# Hello from Hampton Roads, Virginia (US)



## innalia (Aug 6, 2012)

Hey everyone! My name is Samantha, and obviously I am new to the forums.  I don't breed mice, but may be interested in learning more through the various breeders here on the FMB forums. I don't know that I intend on breeding mice, but I do enjoy them as pets and just wanted to find a community that was very involved with pet mice! I have two satin-coated mice. One is a self blue, and I believe the other is a marked fawn. I have some great pictures of them which I can upload later this evening.

I also have two Syrian hamsters. My male is a shorthaired black-eyed white, and my female is a longhaired black-eyed cream. I do not intend on breeding them, if you were wondering. These two hamsters are rescues, and I have absolutely no idea what their medical history may be like. They are certainly healthy while I've had them, but I don't know anything about their background and lineage so I wouldn't feel comfortable breeding them.

Then, above all, there are my Campbell's Russian Dwarf Hamsters. They include a self black female, two mottled agouti females, and one mottled argente male. The breeder has become a good friend of mine, and I've learned a lot about breeding dwarfs through her. She'll be moving within the next year, and I've considered breeding dwarfs in order to have my own personal supply of them since my breeder will be too far away for me to pick up new hams in the future. Although I could, I wouldn't breed my current dwarfs. Instead I would get a breeding pair from my breeder.

Anyway, I am very interested in learning more about rodent genetics. I've been doing a lot of reading on Campbell's genetics, but I guess while I'm here, I can look into mouse genetics as well! It's really fascinating.

Other than that, I also have two dogs. The female is a three year old Australian Cattle Dog, and the male is an eight month old German Shorthaired Pointer mix. I like photography, nature, and animals. I have one room officially dubbed the, "rodent room." In the past, I've had rats, gerbils, and hedgehogs. I like to think that I take exceptional care of my animals. Fortunately, even my store-bought pets, have all lived long, healthy lives. I have never had to deal with any health problems, other than tumors when my rats were a little older.

I guess as my very first question for the community, I was wondering if any of you have neutered your male mice and allowed them to live in a colony of females? That is what I have been planning to do with my male mouse. I have a play area set up where it can be divided. I used it for slowly introducing my dwarf hamsters, in a similar fashion as introducing new rats. Since mice are very social and need a companion, I let the male and female into the divided play area under supervision and they do really well as far as I can tell without there being total physical contact. There doesn't seem to be any signs of aggression or distress through the divider. At first they are interested in each other, but eventually just go on about their own business. I always set out fresh foods during this time, which is a good distraction (remember they are divided, not in the play area together).

I had initially thought to have the male neutered, and once he recovers from the procedure, allow him to colonize with the female since I have read a lot about males fighting among each other. I'm not so sure that getting another male and trying to introduce them would go so well, but I feel pretty confident about the male and female pair.

I also did consider breeding them, but I don't know their medical backgrounds. My vet says they are both healthy, but I also noted the male's kinked tail. If I did breed them, I would keep the babies. The females would stay with mom, and dad once dad is neutered. As for the males from the litter - I would be prepared to house them all separately if they turned to fighting, which is likely to start happening around 11 weeks from what I've accessed on male mice. I wonder if the chance of fighting decreases if the mice are neutered? I know sometimes that works with rats.

I also don't think it's a good idea to breed them because I am still learning about genetics and don't know enough to determine whether the pair would compliment each other. Self blue female, and what I believe is even marked fawn. For example, I know with Campbell's dwarfs, you never want to breed two mottled hamsters together or you'll end up with a litter of eyeless white babies. You don't want to breed two merle Australian Shepherds for pretty much the same reason. Does this go for mice as well? I don't think "marked" is like "mottled," but that's something I don't know about - maybe someone here can enlighten me? 

Also, I was wondering if there are any noteworthy breeders in or around Virginia?

I hope I haven't offended anyone so far. Like I said, I'm just here mainly to connect with enthusiast mouse owners/breeders, and simply learn more about them. I appreciate your time in reading this introduction, and look forward to meeting everyone and learning from you all!


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

Welcome! I am up in Baltimore, but I go down towards Williamsburg/Yorktown area once a month to visit my parents and go to Busch Gardens. There are fatal combos of mice, but the ones you have are not it. They would probably produce black or agouti mice unless they also carry other genes...which you don't know. 
There are not many vets who can neuter a mouse successfully here in the US. It's not something they get to do often and it can be very risky. 
Otherwise welcome and enjoy learning more!


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## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

hello and welcome


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## innalia (Aug 6, 2012)

candycorn said:


> Welcome! I am up in Baltimore, but I go down towards Williamsburg/Yorktown area once a month to visit my parents and go to Busch Gardens. There are fatal combos of mice, but the ones you have are not it. They would probably produce black or agouti mice unless they also carry other genes...which you don't know.
> There are not many vets who can neuter a mouse successfully here in the US. It's not something they get to do often and it can be very risky.
> Otherwise welcome and enjoy learning more!


Oh sweet! I'm not too far from Williamsburg/Yorktown, and have family there also.  Thank you for the information on the mice! I think the procedure to spay and neuter any animal is very risky, even for dogs and cats. But especially for small animals because vets don't do it often. I really agree. If I do go through with it, I will go to Colony Animal Hospital in Newport News. That is where my Campbell's breeder has taken a few of her dwarfs, and she speaks very highly of them. They have done a lot for her hams, and they are all doing fine, including the baby female that had a broken leg. They put a little cast on it. The breeder thought for sure they would end up amputating it, but the vet insisted on the cast and seeing if the leg would heal on it own. After a few weeks of recovery, the baby was as good as new!

I've requested to meet with their best small animal vet to discuss it and evaluate the mouse's health. I guess then I'll make a final decision.

Here are some pictures of them.


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

Based on the weight on your pied mouse I would say that is an undermarked satin brindle. Fawns have red eyes and would not really be found in us pet stores. She could also be a nice bright recessive yellow...but brindle is known for obesity. They are both adorable and have great coats. Wonderful pictures.


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## madmouse (May 19, 2012)

Welcome to forum! Such a pretty pair of meece you've got there  I'm another mouse breeder also located in Baltimore, MD. Look me up if you ever come up this way!


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