|
Post by bluedove on Apr 2, 2009 16:16:11 GMT -5
Unless I've made some mistake when weighing my female mice... they have all gained 6 grams in the week since I got them. Is this even possible? Does it mean they are pregnant? Or could they have just been malnourished from the pet store and are just gaining weight on the better diet I'm giving them?
I don't THINK I could have made a mistake with weighing. I have a digital scale and zeroed it out with the container on it so I just get the weight of the mouse... but since it's EXACTLY 6 grams that they all gained, it may just be an error.
What do you think?
Since they all weigh upwards of 25g now, are they ready to breed now? Or does the rapid weight gain point to a problem and I should allow them more time before breeding?
|
|
|
Post by fuzzymom on Apr 2, 2009 22:13:29 GMT -5
Do you know how old they are? 25 grams is a good weight for an adult breeding mouse so I would say they are big enough for breeding but age is the biggest factor. 12 weeks at the youngest. Gaining 6 grams in one week is a little much but they could be pregnant or were malnourished. I had some malnourished mice that gained a few grams in a single week. It could be a combination of both. I think, depending on the size of the litter, a female mouse could gain 5+ grams during pregnancy. One of my females from a colony I had a year ago was 25 grams when she got pregnant. She was around 33 by the time she gave birth to 10+ babies.
During normal development:
Pinky Mouse (0-1 week old): .5 - 3g
Fuzzy Mouse (1-2 week old): 3 - 7g
Hopper Mouse (2-3 week old): 7 - 12g
Wean Mouse (3.5-4 week old): 12 - 15g
Small Mouse (4-6 week old): 15-20g
Medium Mouse (6+ week old): 20+g
Large Mouse (6 month+ old): 28+g
|
|
|
Post by whipple on Apr 2, 2009 22:24:27 GMT -5
My pet mice, well when I got them they were you're average feeder hoppers. They have morphed. They're huge, rolly polly ping pong balls. If they werent all males I'd think they were pregnant. I didnt weigh them, but I know there is a difference. Even from mice I used to feed on rodent chow/blocks. It must be the good food (They eat leftovers, and get all the peelings, ends of fruits/veggies and left over pasta. And of course bones the ferts dont eat) I'd say it probably has more to do with a good diet.
|
|
|
Post by bluedove on Apr 2, 2009 23:37:31 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I have no clue how old they are. The guy I bought them from looked at me like I was nuts when I asked him to sex them and give me females. He said they were "young adults" and that's the most I could get out of him.
Two were 20g when I brought them home and one was 26g. So I'm thinking they were probably 8-10 weeks old. I don't think they could possibly be "heavy" for their age... at least not when I got them considering how much they have plumped up. And they have visibly "plumped"
Operating on the assumption that they are only 6-8 weeks old and they are pregnant (worst case scenario)... should I keep them away from the male until they birth and wean their litters? Or is the damage already done at this point? They have not swelled up like they swallowed ping-pong balls yet... (though the biggest one is looking pretty round) So I'm not 100% sure they are already preggie, but I'm willing to wait another week to be sure. 14 days after bringing them home they would FOR SURE be obvious if they were pregnant, right?
|
|
|
Post by fuzzymom on Apr 3, 2009 1:05:23 GMT -5
Gestation is roughly 3 weeks and they gain the majority of their weight in the last week. I would keep them away from the male until they are old enough for breeding (12 weeks). If they are pregnant, they will give birth while you wait. If not then they are away from the male until they are old enough to breed.
|
|
|
Post by harrisi on Apr 3, 2009 7:00:38 GMT -5
I have found mice can gain weight extremely quickly and easily! I keep having to dec. out the cages to keep them busy otherwise they get hugely fat (not good for breeding mice as it lowers the chance of them conceiving) and their food is only roughly 5% fat!! You probably wont notice until the 3rd week if they are pregnant, they will literally balloon over night and look they they will explode.
|
|