Mouse had litter of 1...twice ?

Question
QUESTION: I read your bio and with your experience, I think these will be cake questions for you. :)

Background:  My daughter (now age 11) had a gerbil. We had her for many years, she developed a tumor and died.  Daughter decided she wanted mice instead. Pet store only had 3 left--all brothers from the same litter.  Couldn't stand to separate them, so bought them all.  Two passed away. One left alone for two months.  Husband and kids visit friend who raises mice for feeding--rescue one from the snake's cage. They call him Porkchop (as in dinner)and bring him home.  Only its not a he.  One month later, Hershey Kisses(nee Porkchop)has a baby. Only one.  His name is Squirt.  One month later, as in a few days ago, Hershey has another baby.  Again, only one.

Questions:

1)  Why is she only having one baby each time?  Research I did when Squirt was born told me that one was uncommon, but not so uncommon for the first litter.  Subsequent litters should be much larger...

2)  This time I decided to actually do "real" research and discovered that females can get preggo 24 hrs after giving birth. Since that was a few days ago, the odds are not in my favor for only sticking to four mice. ugh  At what point should I remove her and the baby to another cage?  Because not separating the males and females is not an option.

3)  If the new baby is a boy, what should I do?  The two males now, Pumpernickel (dad) and Squirt, get along just fine.  Will introducing another male cause fights?  How will Hershey fair being alone?  I know they are social and need company, but I cannot handle getting yet another mouse, just for that purpose.  

4)  I know now why there are so many rodents in the world--rapid reproduction.  Yes, I have learned my lesson!  LOL  But I do enjoy being a mouse-grandma. :)

Thanks for your time.

ANSWER: Dear Dee,

It is lovely that the three brothers continued to get along. They only do that-- sometimes-- when litter mates or a father-son pair have never been separated. Putting males together is usually disastrous. Which answers part of your question 3! Here's the rest of three. Hershey very likely has to live alone. Pretty much all males live alone. But if the cages are fairly close-- wire would be best-- they will actually communicate, in a pitch we can't hear. Anyway, definitely do not get another male!!

Ok:

1. It is unusual for a mouse to have a litter of one. But consider yourself lucky. You don't have 8 males per litter which each need their own cages. It is possible that this girl aborts and reabsorbs some of her babies. You can hope she does the same thing next time. Which brings us to

2. Yes, females can get pregnant right after birth. When I was a child and didn't know any better, I kept my pairs together and let them mate at will. I was lucky I had a pet store which traded mice with me for mouse accessories, because I would get a litter of mice, boom boom, exactly every three weeks. Actually, two cages worth!  Those poor, exhausted mommies!  I hope your girl wasn't so unlucky.

Let me know what else you need to know.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha







---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: One question you didn't answer:

At what point should I move mom and baby to their own cage?  I know this is a loaded question, because (1) I could move her and the baby, upset her and she either abandons or kills the baby; Or (2) leave her there til the baby is weaned and run the risk of her getting pregnant again, if she's not already...

Guess I'm going to have to look in the want-ads for second-hand equipment, because we are definitely going to need another house or two...

Answer
Hi,

Oh, I assumed you had already removed the male. You should remove him right away. Don't disturb the mom and baby for at least a week. When you do change the bedding or move them after a week, keep some of the same bedding in the nest.

Craigslist is a good place to look for second hand mouse stuff.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha