but fully grown.
My largest male is 80g. Most of my males are around 67g-73g. My females are 55g to 69g. I Weanlings are right around 30g.

I have a strictly pet type line that is about 45g-55g fully grown.

I hope this helps.


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## ThatCertainGlow

This thread helps a lot actually. I've wondered the same thing. People refer to a weight, and I've no idea how to picture what type of mouse that roughly equates to, on average. So, it's helpful to have some sort of vague range. This way you could perhaps have an idea if you are getting closer to a part of 'better' type. When the lean healthy body is in the higher gram range, at adult weight. (Whatever age that happens at for that mouse/line.)

Pictures rarely have something in them that is specific and familiar, so can be used as a size gauge. Wine glass stems are not exactly standard, I don't think. (Are they?) Mice scrunch on those anyway. Tails are cropped out, or wrapped out of sight. Everyone has different size hands. I was actually holding a quarter (US coin) up to the current pet-types I have because another forum has baby mice pictured by day age next to quarters. (Yeah, mine looked like baby mice to me, but apparently they are not...)

I ran into this trying to gauge how big certain cage items needed to be for the eventual mice. When your mice are usually 40 something grams full grown, or potentially 80 grams that's a major difference in size, if we are not talking fat. I've come to the conclusion the mice I had as a pre-teen, and teen, were pretty large, but it's taking a lot of guessing to reach that idea. I'm still not sure if they were average to small 'show type'-ish, or beasts. I probably won't know until I get mice the size I had, and weight them at full growth.

Thank you for asking this question, and big thank you to those who have responded with the information available to you. ,
Zanne


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## PPVallhunds

I know some us people use to do pics with mice on money bills so size and true colour can be seen, I see some UK people to the same with mice on maxey cages.

that way you can get the money or cage in front of you see the size and can adjust the lighting of pics to so it matches the colours.


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## Seafolly

I can toss in a few Canadian numbers for ya! My pet store female is 23 g but her daughters grew up to be around 32 g. The pet store buck is 35 g (though I don't have any males to compare him to).


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## TanithHH

My does weigh 24g to 35g they are 4 months and 1 week. but I do think a couple could be under weight? Probably just the variety  
It really depends


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