# A bit of a shock



## greenmouse (Jun 21, 2011)

I went to give the mice breakfast today only to find the remains of one of the babies born 18 days ago!! The only bit left was the tail and back bone.The baby was very small, but seem to be coping ok. so i don`t know if the baby died and the mother eat it or she killed it! It seams to be life as normal with the other babies, as she feeding the rest ok, but still a little worried she might do it again. As its another 6 days before i can separate them. Has anyone else heard of anything like this?
Cheers 
greenmouse AKA Barry


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## jadeguppy (Jun 4, 2011)

If the bub was failing to thrive, it could be either. The mother may have known something was wrong and euthanized it or it may have died on its own. This type of thing does happen.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

It's not uncommon at all, and as much as we don't want to expect it, if you're not culling runts, they will sometimes (often?) die or be killed. Culling avoids that from the start, but if you have trouble with either, there's not a lot of way around it.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Sorry to hear you lost one of your little ones. It's a shock to see something like that, plus the shock of being reminded that meeces are omnivorous animals. It's surprising when it happens to a fully furred little baby mousie, but it's not that unusual. Just kind of a bummer.


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## hlforumhl (Oct 2, 2011)

It's always a shame when that happens, but mother mice often know when a baby won't make it or will be weak. It's her way of not wasting crucial resources and energy raising a baby that won't be strong.


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