# ID My Mice? (WARNING: Image heavy!)



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

I breed for fun, not for show. I wouldn't know the first thing about breeding for show, and all of my mice have come from local pet stores or big chains like Petco/Petsmart.

But that doesn't mean I'm not interested in knowing the proper coloring of my mice. c:

NOTE: I just want to mention that I do own a sort of racking-'system' for my mice. I have 16 currently, and most females are pregnant (including one that will have her babies before the weekend is over), and so these are cheaper and more efficient than owning 100 ten-gallon tanks. A lot of people do this, so please, I don't want any gruff about it. :c

So anyway, I'll start with my females, first.

Pepper:
(Long-Haired, I was thinking broken-marked black? Kind of looks like merle with the flash, though...)


















Minky:
(I was thinking broken-marked lilac, but it's hard to tell for me.)


















No-Name:
(Agouti..?)


















No-Name:
(Broken-marked gold? I appologize for the horrible quality of the photo, but she's at that 'flea' stage... so getting pics is difficult.)










Sweetpea:
(Agouti, again? lol, one of the hoppers bit me.)










No-Name:
(Broken-marked lilac/tan? She has tan between the gray and white on her belly. Biiiig girl. Really tame mouse.)


















No-Name:
(Broken-marked gold? She's pregnant. Normally I don't handle my pregnant mice, but she's a sweetheart and comes right up to my hand.)


















Peaches:
(Curious about this one. She's brindled?)










Baby:
(I want to say she's a black fox, but I'm not 100% sure. I don't have pics of her belly, but it's completely white.)


















And then the boys...

MooMoo:
(Broken-marked black?)


















No-Name:
(Long-haired chocolate? He looks a little grungy, this is before his bath.)


















No-Name:










No-Name:
(Self black..?)


----------



## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

The ones you are calling gold are mainly argente and resessive yellow. The blacks are all pied black. The one is pied, not fox. They long haired are poor angora. Your mice look greasy and are probably overcrowded and those bins just dont have enough ventilation. They can work...but you need to put mesh on the sides to allow more airflow. http://www.jacksmousery.com/makingbincages.htm has great step by step instructions with photos.


----------



## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Firstly, (not gruffing) wanted to say there is nothing wrong with homemade racking systems, but am curious how is yours ventilated?

Pepper: Longhaired, pied black
Minky: Pied argente (if under coat is grey/blue)
No name #1: Agouti
No name #2: ?
Sweetpea: Pied agouti
No name #3: Chinchila? Tan hairs crop up as a fault an often pool in the genital area, the tan gene has a different look. Try placeing her next to a window with natural light to get a better belly picture.
No name #4: Pied argente (same as minky for how to check)
Peaches: Broken Brindle
Baby: Pied black
Moo Moo: Pied black
No name #5: Satomg. longhaired, lilac?
No name #6: Pied argente, longhaired
No name #7 Self black

If the ones pegged argente do not have blue/grey roots throughout their fur, then there is a chance they are undermarked brindles or recessive yellows (depending on area).
Also, how do you mean bath? And I'm sure you're going to get questions about what you're feeding and etc... based on coat conditions, but I must run to class.
Hope I helped with colors!

Edit: Canycorn beat me, but I must run!


----------



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

Thank you for the reply!

In my defense however, more than half of the mice were bought just two days ago. The condition of the mouse cages from the pet store was... horrible.

I'll get the supplies needed to 'upgrade' my bins to be more suitable, thank you for the advice. c:

@Frizzle:

I had holes drilled into the sides of the bins, but you can't see it from the pictures. I'm going to go with mesh ventilation once I get the supplies.

I feed my mice brands like Purina or Kaytee's, and they get lots of healthy veggies (ones they can eat, I do my research) and fruits. I clean their cages every three days (not quite so often with heavily preggo moms, as I don't want to stress them out), give them fresh water at least twice a day (sometimes more if they get their bedding into the bowls) and clean their wheels when they get dirty. :c


----------



## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

Yeah I missed that...you can't give mice a bath without risking their life. They get too cold to fast if you are using water. 
I am assuming you breed feeders (which is fine on this site) and are feeding very cheap dog food or poor seed mix? Ease up on the fruit as it can cause diarrea. Add milkbones and conceder getting lab block. Google Native Earth for great bulk food. It really shows in their health. They are greasy and out of condition. Ventilation will help. And healty mice will equal healthy reptiles!
You also need to switch to water bottles. The mesh gives you a place to hang them. Less work for you. Better for the mice!
Thank you for trying. Don't think we are picking on you, just helping to make healthy mice!


----------



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

Oh, I missed the bathing part. 
I use pet wipes or mild shampoos on my mice. I'm aware that bathing mice can remove the natural oil from their coats, but I've never had a mouse become ill after it was bathed... I've only ever really lost mice from old age... and I bathe them in the bathroom sink. The bathroom is always warm; around 78 degrees farenheit most of the time. I take a washcloth and dry them off, too. They stick around in the bathroom until they're mostly dried. c:

I don't breed my mice for feeders, I really just can't do it. My mice are my pets, and I care very much for them.

Their main staple food is Purina: Garden Recipe for rats and mice. I will add some milkbones and such, thanks again for the advice -- I need all the help I can get. c:

And I definitely don't think you're picking on me! I appreciate all of the help.


----------



## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Here is a link to a thread about swimming, although yours would be in a controlled bath, the main problem has to do with the surface area of the mouse, and how they easily catch chills. http://www.fancymicebreeders.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11237&hilit=bath

Here is a link to petfood direct, it's where I order my Native earth from. $40 for 40lbs? Not bad if you ask me. : )
http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/9093/Native-Earth-18-Percent-Protein-4018-Rodent-Diet-40-lbs

Hardware cloth is a great way to go, it's cheap, and sold at most hardware stores. You'll prolly only need about $8 of it for what I can see in your pictures. And then zipties to hold the mesh in place. I'd suggest any combo of the front section and the sides. One thing though about using this shelving unit I see, once you install the mesh, the mice are going to be able to climb up the sides. I can see a small gap in your very first picture, and if the mice can reach it, they can chew it from anywhere around the top. The picture with "Baby" I can see some gnawing has begun in the corner above her house. You will end up with escaped mice if you choose to continue using it.

The sterilite bins are much better (which I see you also have), I just cut a hole out of the top and put the mesh there. It works brilliant, haven't had any escapes, and ventilation hasn't been a problem.

Lets see, water bottles are pretty much a must.
Make sure you hold off on breeding the new mice until you can get them better looking.
Many people here cull against bitey mice.
I know you say your mice are pets, but with four? heavily pregnant mothers, what do you plan on doing about culling? That's going to be a lot of babies, especially all at once. Pet homes are not the easiest to find, it depends on area/demand. Pied mice, longhairs (or angoras?), and satins are some that are easier to place, so that should help you some. Agouti's are a less popular color (others may disagree) to the public.
Brindles also tend to have obesity problems, just fyi.

Here's a link to the finnmouse site if you would like to learn more about genetics. Everyone here is super willing to help if you have any questions. : )
http://www.hiiret.fi/eng/breeding/varieties/index.html


----------



## thewesterngate (May 22, 2012)

I'm in the same boat and use the drawers with drilled holes, but I caution against mesh only because it'll allow them to climb to the top and slip out since there is a 1/4 inch gap at the top of the drawer. I've had mice on the bottom shelf completely escape before!


----------



## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

thewesterngate said:


> I'm in the same boat and use the drawers with drilled holes, but I caution against mesh only because it'll allow them to climb to the top and slip out since there is a 1/4 inch gap at the top of the drawer. I've had mice on the bottom shelf completely escape before!


Have you had any trouble with them chewing the holes? I wonder if hot gluing washers over the holes (like what others have done to prevent chewing around holes for water bottles) would work better.


----------



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

Oh, that 'chew mark' you see in the picture with Baby, is actually just part of the bin.  
I think it's what helps connect it to the slider, or whatever it is you wanna call it. 
I thoroughly checked the drawer assembly before I bought it, and I'd have to have a really small mouse that jumps like a kangaroo to get out of the bin. The top bin has the largest gap, but it's still too small for a larger adult mouse to really squeeze through. I tested with my pinky, and if any of it fit through, I would've reconsidered buying it. I do have a cat, so if my mice were in any real danger, I wouldn't even give the bins a second thought.

I like the idea with the drilled holes and glued-on washers. Seems like much less of a hassle, and it'll help prevent the mice from chewing through.


----------



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

Oh, man. I had this long reply to add onto my last post, but it was lost. :c

Anyway...

I currently have just one pregnant female (the gray/tan one, chinchilla?) that is going to give birth very soon, while there are two others that aren't quite as far along as she is. One other mother (the brindled one) had her babies and ended up eating them while I was away at a class... it was heartbreaking cleaning up all the bits and pieces of what was once baby mice...

I looked around online and asked some questions, and some people said that first-time mother's sometimes do this because they're confused about the whole baby-raising business... but usually get it right the second or third time around. If she does it again, I don't plan on breeding her anymore. I'll give her a second chance... but that's it.

If my gray/tan female does the same thing, then it has to be something that I'M doing wrong. Which I hope isn't the case... they have plenty of privacy, and I only 'disturb' them to change their water, give them food or do a quick check-up to make sure everyone is doing fine. I keep my pregnant females with ONE other female friend to help with the baby-raising... and I do this when I know for sure that the first female is pregnant, not when she's about ready to burst.

As for the greasier looking mice, I did just get them on Tuesday. They were looking worse than they do now, so I think I'm doing an 'okay' job cleaning them up... I just don't want to stress them out too much. Also, they're still hoppers, so I didn't plan on breeding them anwyay because the females are too young. I keep the males and females seperated for the time being.

EDIT:

Just wanted to add that I know for sure the brindled female (one who ate the babies) was a first-time mom, as she came from an all-female cage at a local pet store, which was also where she was born. The males are seperated at 4 weeks there (or so I was told, and I believe it, they're good people that take care of their animals), so she was never introduced to another male until she was paired with MooMoo.


----------



## thewesterngate (May 22, 2012)

Frizzle said:


> thewesterngate said:
> 
> 
> > I'm in the same boat and use the drawers with drilled holes, but I caution against mesh only because it'll allow them to climb to the top and slip out since there is a 1/4 inch gap at the top of the drawer. I've had mice on the bottom shelf completely escape before!
> ...


I put the air holes high, about a quarter inch from the top, although they have expanded a soldered water bottle hole at one point! Not many do, but it happened. Sometimes the occasional escape artist will use an air hole as a foot-hold to get to the top..haha. I only put the ones that don't try to escape in these bins.


----------



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

Well, my pregnant gray/tan female had her babies early Saturday morning! She had 12 healthy little pinkies, and is doing a great job so far. So I don't think it's anything that I'm doing wrong, and my previously pregnant female probably just didn't know what she was doing.


----------

