# missing babies



## jadeguppy

The past two days I have come in to check on my pinkies and have found one less pinkie. I have the momma nad nanny in the cage, no one else, and the pinkies look healthy. I'm assuming that one is being eaten each night. Any thoughts? What can I do about it? Both seem to be taking good care of the babies, so I don't get it.


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## jadeguppy

Son of a &^^*&^*&%*(. I may have figured out the problem. Thankfully the tanks are near the computer and I heard one of them drinking. I checked the expensive glass bottle I had bought them and had a terrible time getting water out of it. I replaced the nossle and the momma immediatly started drinking. If this is why I lost the babies, I'm *&^(*&^ off.


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## kellyc88

aw thats sad! at least u figured it out before it was too late! Good luck to the rest of the litter


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## tinyhartmouseries

SO glad you solved that! Yes, a lack of nutrition or water will DEFINITELY do that to a mom...here's hoping...


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## m137b

One of the reasons I hate most water bottles is they're so unreliable. It's always a good idea to check them daily to make sure they're still working good.


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## jadeguppy

Well I thought I had solved the problem, but tonight I just did a late night check and feeding and I'm down to three babies. They are starting to be little pink crawlers and I saw momma pick them up and bring them back to the nest. What should I do?


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## SarahY

Unless you have a foster doe available to you, there's nothing you can do I'm afraid


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## jadeguppy

I had another doe give birth yesterday, but things didn't go well. I didn't notice until after I started moving some of her tankmates that are going to a new home. Unfortunatly many of the does in the tank ran and stood over the babies. I think some were trampled. The new mother and a nanny are in the tank alone now and seem to be taking good care of the remaining babies, but I can't tell how many there are. I'm hesitant to use her as a foster since I know she ate a few of the babies after the fiasco.

Any idea why I keep loosing a baby each night? The remaining ones are well fed and getting bigger.


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## tinyhartmouseries

I would remove the nanny because there is a small chance that she is irritating the mother, I would just leave mom and babies in the tank and hope, hope, hope.


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## Rhasputin

glass water bottles are a pain. If you can't get them to work, try filling them all the way up and then blowing into the nozzle (hard, like with your lips on it like you're blowing up a balloon) this will put a lot of pressure inside the bottle, and that's how I've been getting mine started recently.

After they start working, I've never had a problem with them stopping again. But if they did, I'd re-try that. Also shaking them hard so that water leaks out, seems to help.


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## Laigaie

The weight of a mouse isn't enough to crush a pinkie. That's the one thing they're definitely able to withstand, otherwise they couldn't handle momma and nanny mouse sitting on them all day to keep them warm. Taking away the nanny with the disgruntled momma at the least probably won't hurt. I'd hesitate to put the two pregnant moms together, since one litter's rather older than the other. Hopefully, once she feels like her resources are stable and aren't going to disappear, she'll settle down. If not... at least you have another litter.


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## wildrose

Hmm, I have a few suggestions for you. If you've been handling the babies in front of mama, that might be making her nervous.

I'd definitely also start moving the doe to her own tank as early as a week before shes scheduled to give birth. I don't think you should completely blame the new mama for eating a few in the mouse stampede. She might still be a great foster, if you give her a few days to settle down.

Hope you figure it out!


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## jadeguppy

I haven't held any of the babies in days. I didn't want to trigger her eating any more of them. I did remove the nanny from Big Momma and I'm happy to say I still have 3 this morning. 

I was going to move the other momma that day. I didn't breed her, so I didn't know exactly when she was due. On the up side, she is taking such good care of them that I haven't been able to get a good look at the babies to fully count them. She does still have a nanny, but hers is older and has probably had litters before. Yesterday couldn't figure out which is the actual mother because their markings are so similar. I think they have 4 or 5 babies under them. I'm just hoping that the remaining ones are mostly girls.


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## SarahC

there is no need for nannies,they are an added risk.If I had the space I would litter all does alone,alas I don't.


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## SarahY

> there is no need for nannies,they are an added risk.If I had the space I would litter all does alone,alas I don't.


Agreed. My does all kindle and nurse alone, except for very rare occasions when I'm short on cage space. The few times I've left a 'nanny' with the litter I've noticed no positive effects but seen plenty of negative ones.


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## jadeguppy

When do you think it will be safe for me to pick up the babies? I'm curious to see how many boys and girls. They are a week old now, but with disappearing baby issues, I havn't touched them since lifting them with the nest on Sunday.


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## Galaxy

I used to "wash" my hands in their bedding when I wanted to look at the babies and count them etc. Never had a problem with disappearing babies because of this. Also would distract the mum by putting something new and exciting in the cage whilst I did this. Like a dandelion flower or some fresh grass or a leaf from a fruit tree or twigs. Hope this helps....


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## SarahC

I'd leave it until the eyes are open under the circumstaces,I've had them eaten at 10 days old.Very very rare and a horrible end.


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## jadeguppy

I didn't hear back last night (forgot the time difference), so I scrubed my hands in fresh aspen and gave momma some egg noodles. She didn't react when my hand went near her babies, so I picked them up. I think they are behind on their development, probably due to the lack of water the first few days. When do nipples start showing? I'm not sure if I have the genders correct. Thankfully, I still have three this morning. I also finally got a look at the other tanks nest and she has four babies.

Thank you for the advise. Sarah, I hope to never see that.


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## jadeguppy

Update: 
The three of them are growing and have definate eye slits, but I didn't see them open their eyes today. Big Momma doesn't mind me picking them up. It looks like I have 3 satin PEW's. I was hoping for some color, but all three are shiny white. What are PEW's useful for in breeding? Anything special about them?

On a side note, my pied fawn has three light colored babies and one dark pied baby. I can't tell if they are satin yet. They are just barely getting fuzz.

IN a month or two I hope to try my hand at improving some poor black tans I found at a store. The girls are still too little for me to want to breed them. I do have the fox that was sent, but it is to early to tell if she gave up her chasity vows.


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## Laigaie

Do you know who the fawn was bred to? I love that sheen satin babies get. I feel like they're at their shiniest just when their fur's come in, but before they get their eyes open. So soft and gentle and sweet.


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## jadeguppy

No, I picked her up when I picked up yours. All but the blues came from the same store. I am very curious to see what color the dark one turns into.

Taking a close look at Big Momma's babies, one looks to be smaller than the others. Do females usually look a bit smaller?


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