# Newbie!



## EmtheFishLady (Nov 12, 2009)

Hi, I'm Em from the NC mountain area. Just got back into Fancy Mice after a few years of not having them. I've purchased from a breeder going out of the business here. 6 females and 2 males. Not really happy with the quality of the line, but hoping to improve on it, especially since that was the only breeder I could find within the state, and I didn't want pet store mice. (They aren't bad mice, but they are only about one step up from standard pet store mice.) If anyone has any show or nice breeding stock for sale or you know where I can get some in or around the Asheville area please let me know. Also, Spartanburg, SC is a possibility as my husband and I travel there occasionally.

Anyway, a little about myself, I'm 22, married with a beautiful three month old Daughter. We have two dogs, a cat, a few fish-tanks, and of course our new mice. I maintain fish tanks as a hobby/job, and stay at home with my daughter the rest of the time.

Here are the Mice: 








Above is Theo. He's my main breeding buck at the moment. Hoping to maybe get some even marked out of him when paired with Belle.








This is my other buck, Jerry. I'm not considering him for breeding. He's pretty young, and just doesn't have what I'm looking for in regards to that. He lives with Theo though, they apparently are inseparable buddies, and I just couldn't break their bond.








This is Belle. She is hopefully going to produce some even marked babies. I can hope anyway.








This is Blossom. I just love her coloring. I've always had a soft spot for that color. Hoping to improve a bit on it, maybe get some satins. Her mother was a satin, so *hope hope*








Clover. Sister to Blossom. I always find myself referring to them as "The Twins". I just have such a soft spot for the color.








Lady. She's one of my personal favorites. She's just so lady like. Everything with her has to be just so. I'm planning on breeding her to Theo once she gets a bit older. She was pretty thin when I got her from the so called breeder.








Chloe. As you can see, she's pregnant. She came that way. I found her in the tank with the males at the "breeders" house. All by her lonesome, in a tank full of males. Poor thing couldn't do much more than hide in a corner. They were all feeders, so I'm not expecting much out of the litter except pet only mice. Then I'm pretty sure I'll retire her to the "Little Squeaks Life of Leisure" tank.








This is Clara. She's an Agouti, and I'm not sure I'll be breeding her either. I might try her once with Theo just to see if I can improve the Agouti a bit, but I'm still undecided on that factor.

All the mice I plan on breeding are actually pedigreed. I've followed the line for 3 years, and there don't seem to be any defects in any of their ancestors thus far. I just don't like the guys idea of taking care of his mice, nor did I like the fact he bred "Feeders". For Theo, my hope is getting a nice size, conformation, and markings. He's an all around good looking mouse. He's got a great size, nice sleek body and conformation. He seems to fit the standard for a broken marked mouse as well. I'd like to get some even marked out of the pairing with Belle, but I'm not planning on pairing anybody until I get Chloe's litter raised.

As for Blossom and Clover, I want to darken up the color a bit, and as I stated try an get some satins in this color to further improve on.
Lady is a black self, and I'd like to eventually breed to darken the self as well as improve the conformation and size in her line. I need to find a nice buck for her first.

I don't plan to breed just for the sake of breeding, and I don't plan to adopt out ANY of my offspring for at least three more years. We have plenty of space and tanks for all offspring planned.

Wow, sorry for the ramble, just wanted to get everything out there. =)


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## Rowangate (Jul 28, 2009)

Hi & welcome to the forum


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## julieszoo (May 27, 2009)

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your breeding plans


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Argente is one of my faves as well, especially in satin. Welcome, and I look forward to seeing pix of your little eekers as they grow. To me, there is only rarely such a thing as a 'bad' mouse, but then I have a soft spot for little furry things of all kinds.


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## DomLangowski (Oct 2, 2008)

Hi, welcome to our forum


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## bubba31 (Oct 18, 2009)

hiya welcome to the forum


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## EmtheFishLady (Nov 12, 2009)

Thanks all! My goal is to eventually become a reputable breeder for the NC area. We currently have NO options here.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Hello and welcome!

If you're really interested in show mice and becoming reputable, you'd be best off to get rid of all of these mice and start over with better foundation stock. That's actually what I did originally.

I don't know of any breeders in the Carolinas, but Kentucky or Tennessee really isn't too far to travel to get good mice. Many of us in the US travel hundreds or thousands of miles for our mice, every few months. That's what serious show breeders have to do in a country as big and spread-out as the US. 

There is a chance that there will be a show in one of the Carolinas at some point in the future.

You might also join the ECMA (eastcoastmice.com) and ask about breeders closer to you. Basic membership is free.

Good luck!


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## EmtheFishLady (Nov 12, 2009)

Jack Garcia said:


> Hello and welcome!
> 
> If you're really interested in show mice and becoming reputable, you'd be best off to get rid of all of these mice and start over with better foundation stock. That's actually what I did originally.
> 
> ...


Eventually, that may be an option. Right now though, with a three month old daughter and a recent death in the family it isn't. I've followed this line for three years. In that time, they've not shown any defects. It's not the BEST stock, but it's something to start with. It's also all that's available to us. I'm going to start with broken marked, and Champagne. I may acquire some siamese in the future, if I can find anything suitable.

As for ECMA, I've already looked for a breeder near me, and there aren't any. If there were any breeders even close to us, my husband and I would have started with better stock. We found the one breeder that wasn't a pet shop and went with the best he had.

I think I've stated before, but maybe not, we would like to have a few show mice, but don't plan on showing any. I highly doubt there will ever be a show anywhere near us, and with our daughter we just can't travel that much.

Eventually, I'll find better stock, but since I don't plan to sell any of my mice for 3 more years, I think I may be able to build up what I have to some respectable level.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

That sucks that it's not an option for you to be more involved with shows and stuff, but is perfectly understandable. People always come before mice! Kiddos are an obstacle to a lot of things. 

I originally started out with petstore-derived stock, too. Mine also didn't have any health defects but like yours they were very poorly typed. So if that's all you got to work with, don't despair. It is possible to improve them through selective breeding, it's just a lot harder than starting over with better mice. 

Good luck with everything and be sure to take and post lots of pictures!


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## EmtheFishLady (Nov 12, 2009)

Jack Garcia said:


> That sucks that it's not an option for you to be more involved with shows and stuff, but is perfectly understandable. People always come before mice! Kiddos are an obstacle to a lot of things.
> 
> I originally started out with petstore-derived stock, too. Mine also didn't have any health defects but like yours they were very poorly typed. So if that's all you got to work with, don't despair. It is possible to improve them through selective breeding, it's just a lot harder than starting over with better mice.
> 
> Good luck with everything and be sure to take and post lots of pictures!


Oh I'm aware I can improve the stock. I've done so before. I've bred finches, fish, and goats. I ENJOY improving a line that started out not so well. Although I will be looking for better stock to introduce to my lines, I'm going to stick with these and work up.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I have bred finches too! They're awesome little birds!


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## EmtheFishLady (Nov 12, 2009)

Yeah they are. The breeds like the Gouldian and Strawberry were my favorite.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I had society and spice finches, which I bred for show. Right now I have two little zebras (one pied grey, one CFW). Needless to say, the mice often get what's left in their seed cup.


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## EmtheFishLady (Nov 12, 2009)

I didn't Show my birds. I just improved the line until they were show quality, and then sold the line.


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## jo65 (Sep 22, 2009)

Hi and welcome. Loving the mice and congratulations on the birth of baby.


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