# question on ehtics for rodent breeds



## Hillcrest (Mar 28, 2011)

I was wondering how different communities of animals deal with trusting people to do what they say they will? In orther words in the dog community about contracts and stud fees certin things just seem to be understood and vs the horse community may do things a completely different way. Or sometimes even breed of dog to another, breeders handle conatracts/sales/breedings differently.

How are things done in the rodent community? Even with hamsters things may be different. I found another mouse breeder who I thought was going to help me and I was going to get some babies from her. She asked me to bring all of mine up so she could tell me what color they were at that time. Long story short she asked if I wanted to just trade some of mine for some of hers instead of just buying some babies. (Babies were not old enough to go home yet) She offered to give me 6 babies from 2 different litters for 3 of my young adult does. 2 who were very pregnant and one who she said had a plug and was pregnant. I hesitated but then decided to go ahead and do it. She offered to drive them to me (60 miles) when they were weaned.

In the mean time the two does delivered babies. 1 litter was destroyed by the proven female, why I don't know, and the other female got a prolapsed uterus delivering pups and the young doe with her (bonded with) and the new mom together killed her babies. So that left her with no pups at all. She did then try to breed the one girl again with no success and when time came to give me my babies she only gave me 3 instead of 6 and doesn't want to give me any more, AND I had to go pick them up! I would think that a person who shows rabbits and wins and who breeds rodents would have been more ethical and would have done what they agreed to do even when things didn't work out with the does as she planned. It's not my fault either that there were no surviving babies. I know the cost of mice is not very high but you would think that there would still be some kind of ethics there. Is my thinking wrong here or is she right to think that because she ended up with nothing good out of it that I should not get what she offered to me for them. Just wanting to know how the rodent comunity does things like this or am I wrong all together. Or did I just find a bad seed? I know I won't trust her again for sure and will not get anything from her again.
Opinions please?
Thanks
Karen


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

IMO she made the deal and she should have stuck to it. As you say she took on the risk that she would lose all of the babies when she asked specifically for the does that were pregnant.


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## Hillcrest (Mar 28, 2011)

Is there a risk moving them like that? She put the one in by herself and then the two that were already bonded in another cage together. I did not know it may cause a problem with them having their babies. She made it sound like it was hard to distress them like that. I didn't take up my trio that already had babies on the ground for fear of it happening even though she told me it would be ok.

She has now agreed to let me have 3 more but I will beleive it when I see it.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

It's not ideal for them to have a new environment/owner in the last stages of pregnancy but they usually cope ok with it as long as their cage setup is good and they have food/water etc. It also depends on the personalities of the does - it's possible that they did not feel safe where they were moved to.


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## Hillcrest (Mar 28, 2011)

I would say her cage system was definitely not the same as mine! VBG I have steralite containers or 10 gallon tanks I keep them in and she had a drawer system. Which for some reason I was under the impression from her that was the norm for mouse breeders. So I am sure the one who I gave her who was an experienced doe was used to being in tanks as that is how I got her and how I kept her. Thanks. I am sure learning a lot here.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Few of us in the US have drawer systems. The vast majority of us have tanks or tubs that we keep on shelving. Any chance you would be willing to share the name of the breeder in a pm or something?


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## Hillcrest (Mar 28, 2011)

You bet. Where? How do I do that? I don't want to make a mistake and publish a name somewhere I shouldn't


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

At the bottom on any of my posts there is a little pm icon, just click on it and it'll take you to a page where you can send a private message that will come just to me


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## WNTMousery (Jun 2, 2010)

Why not just post it here? You aren't saying anything libelous.


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## Hillcrest (Mar 28, 2011)

Since she agreed yesterday to give me the other 3 I don't want to post her name publically until after I get my other 3 pups But I will privately ig f you really want to know


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