# Is it possible that Cadbury could be pregnant?



## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

I got two new mice 10 days ago. They were advertised as 3 - 4 weeks in the pet shop. Cadbury is now looking a bit round around the tummy. Her tummy is firm where as Tamale's is very squidgy and easy to move around. She weighs exactly 30g and Tamale only weighs around 25g (at a guess as I only have weight and balance scales with no 5g weight!) They are both still really small. Is it even possible that she could be pregnant at this age? The pet shop said they only ever get females but they had only been in the petshop for 10 minutes when I bought them so they could have been with males before that.


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## blackbirdmice (Oct 27, 2012)

She certainly looks pregnant to me and also doesn't look 5 weeks old. From the size she is and the fact that she is a pet store mouse I would say she is at least 8 weeks old. I've never bred a mouse under 12 weeks, so I'm not sure how fast they take to pregnancy. Super cute girl though


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Damn. If I was going to have babies again I wanted it to be on my own terms this time! =L Guess that's what you get for rushing out to get petshop mice..(although in my defense my second to last doe had just died so I was only left with one. Which I did not want to be on her own!) She is with two other does. Should I definitely separate them before she gives birth? I hope she holds out till Friday morning...


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## blackbirdmice (Oct 27, 2012)

I personally never leave a doe alone. My does always have a buddy with them even when they are raising litters. I have never had a problem with it so its really up to you.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

My worry is that she may have only known the doe I bought her with for a week..would this make it more likely for her to cannibalise?


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Cadbury seems to have increased in size round the tummy since last night. Going to weigh her again tonight. Its possible Tamale is pregnant too. Her belly seems firmer and a bit round this morning. I'm going to separate Tamale and Cadbury from Alice and Gracie. I may be forced to reintroduce them in three weeks time though... when can you introduce babies to older does?


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## bonsai (Oct 14, 2012)

Hello
I would also seperate the probably pregnant girls so that everyone has it's own cage.
Both are young and unexperienced and you can't appreciate how they behave.
During my beginnig of keeping mice,I got three pregnant young mice from the pet store.
We thougt we could leave them together to help each other with the litters but two baby mice were killed by a doe,giving birth a few days later.I think she wanted to prepare the nest for her own litter,without other mice inside.

I would wait with the introduction until the youngstes are six weeks old.But thats just my personal opinion.
Don't miss to seperate bucks and does correctly with 4 weeks.

Good luck and best whishes for your mice.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Why may you be forced to reintroduce them in 3 weeks? If you do have to for a reason I'd leave them together as the babies would be 1-2weeks old by then. 
I introduce litters after weaning at 4-5 weeks but prefur to Waite untill bigger at 8 weeks to go into the adult box if I have the space.

If you choose to leave then together or in pairs you will obviously have the risk of one or more being a muncher and eating the litters, I prefur does to birth tougher only had a couple of munchers before. Had a doe this week kill her litter, she is in with her two sisters one raising a litter, after she gave birth she got sick so she killed them. Didn't touch the other babies and when I went to take her out the box she was sitting in the nest. So if the pet shop girls are not up to health (think I rember you saying they were a bit rough) that will make munching more likely.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Well I'm living with my parents at the moment and my step dad is weird about mice. He wont let me keep them in the house or the workshop. We have a cat so the enclosure needs to be really secure. And I have nowhere else to put them. Obviously wasn't planning on babies lol. I MAY be able to convince my partner to keep them at his until weaning but I'm not hopeful that he would. I'm taking them petsitting with me for the next 2 and a half weeks so I can keep an eye on them but after that I need somewhere to put them so ideally would want to put them back in the old enclosure..but if you think that would be dangerous for babies I will have to find a way around it. My step dad doesn't even know I got more mice let alone that they are pregnant so it would raise suspicion if I had two enclosures!


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

In that case if it was me I'd leave them all together and Waite and see rather than split for 2weeks then reintroduce them all while they have pinkies. I'd get a small plastic tank (like the little travel one's) so it won't take up much space so if there is a muncher you can separate mum and litter until there older. If no one has a munch they can stay together and you have a transport tank if you needed to take a mouse somewhere or to put any bucks you don't cull into.

If your ok to cull you may want to consider heaverly culling if your step dad isn't keen on them and doesn't know you brought more mice as if the both are pregnant your about to get a lot more so would need more cages to fit them. (I'm assuming your of an adult age so not going to lecture you on getting animals without your parents permission if you are)


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thankyou for the advice. The only problem is that I am going petsitting for two weeks and their permanent enclosure is not transportable. I have worked out a solution though. After I get back from petsitting the two does in the large tank will be moved to a smaller cage at my partners house and then the babies and mothers will be put in the large tank until weaning. I will be attempting to cull bucks..but I haven't sexed newborn pinkies before..I will do my best! And I will take the litters down to between four and six bubs each.

Haha yes I am 20. I am at home for placement year of uni and my mum is in on the mouse numbers and pregnancy too. I will probably advertise babies on here and see if I get any takers. Obviously pet store babies but someone might be just starting out and want some well looked after mice..also chocolate doe so maybe chocolate babies too?! I really do not want to give them back to a petshop. No no no!


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Ok my question has reversed now! Is there any chance the roundness could be something other than pregnancy? She doesn't appear to have gotten any bigger in the last two days or so. And it isn't really obvious when she is walking around. My last pregnant does were ENORMOUS and it was so obvious. Maybe she isn't due for a while yet but I am getting concerned it could be something else. I have treated her for parasites already so I don't think it could be worms..


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## blackbirdmice (Oct 27, 2012)

Could just be a small litter. My doe that gave birth on the 6th only had two bubs and her bump was almost nonexistent and I was only able to tell when she reached up for something. Her sister grew to look like a tick and delivered 11, three days later. I don't have a picture of her online, but I can post one later. Here is the one who had 11  http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j118/ ... 96c9ea.jpg


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks again blackbird =) I hope it is a small litter. Less homes to find and less culling to do (will or would be first time culling pinkies). What a funny shape she is =L I would love to see a picture if I could.


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## blackbirdmice (Oct 27, 2012)

Ok, I uploaded some pictures for you. 
Here is the belly drop that I mentioned before, this is the day before she gave birth: http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j118/ ... eec017.jpg
Here she is from the top: http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j118/ ... 88f33c.jpg
Another top view about 3 days before birth: http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j118/ ... 5a955c.jpg

As you can see shes even smaller than what your doe looks like. A good way to test to see if the belly is rounded (like photo 1) is to put her on the top of a glass and hold you finger or hand out for her to stretch up to. I hope this helps c:


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thankyou  that puts my mind at ease! She has buried herself in her nest box this morning blocking off the entrance with woodshavings and tissue. I got a look at her vent before and it is quite open as if she was on heat. Does this mean she is getting ready to give birth?


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## blackbirdmice (Oct 27, 2012)

I noticed this the day before my black doe gave birth. I hadn't ever noticed it on any of my other does, but then again I never really looked.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Ah cool that's good then! She won't leave a hole for me to see in the nest :'( guess I'm going to have to be patient..


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

No babies this morning. She is definitely still pregnant and I think I felt the babies moving inside her! Getting so impatient


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## blackbirdmice (Oct 27, 2012)

She probably has a few more days to go


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## NikiP (May 7, 2013)

My girl looked like she was hauling around a golf ball. People said birth was imminent at her size. She waited a week longer :x


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Ok this afternoon instead of looking like shes on heat her vulva is open but not swollen and it closes periodically. Possible contractions??


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Still no babies! I got her two weeks ago last friday and she was showing the monday before last..i figured that means she was two weeks through but if that was the case she is now 3 weeks and 2 days through pregnancy. I know, I am so impatient but I am really worrying its not pregnancy now even though all the signs are there. Does it often happen that they are several days late? Or maybe she was showing early? I will have had her for three weeks this Friday so that is the very latest she could be at her due date.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

It could be she was mated the day you got her either at the shop or befor she got to the shop if she did she would be 21days on Friday. So I wouldn't start to worrie untill Sunday/monday.

Of no babies come it could be a birthing problem or a tumor, infection or just prone to being obese.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Still no babies. Starting to give up hope. She doesn't seem to be straining or anything though and I can't really feel babies in her tummy. Is it possible she reabsorbed them and is now just carrying some baby weight? Both of them are still rasping despite the antibiotics  I cant find any blood on the newspaper in the cage. I was thinking maybe I should leave them in total darkness today to try to encourage her to give birth. But this would mean she had a very short day and I don't want to screw her up at all.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Yes the stress of moving and being rough can make her reasord, I had that when I brought a pregnant doe. Will just have to wait and see realy.
Are they sneezing as well or just ratterly if no sneezing they could be rattlers, I've had some befor who do it constantly but are not contagious, someone said it was probably scaring from a RI


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

I had to move her to a different cage so I could bring her with me shortly after I first posted asking if she was pregnant. So maybe that could have done it. 
Would she have carried on showing signs of pregnancy after she reabsorbed? She has been nesting like crazy and blocking up the front of the nest box with paper. 
They have occasional bouts of sneezing too =(


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Nothing. She still has the physique of a pregnant doe though..


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

This is what I mean about her vulva being open. It isn't always like this but it seems to open and close periodically.

Any ideas what that's about?


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## Seafolly (Mar 13, 2012)

I don't know, but I'm curious if she's in heat and not pregnant. Did she gain weight? You mentioned 30g at the beginning of the thread but I haven't seen any updates. To me this is the best indicator.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Unforunately the scales where I am currently are rubbishly inaccurate. My ones at home aren't much better but not as bad as these. I was hoping to find some digital scales in town but no such luck. Its possible she isn't pregnant and is just on heat but then id be worried about her tummy roundness. Is there even a chance she could still be pregnant anymore? Its been 3 weeks and 3 days since I got her now.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

That is a huge belly for a non-pregnant doe. When you've hit 24 days and still no litter, though, there's nothing else to think. Is she by herself, or in with other does? Are you certain she couldn't've gotten pregnant after you took her home?


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

She with my other doe. Absolutely positive. I don't know what is the matter then =( She doesn't seem uncomfortable and apart from the RI she isn't showing any signs of illness. I will take her to the vets ASAP to see if they can figure it out.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Ok Cadbury now has some kind of discharge in her vulva..I thought it looked like a plug but she's had no contact with any males! Added a photo of her roommates parts just to prove she's a girl (with very obvious nipples). Any ideas?!


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Help?  ive been reading about what happens if a baby gets stuck and this sounds a lot like that  she's been on antibiotics for a week anyway. is there a chance she will pull through? Shes still bright and chipper.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

What makes you think she's in labor? Aside from the discharge, are there any other signs of labor? You're seeing discharge, which could by any one of a lot of different things, especially in combination with the extended duration of pregnancy-like symptoms. You could be looking at false pregnancy, heat in an otherwise overweight doe, infection... I tend not to worry so much about an animal whose activity level, appearance, and demeanor don't suggest illness.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

I was more thinking that she had been in labour before and the baby got stuck and they all died inside her and now she has an infection. That's what the other peoples mice had but the difference was that theirs were losing weight too. Well I hope it isn't anything like that because it sounded fatal. Thanks for reassuring me


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

If she were rotting in there, it would be giving off a very noxious smell. :/ Live-rotting animals always smell so awful. Easily the worst smell I've ever encountered was a rat's foot that had been infected to the bone.


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