pregnant mouse not giving birth

Question
I know you get these question often, maybe you can help, reply to me at
please

I purchased a mother albino  mouse from a pet store on the 28 of
september, I went to petsmart the same day and purchased a male
fancy mouse. They have been together since 9/28/10, and today is 10/
24/10, 26 days since they've met. This could mean, since females are
fertile every 5 days, that today could be actual day 21 of pregnancy even
though it has been 26 days all together.
My question is, my female looks very pregnant, like she literally looks
like she swallowed a golf ball. She waddles around, eats, goes back in
her like igloo and pants and crys almost like a whinning dog sometimes,
she makes sounds, you can see babies move between her breathes, so I
know its not her breathing I see move, is she ok? When will she push the
babies out, even if they're dead? Is her crying and restlessness a part of
pregnancy? Or does she have that mega disease where she's really just
sick? Idk please help

Answer
Dear Pat,

The only way I have heard to induce labor in an animal is castor oil, if you could get her to lick a little off your finger. Other than that, you need to wait.

If she is in obvious pain, you might want to euthanize her. Here is a site which explains how to do that with CO2 at home. If you do need to do this, be sure to follow the instructions to the letter.

http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/

My guess is she'll be fine. I wish her luck.

squeaks,

Natasha