# Tiptoe is pregnant



## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

Hello everybody! I have 3 mice and I think my little Tiptoe might be pregnant. I have 2 females and one male and they're in separate cages. My dad went down to feed my mice while I was on vacation for a week and while he was feeding them Tiptoe climbed onto his hand. He played with her for a while and put her back. The only problem is that he put her back in the wrong cage... with Skippy my boy. Apparently she was in with him for a week. She's starting to get big now and I'm pretty sure she is pregnant  Will my other female kill the babies though? I don't think she will but that's the only thing I'm worried about. Also I'm not sure where all the babies are going to go.


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## ThatCertainGlow (Jun 23, 2012)

Your other female might kill the babies, the mom might kill the babies, or they both may love them to bits, or mom may end up stressed by the other female's presence that she eats ever single baby. Most breeders would tell you to handle this by separating the pregnant mom to a cage by herself, so she has a reduced chance of stress. I would remove any wheels, or moving items, just before she should have a litter, about 18 days from the first day she was in the male's cage.

Then, at 4 weeks you will need to remove the male babies. 3 weeks if they are pet-store stock, and bred for early maturing. This usually means yet another cage. (Wheels and such can come back now.) Total of two extra cages. There is a great info thread titled 'Sexing Pinkies' in announcements with clear pictures on how to sex babies from very young.

Mom can stay with her girls for another month or so. Around this time you can usually introduce the other female back into the cage with mom, and babies. Other way around, if mom/babies are really bossy. The problem you have is the males. I would suggest planning what you want to do with the baby males right now, so you are not caught in a situation where you have mature, hard-fighting boys, and blood everywhere.

Good luck,
Zanne


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## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

I've had a few litters before the first litter actually got eaten and I saved one and has to hand raise it. Unfortunately I do not have another cage right now to separate Jezebelle from Tippy. Shell just have to stay for now and if they get eaten its just nature taking its course I guess, and if they don't then I'll have some new additions to my little family  They live in a 10 gallon aquarium and I bought a wire cage addition that you put on top that "doubles their living space" it basically has 2 wire shelves that they can climb on to with ramps. Will it be okay to have this? Would the babies jump off? I'm thinking of taking it off just when they're hoppers then putting it back on when they mature.


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## ThatCertainGlow (Jun 23, 2012)

I am not sure what size wire that is, but if greater than 1/4 inch squared, or 6mm, openings, the babies can get wedged/stuck or escape. Even if you take the ramps out, they can jump pretty high in a back flip. Other than the wire size potential problem, jumping off things inside a cage doesn't seem to hurt babies, within reason.


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## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

This is the size and everything. So I'm thing taking the wire part off when they start leaving the nest and putting a normal lid on. Adults are smart enough not to jump off or get stuck but I don't know about little hoppers.


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## Cordane (May 22, 2012)

I'd get rid of the wire cage topper when they babies are born till they are at least 2 months. Baby mice are small and will likely easily squeeze through those bars and when they first come out of the nest, they tend to do some dumb things.


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## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

That's what I was thinking


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## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

Any advice on finding new homes for the male babies? None of my friends want pet mice and pet stores in my area won't take males. I have no idea what I am going to do with them. I have a 50 gallon tank I can keep all the girls in but I'm not keeping boys together because last time I tried it resulted in the tragic death of Stewart Little


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