# Pregnant Mouse?



## Mom2Chewbacca_and_Jaqotay

My brother and sister got two mice for Christmas, from petsmart, supposedly two males. I've looked at them of course, but never really paid much attention but today I was watching them and I notice that 1 mouse looks quite plump. It basically looks like s/he blew up over night. I looked up sexing mice, and took a look through the glass and I believe we have 1 pregnant female and a male. 

First off, I don't hold the mice (I'm somewhat scared of mice, I could force myself to hold them but right now s/he's being really aggressive) so I can't really get hands on to look really well, but I'm almost postive it's a girl, and as large as s/he is I'm thinking she's far along in a pregnancy as well. We plan on moving her to a seperate tank asap, but past that we have no idea what to do. 

What should we be doing for her? Special diet? Nesting materials? And when/if she has babies what should be prepared on doing for them? I know with baby rats you hold them from the time they're born so should we hold the baby mice as well? 

And I also wondered if a 10 gallon tank is large enough for two mice or even one? Obviously we arent putting these two together again if she is a female after all but we'd like to keep them in pairs


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## begoodtoanimals

check out www.thefunmouse.com

People, I would expect you to be more resourceful if you are internet savvy. How much trouble is it to google "mouse care"?


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## Zhaneel

Really? There is a reason that people post on this forum for rat care as opposed to just googling it. How much trouble is it to google "rat care"? If you're going to say that "well, we specialize in rats so we would come up as a result, people should try to find a mouse forum", sure, but not every internet source is reliable and many people on this forum have proven themselves to be a great resource for not just rat information but mouse, dog, cat, etc. information as well. This forum is a trusted source for a lot of people, of course some of them will turn to the members here rather than take a chance at following sketchy advice.

As for your problem, OP, I'm sorry that I can't help you, I don't know much at all about mice. Best of luck!


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## Alethea

Agreed with Zhaneel. :-X
They would not have another pet section on this site, if people weren't meant to use it. I know I can look on google for answers to *any* question, but I come here to speak to real people, who have been through the situation I am in first hand. Going on another site takes one second to read through, but then you are only getting an opinion from one person, who might not have even posted right information to google in the first place. At least coming to a forum, the point of a forum is to get multiple answers and opinions. And even if someone here posts a wrong/innorrect response, at least you know there are more people here to inform said situations.*Using any forum doesn't mean we are not resourceful. *

And I apologize Chewsmom, if I had information on mice I would surely be happy to assist you. But alas, when I had mice I didn't breed them, nor did I have babes. Good luck with your mousie though


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## Alethea

Taken from: The Small Animal Channel








http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/critter-experts/mouse/care-for-pregnant-mouse.aspx​
*Q:* Do pregnant female mice have to have more food and nutrients? Should I get my pregnant mouse food with more protein in it? And what fresh veggies and fruits should I feed her to help her along with her pregnancy? This wasn't planned, but I want to be responsible and help my pet mouse as much as I can.

*A: *All pregnant animals need extra nutritional support while they are pregnant, particularly those that are very young.

When choosing your pregnant pet mouse’s diet, avoid offering food with excessive food colors and preservatives, particularly when the mouse is pregnant or nursing. The base of your mouse’s diet should be lab blocks, which are large compressed pellets that are available at pet and feed stores. Supplement the lab blocks with rolled or whole oats (called groats), and small amounts of tofu, fresh vegetables and whole grain bread and cereal. My mice enjoy most veggies but seem to prefer broccoli, kale, carrots and an occasional spinach leaf. Only give small amounts at a time, and remove the remaining vegetables after 8 hours so your mouse isn’t accidentally eating spoiled or moldy food.

When the babies open their eyes, increase the amount of oats, whole grain items, tofu and vegetables. The extra food helps support those rapidly growing mouse bodies and offers mom a little bit of relief.

*Just a few more things to keep in mind:*

*1. *If your female is caged with a male mouse it is essential that the male be removed before the babies are born. Male mice are wonderful fathers but your female can become pregnant again almost immediately after the birth of the litter.

*2. *If the female is housed with another female it’s OK to leave them together. The female mice will work together to raise the litter and mom will appreciate the help.

*3.* To avoid any further pregnancies, separate the male mice from the females at 5 weeks old. There are several excellent websites that can help you accurately determine the sex of your little ones.

(This information was posted from 2008, but reading through mouse forums this is very good information to follow and keep in mind)


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## Kiko

I beleive when a mouse is preggo they get like REALLY round. Like a cue ball lol.

Keep the mice AWAY from the rats, rats are huge killers of mice and if the mice smell the rats it could make the mother afraid and kill her young.


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## Alethea

I don't think she meant keeping mice near rats, I think she meant care for pregnancy and pups are about the same. Unless I misread lol :3


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## Mom2Chewbacca_and_Jaqotay

Thanks guys. We never had any babies as far as I'm aware, or if their was she ate them. I still think from pictures that it's a female. But, I don't have any experience whatsoever with mice so I could very well be wrong.

S/he was huge, it looked like she'd swallowed a golf ball lol And no I didn't mean to keep the mice near the rats, as Alethea said I was asking if the care was about the same 

Also, I did google information on mice. But I wanted as many opinions as I could get. It can be so easy to do something wrong and hurt any animal if you've been misinformed.


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## smesyna

She could have reabsorbed. But if it's a girl they need to be separated asap so she doesn't get pregnant again. Honestly the males aren't supposed to be kept together either, as too often they kill each other. Oddly mice in the UK have better temperaments though so they can be kept together over there....just a piece of trivia I picked up.


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## Mom2Chewbacca_and_Jaqotay

smesyna said:


> She could have reabsorbed. But if it's a girl they need to be separated asap so she doesn't get pregnant again. Honestly the males aren't supposed to be kept together either, as too often they kill each other. Oddly mice in the UK have better temperaments though so they can be kept together over there....just a piece of trivia I picked up.


I wondered if perhaps she had reabsorbed them, but I had read that when they are as far along as we thought she was it would be too late for that.

Oh she's been seperated from the moment we discovered she was a possible female. And then while searching mouse care I found that males aren't supposed to be housed together. So either way they're seperated for good.


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## Kiko

JaqandChewsmom said:


> smesyna said:
> 
> 
> 
> She could have reabsorbed. But if it's a girl they need to be separated asap so she doesn't get pregnant again. Honestly the males aren't supposed to be kept together either, as too often they kill each other. Oddly mice in the UK have better temperaments though so they can be kept together over there....just a piece of trivia I picked up.
> 
> 
> 
> I wondered if perhaps she had reabsorbed them, but I had read that when they are as far along as we thought she was it would be too late for that.
> 
> Oh she's been seperated from the moment we discovered she was a possible female. And then while searching mouse care I found that males aren't supposed to be housed together. So either way they're seperated for good.
Click to expand...

Thankyou! For being a responsible owner. SO many mouse owners I have talked to are like "no they love each other, they never fight it's fine"
Then one day a week later WHAM bloody mess. I don't understand why people just don't listen sometimes lol.
It can even happen with girls but it's way less likely. And girls prefer a colony.


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