# Babies after MONTHS!?



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I've had this black and tan mouse for .... since I started really 'collecting' and breeding mice.
The last time she was with a buck, was AT LEAST 3 months, and I'm thinking it was more like 4-5 months ago.

I put the buck back with her, about a week ago, an today SHE HAS A LITTER.
How is that possible? @[email protected]

There's no way they're premature either, they look like happy healthy pinkies, no bigger, or smaller than average. I thought she wasn't pregnant the first time she was with the buck (3-5 months ago) but she did get a bit fat since then. 
Is it possible for her to have been pregnant THAT LONG and still have a healthy litter?


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## nanette37 (Feb 1, 2010)

was she housed with other girls before you put her in with the boy? is it possible that one of these "girls" isnt a girl?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Nope. She'd been housed alone, because she isn't terribly social towards other girls.


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## nanette37 (Feb 1, 2010)

could a male have gotten into her cage without you knowing? like when they are all sneaky in the middle of the night?


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

She had to have had a visitor, I guess. Hope it wasn't a wild buck; those babies are intractable, in my experience.


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## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

Could it be Embryonic Diapause (delayed implantation)?
Has she been bred before?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

There's no way someone else could've gotten in her cage. It's a 10 gallon tank with a mesh wire lid. I did put her with a male about a week ago, but that's not long enough for her to have a brand new litter by him.

I've never heard of Embryonic Diapause. She wasn't bred before, other than the time I tried a few months ago... So maybe that's possible.


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## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

Are you sure about the timing? Maybe she was with with buck more recent than you thought? Or has been in with him longer than you realized? Did you ever put her in a group cage temporarily while you were cleaning her tank?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I am 100% sure about the timing. She was one of the first mice I got.
I haven't had her anywhere near any other boys either, i leave my mice in their cage while I'm cleaning. 
She was with the boy, at the MOST for two weeks, the second time.


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## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

That could be it, then. If she was with the male for two week one wek ago, he nailed her in the first day, and you got fully term babies.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

No no. She was with him an a MAX of two weeks (I'm certain it was less, maybe 8-10 days) when she had the babies. . . They didn't look premature either. They're all growing fast, and look great.


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## neurozool (May 22, 2010)

Does your lid have locking clips? If not, a wild buck could have got in and back out- it has happened before! I have wild bucks that sit on the lids of my doe colonies trying to get in, but it is a secure sliding lid. Wild mice are *very* smart and can jump very well, so if he had figured a way in, he would have found a way out again in no time. You will most likely know for sure if it was a wild mouse by the pups when they get a bit older. Depending on the genetics of mom, you should have almost all agouti.

If they are something else, then I would guess you might have a delayed implant- although I am not really sure how common that is in mice. And if that is the case, I wonder what change made her 'decide' that now was the best time to have pups? Did you suddenly give her more food about 23 days ago? I think most delay implants are due to there not being enough resources to support the pregnancy and a litter...dunno, that is a puzzler!


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