WaterLily Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I posted not too long ago asking what everyone uses for rodent bedding b/c our new mice were kinda stinky. We've had them for 2 weeks now and obviously we have a problem.... Basically, we asked for girl mice b/c from what I read we thought that would be best. They were 6 or 7 weeks old when we got them and the group had not been separated by sex yet. I specifically asked about the possibility of them being pregnant and was told not to worry about it - they were too young. Well clearly the people at Pet Smart are totally incompetent because as of today we have BABIES!!!!! :eek: We've been wondering the last couple days b/c one got really fat and the other one is looking kinda chubby too! I can't tell how many there are - but I'd say at least 10. And like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if the other mouse we got has babies in the next few days. Has this happened to anyone before? I don't know what to do. I feel like we have no choice but to take them ALL back. We can't separate the moms and babies and we definitely don't have room for 20 mice! If we wanted to try to find homes for them, we'd still have to keep them and find room for them for 4 weeks or so. I do think it is a neat experience for my kids - to watch the little tiny pinkies grow, but I just don't know if it's possible. I'm so frustrated. My kids will be disappointed if we have to take them back..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I'd keep 'em and then give out the mice when they get big enough for some snakes. Or... call the pet store and ask if you can bring them back when they're big enough to separate. I think you have to keep that group separate from the other female, right?? Good Luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammaruss Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 My ex sister n law used to breed mice--then sell them to pet stores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Um, we had something similar with gerbils, but were told we had two boys and then months later we had babies :blink: And then because gerbils procreate immediately after birth... we had MORE babies. :eek: We were too far past our buy date to return them. I would call PetSmart and check with a manager, not just any employee, and explain your situation and ask them to take the babies. It was their mistake. After ending up with 17 gerbils, I found out more about gerbils than I cared to know.;) I don't know about mice, but gerbils can become pregnant around 5 weeks (if I remember correctly sometimes 4). We had to separate all the boys from the mom (including the dad) when the babies were about 28 days. Just picture us trying to tell boy babies from girl babies at midnight:lol: If you choose to keep them, find a reliable website on mice and and find out when the boys need separated from the girls, it might be earlier than you think. But I would try to give the babies to the pet shop as soon as they could go there. We have two gerbils left from our 17. Gerbils have a life span of 2-3 years and ours all lived over 3!! We had four cages for three+ years in our house. Not something I would recommend.:D Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Be careful not to spook the mama mouse, as they can get overwhelmed and will eat the babies. This is especially common in first litters. If you're going to keep them for any length of time, you should figure out how to tell the males from the females so you can separate them. Otherwise you're going to end up with a whole lot more mice in a few short weeks! Maybe you can have your kids do a bit of a mouse study to find out all about this first hand. Lemons out of lemonade. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Be careful not to spook the mama mouse, as they can get overwhelmed and will eat the babies. This is especially common in first litters. Well, I suppose that could be ONE solution. :ack2: :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Oh yes. When I was in middle school my hamster died. My parents bought me a new one. HE was supposed to be a BABY. One day when I came back from school I found a bunch of baby hamsters. My mom was not happy to say the least. We sold them back to the store when they were old enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Do you have friends with snakes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I'm a foster home for a rescue which deals with rats/mice/hamsters/ferrets etc. We see this ALL the time and this is why we say: don't buy animals from pet stores, don't buy animals from pet stores, don't buy animals from pet stores (repeat ad nauseam....) Now that you're in this situation, your options are limited. It would be cruel to separate mom from babies too early. I think you need to read up on rearing small rodents, provide them what they need & then contact your local rescues to see if anyone is around dealing with these guys in your community. If you raise them well & hand tame them, they'll be pretty adoptable. You can specify that you do NOT want them used as snake food (most snakes can be fed frozen rats & mice. Feeding live is highly discouraged ....) You can post on craigslist etc. Don't expect to make much money on it. Sex & separate them properly as soon as they reach sexual maturity. Even if the local rescues can't assist with fostering or adoption, they may have a volunteer available who can come out & make sure you've sexed them correctly. And then chalk it up as a lesson learned: Do not buy from pet stores. Do not buy from pet stores. Do not buy from pet stores. Do not buy from pet stores. I will no longer buy ANYTHING from a pet store which also sells live animals so all my supplies come from shops which sell only supplies. best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Something similar happened to us before. I purchased two degus from the store. I made sure the employee knew that I wanted both degus to be the SAME SEX. He checked them and told me that I had two boys. A few months later.....there were tiny babies in the corner of the cage. Hmmmm....definitely NOT two boys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 The other female could possibly eat them or attack and that may not be a good thing for your kids to see. The mice I had growing up got mean after birth so I would watch letting your kids touch them for a while. Hope you find a solution cause that could get out of control very quickly from what my mother tells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire in NM Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Our dc received money from their grandpa. He wanted them to buy a couple of rabbits. We went to the local feed store and specifically requested to buy two females. Our kids named them Gloria and Harriet. After several months of having them in their pen, I went out one summer day and found that Gloria has given birth to babies and, apparently, Harriet was actually "Harry". Unfortunately, the babies had died from the heat, and we quickly returned the rabbits for a refund. Claire in NM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterLily Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 I'd really hate to see them become feeders (I don't know anyone who has snakes anyway). And I will say one thing - I guess the girl did "sex" them properly as I def. have 2 females lol! I read about the moms sometimes eating the babies. So far they seem ok, although mom does "spook" easily and has been skittish since we've had her. The other one is more mellow. I also read that usually the other female will help with the litter so I'll leave them together as long as they are still getting along. Also, we didn't actually buy them from the pet store... we were kind of rescuing them, I guess you could say. Apparently a male got in with the female mice at the pet store and they ended up with a couple extra litters. They were adopting them out to good homes for free b/c it's against their policy to "breed" animals and sell them or whatever. They were desperate to get them to good homes so they didn't become feeders and I thought they'd be good pets b/c we'd be getting them kind of young. Of course now I realize what a fool I am! What a red flag.... they accidentally put a male in with the females! I will definitely not buy a pet there again! argh.... I'd like to keep them and try to find homes for them but it would be hard to find homes for the number we'll likely end up with. I will see if there are any rescues or whatever. The biggest problem is that I really don't think I have room for them all. (I have been reading up btw, and if we kept them, I would separate the males and females as soon as they are weaned. I think the vets office at Petsmart will tell me the sex for free.) But even if we only keep them until they are weaned, I could have 20 mice or more and we currently only have one average size "mouse cage". I can't spend the money on bigger or multiple cages. That's the biggest problem.... just having room for them all.... I will be calling Petsmart to complain at the very least. I'll be curious to hear what they say the options are.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterLily Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 Btw, is there anyone in Indiana that would like some adorable pet mice? LOL!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinbaby Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I am not a pet person period but we did have a couple of rats we got from a rattery. They are great pets. I feel terrible for you - taking care of so many little ratties!! I'd say, first, please don't go down the 'feeder' route. My second thought is try to locate a rattery in your area. I just googled indiana rattery and a couple of sites came up. At the very least, you can contact a rattery or two for advice. Rattery people are crazy for rats and will do their best to answer your questions and let you know what your options may be. Perhaps they might temporarily donate a spare cage or other supplies. There are also many websites to help you figure out how to create your own little homes inexpensively. Also, check Craigslist. It's possible a rattery might even help you adopt them out if they feel the rats are healthy and well cared for or posting to any homeschool list is likely to get tons of responses for babies. We waited on a list for 7 months before we got our rats! http://www.dapper.com.au/ is a good website. Plus, your kids will love looking at the silly pictures of rats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 don't buy animals from pet stores, don't buy animals from pet stores, don't buy animals from pet stores (repeat ad nauseam....) Wait a minute. After we promised my son mice, I spent HOURS and WEEKS looking for a "mousery." I kid you not -- I devoted serious time to this project because, like you, I do not approve of buying animals from a pet shop or any animal "mill." Well guess what I found out? Serious mouseries will not sell mice to pet homes. They will only sell them to other hobbiests. I could convince no one to answer my e-mails, return my calls, sell me a mouse, or recommend another breeder. And I live in a major metropolitan area. I was even willing to drive. One sympathetic breeder did offer to ship me one for around $350. (Not a typo.) It was the cost to send one via air. If you can imagine. Other mouse breeders only sold mice by the dozen -- for snake food! So, I started investigating pet shops. I found out that our local PetSmart is a "male only" store. Any animals in that store are males. No chance of a pregnancy. Well, we wanted females (though I admired that policy), so we went across the street to Petco. At Petco, the females and males were carefully separated. (Of course mistakes are possible.) The sales clerk who helped us pick out our girls was conversant about mice and actually could comment a little bit on the personality of the ones we picked. (And it turned out she was right so she wasn't making it up.) Anyway, my experience. It's not always possible to buy from someone "more humane" than a pet shop. We LOVE our little mice, by the way. And I'd be happy to buy another from Petco. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) I'd really hate to see them become feeders (I don't know anyone who has snakes anyway). And I will say one thing - I guess the girl did "sex" them properly as I def. have 2 females lol! I read about the moms sometimes eating the babies. So far they seem ok, although mom does "spook" easily and has been skittish since we've had her. The other one is more mellow. I also read that usually the other female will help with the litter so I'll leave them together as long as they are still getting along. Also, we didn't actually buy them from the pet store... we were kind of rescuing them, I guess you could say. Apparently a male got in with the female mice at the pet store and they ended up with a couple extra litters. They were adopting them out to good homes for free b/c it's against their policy to "breed" animals and sell them or whatever. They were desperate to get them to good homes so they didn't become feeders and I thought they'd be good pets b/c we'd be getting them kind of young. Of course now I realize what a fool I am! What a red flag.... they accidentally put a male in with the females! I will definitely not buy a pet there again! argh.... I'd like to keep them and try to find homes for them but it would be hard to find homes for the number we'll likely end up with. I will see if there are any rescues or whatever. The biggest problem is that I really don't think I have room for them all. (I have been reading up btw, and if we kept them, I would separate the males and females as soon as they are weaned. I think the vets office at Petsmart will tell me the sex for free.) But even if we only keep them until they are weaned, I could have 20 mice or more and we currently only have one average size "mouse cage". I can't spend the money on bigger or multiple cages. That's the biggest problem.... just having room for them all.... I will be calling Petsmart to complain at the very least. I'll be curious to hear what they say the options are.... Oh I'm so glad they won't be snake food! We rescued our rats from that fate. If you check around you might find someplace that will loan you more cages for awhile. You might also put the word out and get some cages for free from people who no longer have pets. Edited January 26, 2010 by happi duck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterLily Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 I agree with Cindyg as far as finding a mouse "breeder". After we saw the mice at the pet store for the first time, I did look around for "breeder" or anyone who might be in my current situation lol! I didn't find anyone/anything. If you really want mice, it's hard to find them anywhere but a pet store it seems. Rats are easier to find, I think. Well..... we have more babies today! Yep, the other girl had her babies. I just knew it. She's sitting on them so I can't tell how many but I don't think she has as many as the other girl. Oh my. What to do. I do like the idea of borrowing cages or asking if anyone has a cage they aren't using. Thanks for mentioning that. I'll look into it. Hubby is pretty mad about the whole thing, though. "Why did I let you guys talk me into this", type of thing lol! He's mostly mad at the pet store like I am, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Do you have friends with snakes? :eek::eek::scared::willy_nilly: Will you all please stop suggesting this! I absolutely DESPISE snakes (where's the shiver smiley??!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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