My mouse is getting bigger and bigger!

Hi all,

As you might know, I have a big tank, with 4 mice in it. Two male, and two
female. (that's what the petco. told me at least) Now one of the female mice
is getting bigger and bigger. When you let her walk across your hand you can
even feel her belly sliding over you hand, so I guess she must be full of
babies!!

This will be the first time she will give birth, will there be any
complications when the babies are being born? And should I give her some
other nesting material besides the long grass & half dried flower things I
use now, something like cotton or something... I know not to use wool, since
the little ones can easily get stuck in it, and will die that way.


Anyway, thanks in advance,

Dennis

>This will be the first time she will give birth,

first of all, unless you want a bazillion mice, separate the males from the
females. do it now. the bathtub makes a good temporary cage until you can get
another (put the plug in).

unless the other female acts hostile then you can leave her and the pregnant
mother together. she should even help the mother raise the babies.

toilet paper makes perfect nesting material.

just feed the mother regular mouse food. toss in a variety of other foods as
well -carrots, cheese (not much), etc. in addition, give her a few bits of dry
cat food and some hard boiled egg each day. pregnancy is hard work, and some
females develop a protein deficiency that they can only relieve by eating some
of their babies. the dry cat food and the hard boiled egg give them an
alternative.

have another cage standing by to separate the brothers from the sisters when
they are about three to four weeks old, or again you'll have a bazillion mice.
if you can't tell the males from the females (I never could) then ask your
local pet store to help you.

if your mice don't have an exercise wheel to play on, get them one. mice are
made to run, and most of them will run several hours a day. also, it's
hilarious to watch juvenile mice trying to learn to use the wheel. if your
cage is too small for a wheel then get a larger one, and if one wheel isn't
enough then get two.
--

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the father, but
through me." john 14:6