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Ratties Feeling a little...horrible.

Dupuis

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Cavy Slave
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Nov 19, 2007
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Joined
Nov 19, 2007
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So a few days ago I gave up a litter of baby mice that I had just weaned. The story to that is I got two mice at petco, but apparently they sexed one wrong and one was a male... So the girl got pregnant, of which I did not know because I thought she was just getting fat (knowing nothing about mice breeding and thinking the male was a female since his "stuff" didn't show...) so I was like I'll just feed them a little less... Well a few weeks later and she was skinny. Oh joy. Cleaning out her cage I realized there were about 8 babies in there. Freaking out for about a minutes I calmed down and moved the male to a separate cage of which we had a long time ago for a hamster that died briefly after buying it. The babies were born 1 to 2 days before that I guessed and after research I found that she could become pregnant again directly after giving birth. Even better -_-. So now I just gave one litter away reluctantly, and another has just been born, which I will be forced to give away. ( The female is doing really well and is eating good, because frankly I think she's a friggen tank of some sort) I can't keep any of the babies, because if I sex ONE of them wrong and keep one male with all of the females all of this will start over times however females I have...

Anyway the point of this being in the rat section is that after having to give so many of these mice away I want to give someone a home. After giving the mice away the lady at Petco (Animal shelter wouldn't take mice for adoptions and that was the only place that would adopt them out :sad: ) said that they had a rat with one eye up for adoption. What I'm basically saying here is that I may have a new member to my Zoo soon >_<. I just want to hear that I'm not a horrible person for having to get rid of those babies :guilty:
 

wickedrodent

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First off- If you still have that second litter of baby mice, don't give them to the petstore! up as snake food after getting pregnant over and over again. Its not too hard sex mice, especially if you have others to compare to.

To determine the sex of mice and rats, examine the distance between the anus and the urinary/genital opening. This distance is longer in males than in females. In addition, females have nipples that are usually noticeable by 10 days of age. Males do not have nipples. In older females, the nipples are covered with fur, so a careful examination must be made, or a female could erroneously be called a male. Finally, in adult males, the testicles can be felt at the base of the tail.

When was the first litter born? How old were they when you separated? When was the second litter born? How old are they? What types of cages are they in? What is their bedding and diet? Pictures?

What is your general location? I am sure I could help you find a rescue/foster to take in some or all of the mice.

Also, I would recommend against getting the rat. Rats are a lot of work and expensive. They require at least an hour out of the cage everyday- no exceptions. They also need a same sex friend, a large cage, and a complicated diet (grain mix, lab block (only available online), and fresh veggies) In addition to all that, they have a lot of heath problems. If the one you are looking at has only one eye, he will need to see a vet immediately and possibly many times in the future. Please do your research before you adopt any animals.
 

Dupuis

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Posts
6
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
6
First off- If you still have that second litter of baby mice, don't give them to the petstore! up as snake food after getting pregnant over and over again. Its not too hard sex mice, especially if you have others to compare to.



When was the first litter born? How old were they when you separated? When was the second litter born? How old are they? What types of cages are they in? What is their bedding and diet? Pictures?

What is your general location? I am sure I could help you find a rescue/foster to take in some or all of the mice.

Also, I would recommend against getting the rat. Rats are a lot of work and expensive. They require at least an hour out of the cage everyday- no exceptions. They also need a same sex friend, a large cage, and a complicated diet (grain mix, lab block (only available online), and fresh veggies) In addition to all that, they have a lot of heath problems. If the one you are looking at has only one eye, he will need to see a vet immediately and possibly many times in the future. Please do your research before you adopt any animals.

We actually have 3 rats right now and we've had rats since I was 6 so we know all about that. Plus I'm home schooled and always spend time with them. They usually like to be lazy and chill on my shoulder though >_>. Anyway onto the mice. The first litter was born on December 27th or around then (estimated 2 days before I saw them), I seperated the mother from the babies at about 3 weeks as they were all eating solid food. The second litter was born on January 19th. They are in an aquarium so that they won't fall through the wires when they begin to move. I'm using carefresh for bedding, and feeding her a mixed diet of oats, cherrios, and assorted other things that a site recommended. I'm looking into rescues for the babies right now. I'll get some pictures in a few minutes.
 
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