Newborn Mice

[animalluva87]

Hello...I have a question: My mouse just gave birth to nine babies yesterday. I heard that I could pick them up but don't touch them too much because the mother will neglect them or kill them...I picked one up and let it lay in the palm of my hand, I didn't really touch it much tho...will she reject/kill it now? I'm sooo scared!!

[Jenny]

Wow, nine! Did they all survive? I had three litters of mice, 7 in each litter, and out of all three one baby always died after a week or two. It's of course possible that she'd neglect it but usually that's not the case. It's best though if you leave them alone, especially if they're just a few days old. Once they're venturing a little farther from the nest you can handle them quite a bit if you want them tame, and feed them from your hand as soon as they're weaned.

[animalluva87]

All have survived thank God!! I love animals soo much so I jus wanna make sure these lil critters are safe. They're at my school. I got them for a Biology project where we have to raise an animal for the rest of the school year. We began in January. I started off with a baby hamster but sadly my dog was able to get to him. He died. Then my second hamster, Goldilocks, died of wet tail. And then I got two mice...Splinter and Silver. Silver is the mom, she is greyish/silver. Splinter is the dad and he's dark brown, like Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The people who I'm working with on this got the mice, and they got a boy and a girl.

At first I thought Silver was the boy b/c Splinter was looking a bit fat so I thought "she" was pregnant...big surprise yesterday wen my friend told me after my World Cultures class that my mouse gave birth to nine babies. I was shocked! I couldn't believe how small they were and how protective Silver is of them. She seems like a good mom. I moved her hut to the corner of the aquarium b/c I thought there'd be better privacy there, and she moved all the babies by mouth into the hut. At first I thought she was eating them b/c they were squeaking but then I saw she was just moving them. I almost had a heart attack...but I'm really glad this happened. It's a wonderful experience.

I can't keep the mice, as much as I want to, b/c of my dog and my mom and sis hate rodents, so would it be safe to give them back to the pet store or is it tru that they use the mice as snake food? I don't want these mice to be fed to a snake...it's just wrong. They're still babies, they need time to live. Or...should I give them to the MSPCA here in Boston? :)

[Jenny]

Sounds like it's going well then! Personally I wouldn't give them back to the petstore, unless it's a very good one and you 100% trust them. One of my favorite mice babies I gave to some friends ended up being a problem with their cat, so they gave it to a petstore and they liked it so much they used him for breeding. I wouldn't trust them not to be used as snakefood, also even if they're sold as pets you have no idea who buys them and how they'll be taken care of. Could you make fliers complete with pictures and put some up around your school? Ask your friends about adopting one or two from you. It'd be better finding good homes for them yourself.

[animalluva87]

Ok ty sooo much!! Bye Bye!!

[mzdolittle]

You could ask at some of the local elementary or middle schools in your area. A lot of teachers like to keep small animals in their classrooms. Mice are a very popular animal with a lot of classes around here.

[Jenny]

That's a great suggestion. Just be careful about young children. If the mouse isn't extremely tame it can be hard to handle, also it's very easy for kids to accidentally hurt them.