# My mouse scratchy!



## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi all, I introduced myself earlier today in the 'introductions' thread.
Here is a picture of my mouse scratchy taking a few minutes ago.

http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd9/ ... -00250.jpg

I have no idea what breed she is. She is mainly black but has a white spek (tiny) on the top of her head and her stomach has a white spek on it too. She also has white feet. Shes around 12-15 months old and is so tame and friendly she doesnt even try to run away from me. She is also very inquisitive and not affraid of my cat either (She sits at the side of her tank teasing the cat infact!).

I mentioned in my intro that we recently lost her friend peanut (female) who died on thursday. I have 2 male friends lined up for her, although I was'nt planning on breeding, this forum has changed my mind. The babies are so cute, so tomorrow I'm off to fetch 2 males and a new tank to segregate the males from the females for breeding purposes (We don't want too many pups!).

If anyone has any advice for me about breeding feel free to share with me as I'm just starting out I need as much info as possible...

Amy


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## andypandy29us (Aug 10, 2012)

she is beautiful looks very much like my mouse spot who is also very friendly and is always happy to come out to see me and my daughter


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## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

the best idea is to go through and read all the old threads for advice then ask us any specific questions you have directly.


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

She is just a pet type black mouse who maybe pied. You only need one male if you wish to breed and you can't keep two males together. They will fight to the death. Pretty much any male you get will give you only black or agouti babies with that female, unless she carries genes for other things. I highly recommend getting at least a pied male so all the babies will be pied. They will be easier to rehome if you don't plan to keep them all. Research culling baby mice before you breed. All baby males will have to be kept in seperate cages (one buck to each cage) after about 4 to 5 weeks old. Female mice can only really nurse 6 to 9 babies, so if she has more, the kind thing to do is cull them yourself so they don't suffer. Many breeders choose to cull the bucks since they are harder to rehome.


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi thanks for the advice with the males. These males have been kept as a pair for a year and don't fight at all. I'm planning on using one of the males only in the cage with the female to prevent fights and understand about culling. I will be keeping the female mice, I don't think my mouse will have a big litter anyway as we have a cat it reduces litter sizes for some reason. Thanks again for the advice  x


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Just to warn you, usually after a male has bred and is then put back in with its male companion they will start fighting and could kill eachother easily so be careful to separate at the first sign of fighting after they are reintroduced.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

AyJay658 is compleatly right! I made that mistake when i was new to mice, i had two boys who had been tougher since birth and were around a year old, with no problems. I bred one and them reintroduced them and all seemed ok, untill the next day or so when the male i bred so badly attacked the other i had to have him putdown.
Ive only been able to keep virgin males and even then have had problem with some, so if you do breed them dont put the boys back tougher after.

Also you may want to get a younger female to breed as i noticed you said your girl was 12-15 months old so is over a year old. What sort of condition is she in? Ive only had 1 girl who made it to a year who look in good enough condition to breed ( i havent breed her though as she is now retired due to her age) the rest were not in breeding condition, they wernt unhealthy just old.


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

I'm not going to put the males back in together. I have found a buyer for the other male. As for scratchy's condition; she is very healthy and active, she's goes in an exercise ball most days and climbs home made climbers in the bath. She is well handled by myself and my daughter. I understand that she's old and have consulted a vet about this. He said she is in good condition for breeding so the only way I'm to find out is to try. He didn't think her bones had fuzed or anything  
Thank u everyone for your kind advice


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

If she is 12 to 15 months and has NEVER been bred.....it is not the best idea, for her health, to breed her. I have bred does over a year old...but only ever once a doe that was over a year. She did ok, but she was pretty well bred and I don't think that I'd risk it again unless I absolutely had to. There isn't really anything "special" breeding wise, about your doe...I know she is special to you....but her temperament is not at all unusual, her color is not at all unusual, and she just has typical pet store type. If you really care about her, it would be much more in her interest to NOT breed her, and get a much younger doe or two to try your hand at breeding. If you got her/them from a pet store and they were skittish starting out, odds are its their upbringing, not genetics, making them that way. Mice are normally naturally very docile and if they are handled a bit when they are young they should grow up to be friendly with people....even with a skittish mother.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

If she had never been bred before, this will be very very hard on her and could even kill her. I agree with Stina, if you love this mouse, do not breed her at this point.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

> I have bred does over a year old...but only ever once a doe that was over a year.


....oops...should have ended with "but only ever once a doe that hadn't previously had at least one litter"


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

I'm not going to breed her, I am looking for another female but I can't find any breeders in my area


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

Amy said:


> I'm not going to breed her, I am looking for another female but I can't find any breeders in my area


I should have added, if there are any breeders in the North Leicester area with any female mice for sale can you please let me know. The reason I wanted to breed was for a companion for my mouse and my local pet store has recently stopped selling mice and only had the two males I picked up yesterday in store. All the other pet stores don't sell mice either due to them being accused of breeding for live feeders. I know this site is for breeders of 'fancy' mice but I do like the color of my mouse even if she isn't 'fancy' she's shiny and soft lol.

Thank you all again for your advice, I am taking this all on board as I am new to this.


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## Cordane (May 22, 2012)

She is a fancy mouse - its a type not a "description"


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

a "fancy mouse" is just a domesticated mouse. It's not a "real" term....its just something pet stores use to make some mice seem "special."


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

I know that, I was'nt having a dig. Someone said her colors are'nt special and shes just a pet shop mouse, which yes she is. She has no fancy colors but she is fancy to me


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## Cordane (May 22, 2012)

Amy said:


> I know that, I was'nt having a dig. Someone said her colors are'nt special and shes just a pet shop mouse, which yes she is. She has no fancy colors but she is fancy to me


Nothing wrong with just a pet shop mouse, all mine are except 2 who are only like 2 gens away from one. - I breed them.
Your mouse is lovely all the same.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

I didn't mean that there is anything wrong with her when I said that she "isn't special"......I just meant there isn't anything about her that suggests she "must" be bred to pass on her traits.....not trying to insult her!


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

I know this and I was'nt having a go at anyone. I like the color of this mouse and I can't find a breeder in my area to get another female mouse from, I'm not going to breed her now anyway. I'll have to stick to males as they seem to be available all the time (even though they smell quite bad lol). This is my daughters mouse, she wants another black or brown one, the only way I could see us getting another one similar to scratchy was to let her breed. 
The general opinion seems to be that I should'nt do that so I'm not going to. I don't want to be cruel to our mouse.
I have put the male mice in another room so they can't smell my girl and get randy and start fighting with each other. They are both fine at the moment and lovely to watch, I will seperate them if there are any fights though (Ihope not).


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## Cordane (May 22, 2012)

Amy said:


> I have put the male mice in another room so they can't smell my girl and get randy and start fighting with each other. They are both fine at the moment and lovely to watch, I will seperate them if there are any fights though (Ihope not).


I had a friend who said that she would separate her two males if they started fighting.. she didn't think about the fact that they would fight at night - she woke up to a dead mouse, they were fine until that night. I just want you to be aware that sometimes one fight is all it takes.


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

Ahh well I did think about that last night actually. I have a holding tank which I set up last night and put one of the boys in over night. This morning I put them back together., they seemed pleased to see each other. I will do this every night if I have to, I really don't want to wake up to find one of my prince's dead.


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thank you for listening to the advice Amy =) Its nice when someone takes on board what they read! I would suggest just separating the boys full stop though. They might be ok but they might not and its hard to know what will happen. If they are handled lots they will be fine in separate cages. I have a lone boy and he is happy by himself as far as I can tell. He is more affectionate towards me because of this (which has made him my favourite!) and will always pop out of his nest and run to the door of the cage when I come into the room! If you really don't want to separate them then just be extra careful. If you still have this buyer lined up for the other male that would be best. Good on you for doing your best though!


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

I have just given the other male to the buyer, I am now looking for one or two female companions for my female as I understand she can't live alone. I am handling her more to try and stop her pining for her friend who died, this works a bit but she is still very squeeky .
I really would like 2 more female as scratchy is getting old she may die and leave one female alone again. Also I would like to breed one of the new females (if I can find any that is!) for pets. I would consider culling males babies though, is that the right thing to do? 
I have pm'd some breeders in my area on here so fingers crossed I'll have some new girls soon .
Again thank u everyone for your advice. Its has been a great help


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## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thats all you can do for the time being. Getting two females is a good idea =) Culling the males is fine as long as you can tell them apart! It will be easier for you (and I think kinder to the mice) to do it at a few days old but it can be difficult to sex them this young. Have a look through the forums and you will find lots of pictures telling the difference between boys and girls and tips to reduce the chance of culling your girls.
Well done I hope you find someone soon =)


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## Amy (Aug 18, 2012)

I have found a breeder and I'm going to pick up two lovely blue girls and a nice healthy boy tonight. I have looked at the pics of the pinkies and yes I agree they are hard to tell apart but my friend has a degree in animal managment, she said she will be able to sex them early for me and give me some tips on how to tell them apart. 
I will put some pictures up of my new editions tomorrow when I've settled them in to their new homes. I just hope Scratchy likes her new friends!


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