# Small fancy mice



## Baerdric (Dec 18, 2009)

I know that most people breed for large size, but I was wondering if anyone ever bred for small size.

I did an introductory post about two years ago but have not been ready to take on any mice yet.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I don't think anyone breeds deliberately for tiny mice but there has/is some interest in breeding genetic dwarfs.


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## Baerdric (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks SarahC. Do you know if there is a reason? I suspect larger mice live longer and might be easier to care for, but are there other health or safety reason?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I'm going to hazard a guess and say that most tiny mice are small because they are runts for a multitude of reasons and are 'saved' by mousers of a sentimental nature.The key to livestock breeding of any sort is to select from the best for the feature you require and I would think 100 % of the mini mice saved are poor quality.You'd probably have to breed thousands and therefore be able to cull thousands to establish a feature OR have a lucky break and accidently breed something special and be able to recognise it for what it is.I don't know about longevity,very large animals usually have significantly shorter lifespans than (healthy)smaller ones.Extremes of any sort tend to have flaws but that wouldn't put me off personally.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'd tend to agree with Sarah, for the most part, but I would add that I have used small specimens for breeding where they possessed some quality that I really wanted to incorporate in the line, and the offspring were not necessarily small like the mom or pop.


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## Miceandmore64 (Jul 16, 2013)

But Sarah, pet shop mice can be very small and can be still healthy.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Yes, micemmore, and with good diet both before and after they are born the offspring can be bigger.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Miceandmore64 said:


> But Sarah, pet shop mice can be very small and can be still healthy.


but pet shop aren't small are they :?: just normal sized mice as nature intended.You are assuming wrongly that I am making some sort of comparison based on exhibition mice.If individuals within a group of pet shop mice are significantly smaller than the siblings then something is likely to be wrong.The size difference between pet shop mice and exhibition mice is irrelevant.


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## Miceandmore64 (Jul 16, 2013)

Sorry I meant can pet shop mice be small but still be healthy. I didnt mean to make it sound relevant to a post here. Just a question


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

it's fine.There would be no forum without interaction from members


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