# New rodents under my care...



## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

My little zoo has expanded greatly in the last year, I now have more then ten big aquariums and cages holding a large variety of mice, hamsters, guinea pigs and other rodents. On top of taking in rescues whenever I can, I have been working to increase the health of some of my mouse bloodlines.

The most recent successes were two litters, one from a Pearl/Skewbald crossing, the other an attempt to merge more healthy Agouti traits to the Satin line I have been trying to maintain.

The Pearl litter came from a doe named Ragu:










Here's her little squeakers looking nice and pink:










Aren't they healthy looking, at least from what I could tell, as I only could look for a few seconds. But I think I saw at least 8-9 pups...










I'm currently working on the pics of the other doe and her brood, should have them up soon...


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

Oh how cute! You must be a proud parent  Congratulations!!


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks, *srhdufe*, I am. I'm hoping for an equal split of Pearls and Skewbalds (Broken Agouti) in the litter.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Here are some of the Fancy mice living in my largest tank:










The Broken Black Pinto is Aega, and her brown and white pal is Toffee, one of our two oldest Skewbalds...










Toffee is actually Aega's great aunt, which most likely helped them form their current bond. They are always together now and preen each other over all others, it's very sweet. 

Now, a doe who hasn't yet bonded with another is Stormy here:










She's pretty much a lone wolf, though she gets along fine with the rest of the group. Stormy's issue might be the fact that she seems to only come out when everybody else is pretty much asleep. Another mouse like that is Aega's sister Prima:










Prima is only seen in the afternoons, which is when the entire tank is usually fast asleep. Prima just enjoys her solitude I guess. Now, her opposite would most definitely be Pixie:










That plump Chimera is always out-and-about at all hours, seriously I wonder if she actually sleeps. Pixie is nearly two years old now but she appears to have more energy then an eight week-old pup. But perhaps that's Pixie's secret to reaching such a ripe age of two years.


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## Daisy2006 (Nov 25, 2008)

Very sweet. How many mice do you have?


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Currently 38, if you count the babies.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu he was nice enough to be out having breakfast when I came in, so I was able to remove her for a bit and take a closer look at the pups...










I went into the box and carefully removed all the pups so that I could inspect the nest properly for any issues. But there were none that I could find, good, so I was then able to examine the litter...










Aren't they the cutest. 

They are all piled up on top of each other in the pics, but I am happy to report there are 10 perfect little pups, and some of them are already starting to darken...










I bet those darker ones are going to take after mommy Ragu and be Pearls. But five others appear to still be pale, so perhaps they are future Skewbalds like their dad Georgie...










Only time will tell. They all seem nice and plump with round milk bellies, Ragu is taking excellent care of them...


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

Neza said:


> Ragu he was nice enough to be out having breakfast when I came in, so I was able to remove her for a bit and take a closer look at the pups...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


SOOOOOOOOOO sweet!


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

They are the cutest, I agree.


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

I always hated mice... Field mice keep getting in the house from next door.. I hate them! The babies are cute though.. hehe


Yours are soooo cute. I've never seen fancy mice like that before. 
I want some little squeekers now


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

The babies can win people over, I agree. Just wait until they get all furry, then they become impossible to resist.


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## EmzieAngel (Apr 22, 2009)

Aww I love lil pinkies haha.
I've not been keen on mice, but yours are such cuties 

I'm getting pinkie hamster broody now.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

EmzieAngel said:


> Aww I love lil pinkies haha.
> I've not been keen on mice, but yours are such cuties


Thanks. 

So when you say pinkie hamster, do you mean hairless? I've only seen one hairless hamster for real, I liked it, wouldn't mind getting one of my own.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Here's another newer mouse I have, her name is Amber and she is a Golden Agouti...










She has fluffy gold Satin fur, her coat really shimmers and shines. I bred her myself from a Satin buck and an Agouti doe with the Satin gene. As you can see, Amber is developinging nicely but is still small and a bit shy. So I had to chose her tankmate carefully and I think I found the perfect one. I've put her in with one of my runt mice that I've been working with, Vena.

Here's Vena's first encounter with Amber:










Taking pics of these two might be difficult, as Vena's white fur is so pure it actually causes a dazzle effect, which Amber's own Satin gold isnt helping either...










Amber and Vena the red-eyed runt seemed to like each other though, which is great...










The runt may have both grown a lot since I first got her, but Amber is still the healthier of the two, IMHO. They are still a bit young to try and dominate each other yet, so hopefully the twoof them will become fast friends...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

May I have your beautiful mice pleeze Neza? Aww go on I asked nicely.


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## EmzieAngel (Apr 22, 2009)

Neza said:


> Thanks.
> 
> So when you say pinkie hamster, do you mean hairless? I've only seen one hairless hamster for real, I liked it, wouldn't mind getting one of my own.


I've actually never seen a hairless hamster.
I once bought a hamster that was pregnant, didn't realise it at the time.
Two days later, there were 10 lil pink hammies in her bed, until they grew fur obviously lol. They were soo cute and I loved watching them grow up and of course I had to keep one.
Sorry I didn't make my previous post clear


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

^No problem, *EmzieAngel*, I understand what you mean now. I love watching the little pink pups grow up too, no matter what kind of rodent they are. 



thedogsmother said:


> May I have your beautiful mice pleeze Neza? Aww go on I asked nicely.


Nope, they're all mine. 

But you can visit and play with them.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's litter is coming along nicely, look how they've grown since yesterday:










There now appear to be six Pearls and four Skewbalds, very nice, and markings are starting to show as pigment floods the skin...










Their whiskers are gaining length and their ears are starting to peel, very cute. The aren't squirmy at all and seem to enjoy being held...










Starting tomorrow we will be handling them twice a day, to give them the best chance of turning out tame. Their mom is pretty friendly and we want her pups to be the same...










Ragu has ceased to be nervous when I take her out of the tank and put her back in. She doesn't even go check the nest for changes as you can see, she instead went to get a drink of water.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I have a new doe, her name is Nougat, and she is fitting in well with the other mice...










She is a little Skewbald, a Broken Agouti, and she seems to be enjoying her new home and spends many hours a day exploring it from top to bottom...










Currently Nougat's only companion is Lucy, one of my older mice...










Lucy is a bit of an old grouch but she'd never hurt anybody. I'm currently trying to decide who else to add to the group. It might be Amber, our Golden Agouti, as the time has come to seperate her from her mom. Hopefully old Lucy here will accept her...










See how hard it is to get a pic of her? The moment she realizes I'm around she zips back inside the house. Oh well...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's brood was looking just fantasic today, with skin flaking all around and the Pearl pups noticably bigger then their Skewbald siblings...










You can really see the markings on the Skews now, I'm quite pleased with their progress...










Again, during the summer I attempted to breed a new generation of Skewbalds myself but I kept getting litters with hardly any at all in them. But Ragu has given us four...










A friend and fellow breeder will be getting a male and female Skewbald from the litter, the rest I am keeping, so that means I should get at least two Skews out of this, and maybe even three. I'm very excited. 










As you can see, they are already responding to our touch and will actively seek your hand out when it is present. Taming is coming along nicely...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

One of my Rexes has returned from being lent out to another breeder, she was gone for almost a month...










Her name is Sonja, she is my puffy princess. Sadly, she didn't seem to like any of my friend's bucks, and since I've failed to breed her with any of my own if looks like Sonja is now officially retired...










But that happens sometimes, especially with Satin Rexes I've found. They are very difficult to breed, so I have given up and Sonja is now back and in with her old friends once again...










I put her in a neutral tank with Xenia (the black Rex), and two of my Pearls, Judy and Trudy...










Things have definitely changed while Sonja has been gone, as the twin greys were pups before she left but now are all grown up. But they seemed to accept her back into the tank with no problem, that's good. I'm just happy to have Sonja back, really.


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## mousemighty (Mar 5, 2009)

as i knew mouse breeder i was told really never to handle , new fresh mice as mother can eat them . im not being judgemental just asking , does it come with time an experiince , there great mice , ive had lots of lovely litters which ill put pics up later , as 1 mouse is larger then my other mice and big ears like the white one in your pic on youre page , hope all goes well with youre lovely mice


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## Gobaith (Jun 6, 2009)

They are soo cute!
Congratulations!


Chloe x


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Gobaith said:


> They are soo cute!
> Congratulations!
> 
> Chloe x


Thanks. 



mousemighty said:


> as i knew mouse breeder i was told really never to handle , new fresh mice as mother can eat them . im not being judgemental just asking , does it come with time an experiince , there great mice , ive had lots of lovely litters which ill put pics up later , as 1 mouse is larger then my other mice and big ears like the white one in your pic on youre page , hope all goes well with youre lovely mice


That's right, you have to be very careful handling baby mice. For example, on the day they are born I wait for the mother to come out of the nest and then remove her from the tank first, the carefully open the box and with gloved hands check the nest for any problems.

You have to do this because stillborn pups have to be removed and if any pups have become seperated from the litter they will die unless you put them back in with the group. I have saved many pups this way.

Then I don't go near the pups for the next three days, and for the first week I always wash my hands first and then rub them with shavings from the nest. Because you are right, even a mother mouse who knows and trusts you might abandon pups if they don't smell right. After a week though mom and babies have bonded fully and it's completely safe to handle them with bare hands.

Plus at that point I need the pups to get used to my smell, it's part of the taming process.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I had Ragu's big litter out for a visit, don't they look pretty...


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The six Pearls are really growing like weeds, though the four Skewbalds are coming along nicely as well. They're so cute when they are all dog-piled up...


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I let them crawl free on the bedspread for the very first time today and none of them cried at all, they just kept moving around looking for each other...










This is a good way of seeing if any of the pups are falling behind in muscle development. We look for ones that are slow crawlers and who can't lift their heads yet...










But there is no pups like that in Ragu's litter, they are all perfectly healthy and getting stronger by the day.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Can you tell at that stage in development what colour they are likely to be?


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

thedogsmother said:


> Can you tell at that stage in development what colour they are likely to be?


Yes, from experience with previous pups I can tell that the four pale-skinned ones will be Skewbalds (or Broken Agoutis), while the rest are definitely going to be Pearls like the mum. I love Pearls.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

With her mom returned to her own aquarium, Amber has now started to get used to life as an adult mouse...










The Golden Agouti is still quite shy, but that's okay in her tank as her two tank mates are gentle, quiet mice...










Vena, seen above staking out a claim on the day's treat of wheat husks, is a former runt I nursed to her first proper growth spurt. She's not very big, but she's pretty active...










It's odd to think of Amber being the biggest and strongest in her tank, but then all three of them are little mice, even Sui, the brown-and-white doe...










Amongst the gentle trio she's the closest thing they have to a leader, not that she dominates anybody. She's just the one who does all the preening.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Had Ragu's pups out on the bed again this moring, they are really starting to pick up speed now...










Gone are the days when they would just sleep contentedly in a big dog-pile. Now they instantly head off in search of adventure when you place them on the bedspread...










As you can see, they all can rise up now and creep about on their feet, no more crawling slowly...










The grey-coated Pearls are easily the strongest, but again I was expecting that. Skewbalds are normally slower to develop and are petite...










I have sexed the Pearls and found that there are two boys and four girls. Not that it really matters at the moment as they are all identical, but it's just interesting to note. I haven't sexed the Skewbalds yet though...










I'm going to wait and do the Broken Agoutis when they get a little bigger...










I'm hoping for some does, and of course one buck for my friend.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Here's an interesting mouse of mine that is sort of hard to catch a look at, it's Svetlana...










The Rex is quite the recluse, she seems only to come out late at night to play and eat...










I miss seeing her, she's pretty unique among the mice here, what with her fawny brown-ticked wavy coat...










She's actually quite large, if you can't tell in the pics. I would have liked to have bred her, but she has a few personality quirks I'd rather not pass on. Personality first, that's my motto...










Svetlana is still a fun mouse to watch though.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Caught mama Ragu in her dish when I came in early this morning. She is looking very healthy and she even hopped right into my hand to be taken out...










This time I took out her four Broken Agouti pups, wow their coats are really coming in nicely...










They look so pale, the four Skewbalds, but they are very healthy, it's just that their Pearl siblings are so dark now in comparison. You can really see the detail in their markings now...










They still enjoy being held and snuggle right in. The only thing they didn't like was me lining them up so you could see each of the four properly...










Safety in numbers and all that, I guess, plus they like the cozy warmness of a little dog-pile.


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## Animals548 (Feb 22, 2009)

they are cute!!!!


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks. I love them at this age.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

My Golden Agouti Amber appears fully grown now and is doing very well on her own, she's been seperated from her mom for awhile now..










The pretty doe's coat seems to get glossier by the day, she literally shines now...










Amber has such a nice personality too, she loves to be picked up...










She is still very jumpy and squeaks in fear if she doesn't see the hand coming, but she never runs away, it's just her nerves. 

If we hadn't of handled her so much as a pup she would most likely be very wild now, one of those mice who hides all the time. From what I've read about Golden Agouti mice, them being jumpy and nervous is quite common....










Odd tempermants go hand-in-hand with some of the rarer-coated mice, like the infamous Self Reds for example. It's one of the reasons breeding to bring out unique types should only be attempted by somebody ready to deal with high maintenance mice.

But Amber is a sweetie, I'm lucky.


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

Your mice are so nice! Do you generally have to start handling them from a young age? I've read you do but I got my mice from a breeder at 1 week old and I was so scared that the move had upset their mum that I didn't touch them until they started waddling about with their eyes open a week - 1 1/2 weeks later. And I can't keep them off me now and they are 4 months old! Very happy. If I was closer I would love to see your mice first hand - well done on your breeding lines!


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm glad your taming worked out so well. 

I start handling the pups at three days of age and keep increasing how long I have them out and how many times a day I take them out all the way until they are weaned at around 3 and a half weeks. Then there tends to be a period of 2-4 where I have to give them their space and only pick them up if they actually want to be picked up, like if they actively seek out my hand when I am changing food and water and climb aboad. If they don't then I leave them alone until they are ready.

Amber went through a period like that but she is past it now and loves to be plucked out of the tank for a pet.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I love having lots of mouse pups, ten is always more fun then five. 

I seem to have been showing mostly pics of the Broken Agoutis lately, but that doesn't mean I'm ignoring the Pearls, oh no...










It's just easy to get focused on taking pics of the marked Skews because you can actually tell each one of them apart. These Pearls all appear identical, and each is equally friendly...










Once the time comes to seperate the bucks from the does it won't be hard to tell them apart. Plus they aren't all mine to keep, at least not yet, as I have promised a friend that she could have some, probably half of them. She especially wants a Pearl buck to hand-raise...










They're all so cute though, I'm hoping that there is at least one doe that I can keep...










I have two adult Pearls right now, but they don't like to be handled, so a tame girl would be delightful...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

One of my more interesting mice was out this morning when I came in, her name is Arcee...










Arcee is the only Red-Eyed White mouse I have, so where she would be the most common creature in most any pet store, here amongst my colony she is completely unique...










Not that Arcee wouldn't stand out amongst other white mice, as she has a split left ear and only half a tail. She didn't lose it, she was born that way, it ends in a rounded stub...










While on the outside Arcee might appear to be far from perfect genetically, on the inside everything must be working just fine because she is now more then a year old...










I have had many mice from private breeders who never even came close to that age, and besides REWs around here don't tend to last beyond 3-4 months, thanks to too much inbreeding, poor food and bad conditions. I don't know what Arcee's secret is, but I wish she could share it with all my other mice...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I was finally able to sex Ragu's Broken Agouti foursome...










They are all so calm now, it was a perfect time to do it. I just love their complex markings...










Each one is completely different then the rest, so unlike the identical Pearls we will have no problem telling the Skews apart...










It didn't take long to figure out that there are three girls and one boy. The male is the one above, closest to the camera at the bottom of the picture...










And that's him again, upside-down on his back, isn't he a sweetie. 

I'll be keeping two of the girls while my friend gets her wish and gets the buck and the remaining doe. Now she just has to pick her favorite from among the trio of girls because if it was my decision I could never make it, I'd want to keep them all.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Things are going great in Amber's tank, she and her two new roomies are best of friends now...










A little while ago I put in two rescued mice who are coming along well. The first was a little brown and white doe called Sui:










And the second was Vena, a red-eyed mouse with beige spots:










Amber was very scared of them at first, but after about a week I started seeing them out playing together...










I'm glad that Amber can make friends with other mice, because I was worried she might be too shy and jumpy...










But Sui and Vena seem to really like her, as you can see:










I'm going to let them settle in together for a bit, and then perhaps I will merge this trio with another tank of three does, Sventlana's gang...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

How many mice do you have altogether Neza?


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Let's see, counting the babies I currently have 43. Though I am keeping some does for a friend while she is on vacation, and two are rescues I'm in the process of rehoming. And some of the pups are already spoken for. But 43 are here right now.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's litter's development seems to be accelerating, they are all gaining girth and their coats are nice and thick now...










There is hardly any pink to be seen except on their extremities. The camera brings it out, but to the naked eye the Skewbalds have a solid covering of fur now...










I love their little pink noses. 










Their Pearl siblings are grey all over of course, with just their toes showing pink or white tips...










They are all crawling like crazy now, they are full of energy and don't like it when you snatch them away from an epic adventure amongst the covers...










I really like that banded Skew' above, so pretty. She looks a bit like her great aunt Toffee...










I'm going to miss the ones going to friends when they're gone, I love having baby mice...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Lots of mice out in my biggest tank this morning. And they all rushed to the food bowl once I filled it up, like they hadn't been fed in days...










And watching over the hungry group from above was the tank's new alpha mouse, Stormy...










I thought one of the Pintos that I had hand raised would end up being the giant tank's leader, like Prima or Marzipan, but nope, a former runt and lab rescue is now the big boss...










Over the last two weeks there has been lots of domination rituals and power plays in the form of grudge fights, and slowly but surely Stormy emerged to be the strongest and fastest...










Now all the mice move out of the way when she passes through and go into a submissive stance when she sniffs them, every one of them. Hopefully Stormy will be a fair ruler and it won't go to her head.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Neza said:


> Let's see, counting the babies I currently have 43. Though I am keeping some does for a friend while she is on vacation, and two are rescues I'm in the process of rehoming. And some of the pups are already spoken for. But 43 are here right now.


WOW, That is a lot of cage cleaning.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I think I've got the cleaning down to a science, plus I nearly all of them are in tanks which are the fastest to clean, I find.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

With Ragu's Skewbald pups now sexed, my friend will be keeping one of the girls and the lone buck, while I keep the remaining two does, I'm very excited. 

My friend has made her decision as to which doe she wants, and so I'm keeping the one with the brown bands on her back:










And the one with the spot on her left shoulder blade:










They are both very sweet and will make excellent additions to my Broken Agouti ranks. As soon as they open their eyes I will pick names for them...










Of course the other two will stay here with their siblings until they are weaned. Their future owner will be back for them then...










What a cute little doe, huh? I wish I could keep her, but I'm not greedy, I'm happy to just get her two sisters. I may be keeping some of the Pearls as well, but I haven't decided. I have friends asking for them...


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## Cuddypuppy (Jan 15, 2009)

I adore your fancy mice.

We have Russian dwarf hamsters and they are the most wonderful pets.

I am considering mice in the future, but, will research first. In your opinion, are fancy mice similar to keep and care for and do you think they prefer cages or tanks. Do same sex pairs/groups get along? Are they happy to be handled like hamsters?

Sorry, lots of questions :blushing:


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I find my mice to be as easy to care for as my hamsters, definitely. You can house female mice together but not males because they will almost always fight to the death. My female mice prefer to be in aquariums, while my male mice prefer a linked habitrail, most likely because they feel closer to me, their sole living companion. And they definitely can enjoy being handled just like hamsters, I am constantly picking up my mice, I could do it all day long, they love it.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Things are going smoothly in Calypso's tank, she's the leader and everybody gets along great...










I wondered if the tank's resident Rex would be a problem, because Svetlana seemed to like to fight when I first got her, but nope, she seems to have mellowed out quite nicely...










Svet seems content to eat, sleep, dig and run. The tank's third member is also very well behaved...










Nougat is a Skewbald a friend of mine bred and she is big and healthy, very fast, but she doesn't seem interested in fighting Calypso for leadership...










I think it's because what Nougat loves more then anything else is the mesh wheel, and it's pretty much all hers.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

That picture of Svet is sooooo cute, sometimes you can almost tell what they are thinking, Svet is thinking "I want to go and live with thedogsmother", honest .


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Well, Svetlana isn't my biggest fan, she's kind of afraid of me, so maybe she'd like it better with you.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's litter is so large now, it's difficult to hold them all in one hand. So I scoop them out and put them in a bowl now for their trip to the bed for a little play session...










This is the Broken Agouti doe I'm not keeping:










She will leave her with her brother just as soon as her mom weans her. Here he is, he's the one with the white face:










I'll miss those two but at least I will have their two sisters, like this one:










Such a pretty pup, she is crawling everywhere now. She even managed to get halfway under a pillow before I fished her out, clever little thing. 

Today the grey Pearls didn't seem interested in exploring so I just let them snuggle in a pile all their own...










They have such neat faces. Wish I could tell them apart, the girls I mean. I know which ones are the bucks because they both have long white markings on their tails, but so far I can only guess which girl is which..


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Crinkle-haired Svetlana's sleeping schedule appears to have changed, I'm seeing her more and more lately...










For more then a month I would only see her when I changed her tank, and it would never go that well, Svet would hide and run, not wanting to be touched...










But I'm hoping now that she is starting to come out when I am in the room that perhaps she has mellowed a bit and I can start working to tame her...










She is such a pretty little mouse, and her Rex fur feels so neat to the touch...










Her cousin Xenia took months to tame, she really didn't like me in the beginning, but after awhile we became the best of friends. Hopefully that is the way it will go with sweet Svetlana...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Still no eyes open in Ragu's litter, but that's okay...










They can take all the time they need, plus they are easier to keep track of when they are blind so I can take all ten of them out on the bed and let them run around...










Once their eyes are open they will be much more mobile and so I will only be able to have a few out at a time, instead of the whole gang...










They are already pretty fast though and can rise up on their legs sometimes and zip about quickly...










But because they can't see anything the pups mostly go in circles, which makes them easy to catch up with...










They are very tame now and welcome being scooped up for a hand snuggle...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Last night it was finally time to merge two of our groups of mice, Amber's trio (Amber, Sui and Vena) and Calypso's gang (Caly, Svetlana and Nougat).

The six mice were taken out of their own smaller tanks and put in a fresh larger one. Luckily there wasn't any fights, mostly some stalking of each other...










Tough girl Calypso (the black and white Pinto), didn't seem to care that she had three new tankmates. That's Sui, the red-eyed beige and white one on the wheel, spying on her new big pal...










Sui certainly liked her new red gravity wheel, as you can see. She climbed all over it, it was cute...










Another mouse I thought might react badly to the merge was Svetlana, above. But nope, she was okay with it, and mostly ran on the new mesh wheel. Eventually though, Calypso found the other group's leader and set out challenging her for leadership...










Amber gave it up without a fight and now Caly is the alpha of all six. Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

It's like you can almost see the eyes on Ragu's pups...










The seal between the lids appears darker now and they seem to be straining to open them...










At least that's what it looks like to me. Most likely it's not the case, but I can't wait for them to open now...










The pups are all so full of energy and they can spring and jump, though of course they don't know where they are jumping to...










Part of me wants them to stay exactly like this forever, tiny little furballs scooting around my bedspread...










They are so sweet at this age and so trusting, they love my hand like it's their aunt. But growing up is inevitable and someday soon they will proper mice, ah well...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Things are going nicely for our newly-merged group of six, which we now refer to as Calypso's tank because the big black-and-white doe is obviously the boss now. As you can see, Queen Caly is getting along fine with her new subjects...










That's Sui expertly ripping apart an egg carton while Calypso sits beside her stripping a sunflower seed. It's like they've always been together, the six mice live in perfect harmony, we're very pleased...










Old friendships still exist though, as you can see, as when Amber finally woke up and came out for breakfast, Sui left the egg carton and went to join her best friend for the meal...










The only one who is still a bit nervous around her new mates is Vena, the red-eyed beige and white doe, seen above peering down from the nesting box. But Vena has always been sort of jumpy, so it should be okay...










Again, I had thought the tank's only Rex, Svetlana, would have difficulty fitting in, but nope, the frizzy-haired doe seems to be well liked by her three new pals.


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Gorgeous mice 

I'll have to do a thread like this when my next litter of gerbils arrive


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Ok I have said it before and I will say it again "I WANT SVETLANA Pleeeeze


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Marcia said:


> Gorgeous mice
> 
> I'll have to do a thread like this when my next litter of gerbils arrive


I encourage it! It's a really fun way to track their daily development.



thedogsmother said:


> Ok I have said it before and I will say it again "I WANT SVETLANA Pleeeeze


I agree, Svet is irresistible. But you can't have her, she's mine.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's litter are full of energy now, so it can't be long before their eyes finally open...










The six Pearl pups in particular are little firecrackers zooming in all directions when you take them out on the bed...










I guess since they've never actually seen anything they have no qualms about zipping randomly around an unknown location. They seem to have no fear, which is a good thing, because we've worked hard never to give them a reason to be frightened...










The rooms their tank occupy are always kept quiet because any loud or strange noises at such a young age might make them jumpy for the rest of their lives, the pups are so impressionable...










More then a year ago I had a litter of very friendly pups but while I had one of them out to play seperate from the rest a rock hit a nearby window, making a huge racket, and she never recovered from that, so while her siblings are very tame now, Toffee to this day avoids me at all costs. See, it's that easy to ruin the taming process...










What helps though is Ragu herself, the pup's mom. She loves being picked up and handled, which means she isn't nervous when I'm reaching into the tank, so neither are her pups.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Sadly, we lost a mouse last night. We found Kinko had passed away in her sleep when we were cleaning our largest tank. The little black-and-white Pinto will be missed, here is the last pic we took of her, playing with Pixie on the wheel...










Kinko was a friendly mouse and well-liked by the rest of her tank members. She was one of the older ones in the tank too, which means that now just Pixie and Oreo are the only ones in there older then a year. Here's a nice pic of our two seniors together:










Those two hang out together a lot. Pixie is nearly two years old, while Oreo is more then three. You wouldn't know it to look at her, Oreo shows no real signs of aging other then her fur is a bit rougher now. They get along great with the younger mice, like Frenzy here:










The Red-Eyed Grey is a Knockout mouse though, and while she might not be with us for that long due to the gene tinkering that was done to her, she seems healthy and happy right now, and that's all that matters...










After Oreo and Pixie, the old guard, are gone, the senior mice will be mice like Strudel, the above Broken Agouti, and her siblings. They still seem like pups to me though...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I had Ragu's Skewbald pups out today on fresh sheets, and boy did they have fun...










To them a changed bed is a whole new world and instantly they set off in all directions to explore it...










I pushed the sheets together and made lots of canyons and tunnels for them to scuttle through, they had an excellent time getting lost and tumbling off cliffs. 










I wish their Pearl siblings could have been with them but lately they are so fast it's too dangerous to have all ten pups out at the same time, so I just brought out the four marked ones this morning...










I'll take out the Pearls tonight, fair is fair...










Anyway, the only pups I know for sure I'm keeping are the Skew' with the spot on her shoulder and her banded sister who you might have noticed was the star of this photo shoot. She has become my favorite and I'm not letting her get away.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Calypso's tank seems to be on an opposite schedule to the rest of our haven's mice. They are almost always up in the afternoon while all the rest of the tanks are asleep. Like yesterday afternoon when I came in, half of the tank were out having fun...










Calypso herself was eating her favorite thing in the world, sunflower seeds, while Nougat, the big Skewbald, dug in the dish for treats of her own...










And on the opposite side of the tank Amber was up on top of the egg carton, trying to get my attention...










The Golden Agouti stands on her hind legs and cranes upwards, eager for me to put my hand in so she can hop aboard. Amber is such a sweet mouse.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

More fun on the bed this morning with Ragu's pups...










There's the banded Skewbald, isn't she a sweetie. I just love her tail, it's getting really long...










Her and her siblings got first crack at the new bedding, and they had a wonderful time playing hide-and-seek amongst the covers. But they tired themselves out fast and soon were ready to go to sleep...










Luckily I had a back-up group of pups to play with:










Their six grey siblings were also eager for an adventure outside of the nesting box...










And these excusions aren't just for them now, they are also to help their mom get used to them not being around all the time...










Soon enough Ragu will be weaning them and from my observations of her behavior I think she will need to be seperated from them very soon after that...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Everybody is still getting along great in the newly merged Calypso/Amber tank. All six mice act like they have always been together, there is no rivalry whatsoever, even Svetlana is having fun now...










We've given them lots of things to climb on, though most still love scaling the wheels the best...










There is no better toy for a mouse then a gravity wheel, IMHO, they always find a hundred ways to have fun on it. And of course there's always the classic tear up the sleeping box game...










That's Sui above, peering at me in annoyment because I interupted her chewing. She's gotten really big, hard to believe that for the first month I had her she was just a tiny wheezy runt with stale fur who I thought was going to pass away any minute...










It's like Svetlana, above. She's a Rex, and I'd say only one in four actually make it past eight weeks, but here she is, big, energetic and healthy, I'm very thankful.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I was met with a wonderful sight when I took a handful of Ragu's pups out for some fun, take a look:










That's the banded Skewbald, my favorite, and she finally has her eyes open, yay!










Now it's only a matter of time before the babies start coming out of the nesting box on their own, I can't wait...










They certainly are getting around like real mice now, and once all of them have their eyes open, which will most likely happen within less then 24 hours from now, they will be impossible to contain...










They don't all have theirs cracked yet, so some are still docile and just prefer to lie in a dog-pile asleep when I take them out, mostly the Pearls. But not this one:










That's the doe my friend is taking for her own breeding. She will be so happy when I send her this pic.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Awwwwwwwwwww I love that third pic, your friend is very lucky to be getting such a beauty.


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Awww, sooooo cute


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Marcia said:


> Awww, sooooo cute


Thanks. 



thedogsmother said:


> Awwwwwwwwwww I love that third pic, your friend is very lucky to be getting such a beauty.


I love that pic too. Yeah, she is getting a beautiful pair of mice. She's taking some of the Pearls as well.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Morgana, my Egyptian Spiny mouse, was out this morning when I came in. I'm still working to tame her, but it's very slow going...










You have to be so careful handling Spiny mice, they tend to be much more fragile then Fancy mice...










But it's fun to watch Morgana hop and speed about, and she is incredibly easy to take care of compared to all my other animals...










She doesn't seem to eat hardly anything and she is amazingly clean, her tank hardly needs to be changed compared to say Fancy mice. In fact, Spiny mice hate it if you do...










That's another thing about them, you have to be very careful not to change the position of anything in their tank or else they can get very upset. Makes swapping out Morgana's water dish interesting, to say the least...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Like clockwork, once one of Ragu's pups opened their eyes, the rest of them cracked their little peepers in short order. And they are all extremely active now, running around like real mice...










They are quite the handful now, friendly but jerky, so you have to be extremely careful handling them. I've given them a spinner in their tank to help them burn off some of that seemingly-endless energy they have...










As you can see, one of the BA's I'm keeping took to it fast. She's pretty quick on it and loves to get it up to speed and then stops running so she can spin round-and-round-round. :crazy:










And now that they finally have their eyes open, I can name the two I'm keeping. I've picked the name Croquette for the banded Skewbald doe, and Roca for her sister...










Like all Skews they are super sweet, so I had to give them candy names.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Breakfast time in my biggest tank brings out a different mix of mice each time lately...










That's Toffee on the left, while orange Knockout mouse Panic perches opposite her. Panic is pretty much a loner, you never really see her playing with the rest...










She keeps her own hours and doesn't appear to sleep in the same place twice. I've seen her crawling out of all the different houses, obviously coming from a nap, and sometimes Panic even sleeps out in the open, like on top of the egg carton...










But Panic can do what she likes as long as she's healthy and not bothering anybody else. She's even starting to tame a bit...










Being a KO mouse I was worried she might not last, but Panic has been here months and months now and seems perfectly healthy.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's pups have come out of the nest in full force, and not one at a time as per usual...










Perhaps it's because there are 10 of them and they do everything togther, but last night I watched as they filed out after their mom to have a look around and never really went back in...










As you can see they have discovered the gravity wheel and already love it. The grey Pearls are the bigger pups and they easily toss off the smaller Skewbalds, poor little things...










Of course, Ragu is the tank's champ on the wheel, though she has a bit of a problem now because when her kids climb on with her they aren't looking to run, but drink...










I took advantage of them playing outside to remove their nesting box and give it a good cleaning and airing out. At first Ragu was a bit miffed, but she got used to the fresh bedding fast...










And so did her kids...










Soon enough they will be too big for the nest and I will have to find them a new home...


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## mousemighty (Mar 5, 2009)

absolutly gorgeous i like the diffenert kinds


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Lots of mice out in Calypso's tank this morning when I came in, like frizzy-haired Svetlana peering up at me from the top of her egg carton perch...










Nougat was nearby on the sleeping box, preening herself for the day. Looking so sleek and perfect takes a lot of work...










I put fresh water down and Vena was the first to sample it, like always...










Vena prefers her water cold and is nearly always there when I put in a new bowl, I don't know how she does it, she must have a great alarm clock.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I've never seen a litter of mice take to coming out of the box so quickly. Ragu's 10 pups are all out constantly now, you see them all the time...










Usually they come out in just ones and twos over the first two or three days, but these boys and girls are far from shy, they seem to love to explore. And they've found the food dish...










They haven't forgotten about their mom though...










Ragu seems to enjoy the company out on the shavings, she isn't running from her kids and sometimes just snuggles up with them for an hour out in the open...










It's fun to watch, the nursing usually takes place hidden away in the nest.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I had one of my favorite mice, Pixie, out to play last night. I thought she would have fun running around in the fenced-off playground area...










Pixie found it fascinating, it's a big change of pace from her life in the tank, being on carpet instead of shavings and plus she wasn't alone in the playground. Who was also there? Take a look:










Look out, Pixie, it's a giant! Well, a giant to her, as it's one of our two guinea pigs, Gertrude our Golden Agouti...










Gertrude wouldn't hurt a fly, she just followed Pixie around for a bit, fascinated by her little friend. Pixie went round and round their house with Gert creeping after her, and the second time Pixie passed the entrance somebody else peeked out to say hello...










Truffle, Gertrude's black-coated daughter, sniffed at Pixie for a second, then ignored her. That was enough excitement for Pixie, I took her out after that. But she had fun, I could tell...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I love this thread Neza, its like a little mousie soap opera.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

thedogsmother said:


> I love this thread Neza, its like a little mousie soap opera.


Thanks. I love taking lots of pics of my animals and thought this would be a fun way to share them.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's pups are all eating hard food and drinking from the water bowl now, so very soon I'm going to have to seperate the boys from the girls. Which is too bad for the boys because they love the big gravity wheel...










That's one of the Pearl males above, you can tell by his interesting tail marking, all the girls have little white tail tips (one has none), but the males have large white tail markings, which makes telling who is who much easier for me. 

The two Broken Agouti does I'm keeping are really friendly now...










I took them out to play on the bed this morning and they raced around chasing each other, I plucked at their tails and they loved it, they climbed all over me...










I hope that I can keep them with Ragu once the boys are gone, though I wonder how she will treat them once she stops acting like their mom...










We'll just have to wait and see...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Two new mice have joined my tanks, they are a pair of Broken Agouti does bred by a friend. Here is the first one I have called Zest:










And this is her sister Zoom:










They were added to our largest tank last night and so far have been accepted. It helps that they still aren't adults and smell like family, as they are cousins to Poppy, our Agouti mom. I hope Zoom and Zest are very happy here.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Our two new mice are getting along nicely in their new home. Zest really likes the big red dome house...










Zest was up there again when I came in to check on them this morning and a moment later her sister Zoom hopped up to say hello...










Zoom is a perfect name for her because she zooms all over the place like a bullet, she rarely slows down, what an energetic little mouse...










So even if an adult mouse has a problem with Zoom they wouldn't be able to catch her anyway.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I took Ragu's boys out this morning and put them in the temporary isolation tank. They will live there until my friend who is adopting them and one of the girls comes to pick them up. The boys are having lots of fun exploring their new home...










I gave them a plastic house to sleep in and stuck an egg carton behind it. They love climbing the carton and digging in the hay I put in the tank...










Meanwhile, back in the nesting tank, Ragu has stopped acting like a mom and now just treats her girls like regular mice...










None of them try to nurse from her anymore, not that Ragu would let them, so now we shall see how things go with them just being friends...










Most likely though she will soon need to return home and a little while after that her daughters will follow after her...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Ragu's boys are gone, their new owner came and picked them up last night, and she took one of the Pearl does and the two Broken Agoutis she wanted as well, so all I have left are my two BA's and three Pearl girls. And their mom of course. 

I cleaned the nesting tank this morning, and while I was doing it Ragu and the girls waited in the isolation tank...










As you can see, they loved the spinner I keep in there...










The Pearl does figured out how to run on it right away and with their mom's help they easily tossed their smaller BA sisters off it...










Poor little things, they kept trying to get back on, but they never lasted long...










Hopefully by the next time I clean their tank they will be strong enough to keep up...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm pleased to announce the two newest members of our little small animal zoo, and while they are mice they aren't mice like any of our others. Take a look, here's the first:










And this is the second:










Yep, they are Multimammate Mice, also known as African Soft Furred Rats, or Devil Dogs. The one with the white head is what's called a Pied, while the other is a Head Spot Agouti. I love the names. 










I have researched them thoroughly and consulted with experts and it's supposedly true, they can live happily with Fancy mice. A friend of mine has had one living with six of hers for awhile now without a single incident, so I have decided to give it a try...










They may look like normal mice in the pics, but trust me they are BIG. The younger Head Spot Agouti is already slightly bigger then Frenzy, my largest Fancy mouse. And her Pied friend is easily twice her size...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

My two new Multimammates are settling in nicely, they have lost all their fear and come out and play now. They won't allow themselves to be picked up yet, but don't mind being stroked on the back or head...










I just finished cleaning out my largest tank and my plan is to introduce the smaller one to the group. Here she is taking a look around halfway through the job:










We have picked out names them, the younger Face Spot has been called Marigold:










And the older week-old Pied has been given the name Tumble:










I personally called her that because when I was in the mall parking lot accepting her from my friend, a van came whipping around the turn going way too fast and actually hit me, can you believe it? Anyway, luckily the driver slammed on her breaks in time and so I was only sent crashing into another car instead of getting mowed down.

The poor ASF went tumbling across the pavement in her container, poor thing. While I sustained a badly twisted ankle and two upper-arm fractures, she was just badly shaken. And that's why I called her Tumble...










Tumble seems perfectly fine now and once I see how Marigold does with my Fancy mice I'll decide if she can get a shot at joining the tank as well...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Since Ragu and her five daughters are now alone in the nesting tank, it's time to replace their old home. And we have just the thing for them...










It's a large wooden cube with several different shaped holes on the sides and roof. The girls had a great time exporing it's ins and outs...










The cube has no bottom so it connects directly to the floor of the tank and I put lots of stuff in there for them to build a nice nest. And I put hay on the roof to climb in, chew, and to use as a construction material...










And the best part of this new house is that it will be easier for us to see the pups...










They can live in here happily until they have their final growth spurt...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I love that cube, is it a childs toy?, I need to get one of those.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Isn't the cube great? I found it at a church sale, it lost the bottom so it sinks perfectly into the shavings. It's perfect for young mice.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

We have begun the experiment to see if we can incorporate the African Soft Furred Rats into our biggest tank. First step was having them interact in a neutral setting so we could observe behavior on both sides. We chose Marigold to go first because she is younger and more mouse sized...










As you can see, she was not attacked at all and instead welcomed in a friendly manner. That's Tootsie, one of our oldest mice saying hi...










Tootsie followed Marigold all around the neutral tank for awhile, fascinated by her. Mari didn't seem to care, but lack of interest is good too, because it's not aggression...










Marigold joined in on the mesh wheel games and climbed the bars with the group. I find it amazing that she seemed to fit in so perfectly. More pics of the first phase introduction soon...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I'm probably going to make myself sound really stupid now:blushing:, Firstly I know nothing about African Soft Furred Rats, but I did have pet rats and mice a long time ago and once two mice escaped (when I stupidly left the door open to refill the food bowl) and went on a mission which led over the top of the rat cage, the rats dragged them in and ate them within a couple of minutes of them being missing. Also I need to know more about your ASF rats they are beautiful.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Yeah, you have to be really careful when you have both rats and mice, as most rats will definitely eat mice if they can catch them. ASF's aren't like normal rats, they are big like them but are something else entirely. I find it fascinating that the mice get along so perfectly with them, like yesterday when I introduced my younger ASF Marigold to my largest group of Fancy mice. It went smashing, I was shaking my head in amazement...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Here are the rest of the promised pics of Marigold's introduction to my Fancy mice...










As recommended by her breeder, I had food sprinkled atop the shavings to see how she and the Fancy mice would react to her eating with them...










It went very well as you can see above, with Pixie actually stealing treats out of Mari's paws like she was any other mouse. Mari didn't mind at all, she fit in fine...










One-by-one the more curious of the Fancies came by to examine this strange creature, and each one accepted her on the spot, even to the point of preening her head...










I was so impressed by the progress that I decided to take it to the next phase and started putting mice back in their home tank, including Marigold herself...










That's her atop the right-side hutch, snuffling amongst the hay. Will she fit in and become a permanent part of the group though? Only time will tell. ASF's are definitely not like any other rats I've encountered...


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

wow your mice are Amazing! i love your new Devil dogs ones!


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Tell me more about the ASF ones pleeeeze, I have never even heard about then till your post.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

noushka05 said:


> wow your mice are Amazing! i love your new Devil dogs ones!


Thanks. 



thedogsmother said:


> Tell me more about the ASF ones pleeeeze, I have never even heard about then till your post.


Let's see, from the research I'm done on them, most of the original ASF stock comes from ones that were captured in Natal, Africa. They are also known as Natal Multimammate rats or Common African rats. Also Devil Dogs, I like that one. 

They are called multimammate because the does have more teats than any other rodent, and it's fur is considered to be the softer then any other rat. Some scientists believe the ASF is the link between mice and normal rats, but so far no definite determination has been made, so the ASF has been considered to be both and either by different classifications. And some newer research has shown it to not be directly related to either mice or rats so the debate doesn't look to be ending anytime soon. They normally breed at four months and produce large litters that wean at four weeks. The pups are born with hair and their eyes usually open after two weeks.

That's the basics.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I would love to show you pictures of Marigold's progress in our largest tank, but I have not seen hide nor hair of the little ASF since I added her to the group. During her first minute in there she vanished down into the PVC tunnel network and that was three days ago. I'm sure she comes out to eat and drink, but so far not when I'm in range. 

I can show you her older friend though, who is currently living on her own...










Tumble is such a large creature, I'm hesitant to try her out with Fancy mice...










The white-faced Pied is easily three times the size of our largest Fancy and despite being gentle my worry is that a more fragile normal mouse might get accidently hurt during normal play...










I don't know, perhaps I am just being paranoid, the other Multimammate Marigold joined her new tank without a single incident, so why should Tumble be any different?










She certainly is a playful thing, she loves her gravity wheel. I recently put her in a 30g tank and made sure the first toy I put in was it, Tumble needs her hourly jog, lol.

The oddest thing, though, is that she doesn't appear to eat hardly anything. I had expected ASF's to be food hogs but nope. Anyway, going to have to think on the Tumble situation some more...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I managed to spot Marigold, the little Face Spot Agouti, having breakfast with the other Fancy mice in our biggest tank this morning. But the brown-coated ASF vanished before I could get a pic, she's fast!

But since she is doing so well in there I decided to go for it and add her big Pied friend to the mix this evening when I cleaned the tank...










Tumble definitely needed to get out of her current home and get out and meet some friends, so I carefully added her to the mix in the iso-tank while I was changing their tank, and then when everybody went back in she went with them...










Unlike Marigold though, she seemed to react with fear to the new enviroment and went and hid under the nearest mesh wheel...










The mice in the tank noticed her right away and just like they did with Marigold appeared to have no problem with her, they were only slightly curious...










They sniffed her all over and preened her, then ignored her. But the issue wasn't them, it was Tumble. She seemed downright terrified, rooted to the spot poor thing. I'm going to give it some more time and then decide what to do...


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## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

Neza said:


> I managed to spot Marigold, the little Face Spot Agouti, having breakfast with the other Fancy mice in our biggest tank this morning. But the brown-coated ASF vanished before I could get a pic, she's fast!
> 
> But since she is doing so well in there I decided to go for it and add her big Pied friend to the mix this evening when I cleaned the tank...
> 
> ...


Awwww.... bless her.. 
She's sooo sweet


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

She is, yes, I really like her. 

But sadly the attempt to introduce Tumble into our largest tank's population did not go well...










As you can see, the problem was not on the Fancy mice's part, they accepted her with no problem. But poor Tumble seemed terrified of them and just hid under the green wheel for hours and hours, afraid to even move. She was actually quivering with fright. 










Different mice came and went, mostly ignoring the fearful Pied, but nothing would get her to change position, it was sad. She barely put up any resistance when I finally reached down to scoop her up...










Back in her travel cage she was soon her spritely self, digging and playing on the wheel, drinking and scrounging in her food dish, it was weird.

Perhaps she just wants to be alone? Is Tumble a lone wolf? Unknown. But on the plus side of things, Marigold has actually appeared for the first time...










I watched her eat and play with the other mice for a good half hour this morning, she is definitely part of the gang now. So at least the ASF experiment is a partial success, I can't complain too loudly...


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Okay, wow, the "mystery" of Tumble's strange behavior when she met the mice of my largest tank has been solved...










Here's a pic of the ASF soon after she first arrived:










And here she is now:










Can't believe I completely missed it, but then my experience with Multimammates is limited. A close examination of Tumble has proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt...










She is pregnant!


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Neza said:


> Okay, wow, the "mystery" of Tumble's strange behavior when she met the mice of my largest tank has been solved...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awwww are you happy or sad about that, I can't wait to see the little babies.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Very happy! It's unexpected but I can't wait to see and hold the babies.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Mom-to-be Tumble has been safely transported into her own personal tank...










Recently I was shocked to discover that the Pied ASF was pregnant, which comletely explained her odd behavior ever since she arrived...










I have been talking to the breeder I recieved her from asking for an explanation as to how this could have happened, and he has assured me he had been careful to seperate the boys from the girls long before they could start breeding and that Tumble has never lived with an adult male. But there is no way Tumble isn't pregnant now, I've felt a baby, so that's that...










Tumble seems very happy in her new home and is in high spirits now that she has proper space to let nature take it's course. Which is good because she seems to be swelling fast, the birth could happen anytime now...










She has a nesting box as you can see and she loves it, she's mostly ignoring her wheel and is spending her time getting the box ready. I'm nervous about all this, but still can't wait for the litter to arrive...


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Wow an immaculate conception, thats as amazing as my male hamster (Spike) giving birth.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

Your male hammie gave birth? :shocked: 

lol, Tumble's breeder is in denial, he must have a male ASF hiding among his females, I've read that can happen. He just doesn't want to admit he made a mistake, like I care anyway, I'm happy to have the babies.


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

I have been hearing tiny squeaks coming from Tumble's tank for hours now and then I spotted the white-butted ASF herself and she was once again sleek and thin:










I've been doing lots of research on ASF litters and it's okay to handle them right away, in fact it's encouraged to help the taming process. So I removed the lid to the nest and took a look:










Mommy Tumble climbed in and said "go away!" which I comletely respect, but I had to check for any problems (and there was one stillborn pup :sad. But the rest of the litter was perfect, there are four plump little pups all squirmy and peeping, they are twice the size of Fancy mice newborns and a darker red...










I decided to hold off on picking them up yet, at least for Tumble's sake. It's not like she and I are best friends, though she's getting friendlier by the day...










So I closed the lid and gave Tumble a gentle head rub. She seemed to like it and didn't even try to nip me, as I read new ASF moms can do. Things are going well...


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## alyssa_liss (May 4, 2009)

awwww surprise babies yey!!


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## Neza (Nov 21, 2008)

The best kind of surprise, IMHO.


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