Question
Here's looking at you
Hi Natasha,
I raise rats for pets and feeders. They have been successful and prolific. I was asked to raise mice and so I proceeded on a small scale. 6 do's and 2 bucks in a 20 gallon long tank. Later I found that I needed to separate the group into 2 trios, which I did. However I lost the males to what seemed to be some sort of cold / virus /other ailment? Maybe fighting? The hair became parted...the eyes swollen and respiration was noisy and huffy. I was advised to feed those off or euthanize the lot and start over.
To date I have no health issues with the rats, over 100, and the female mice are surviving well. So my initial fears of a virus, which there are several, are abating. Are you able to advise me as to how to go about raising these small cute creatures. So i avoid the pitfalls.
I will appreciate any and all information from your experiences that you are willing to give.
And if you need a flooring expert come on over and ask me anything ....LOL I am registered here too.
Thanks in advance,
Chris
AnswerDear Chris,
Unlike rats, boy mice don't live together without fighting, and they will fight to the death. In any case, 20 gallons is far too small for 8 grown mice and 60 baby mice (litters average 8-12). I recommend one buck and two does per 20 gallon tank. Three litters is too much for one nest.
Mice and rats almost always have a bacteria called Mycoplasma pulmonis at a very low level. This becomes a problem when the rodent's immune system is compromised in some way due to stress, injury, other illness, extreme temperatures, or other factors; or when the ammonia content in the cage is too high (from their urine, if the cage needs cleaning); or when they have been exposed to another rodent which has become sick from myco. Your girls are at risk.
Myco is treatable by antibiotic. Although the vet is always the best bet, since the best antibiotics are not available without a prescription, it is possible to treat the mice at home with an antibiotic prepared for fish, Tetracycline. When you have sick mice, you treat them directly with the drug and put it in their water. Mice which have become exposed should at least have it in their water-- and since you are breeding, and mother mice do transmit myco to their babies, I recommend treating each mouse individually even though they have no symptoms.
Pick up a bottle of Tetracycline in the FISH section of your pet store.
If you have the capsules, empty one capsule into a large water bottle or one half into a small one. Shake extremely well. If you have the powder, 1/4 flat teaspoon measure is the same as 1 capsule. If you have the tablets, completely crush them into fine powder with the back of a spoon and use as powder. This should be their only water source. Cover the water bottles with tin foil because Tetracycline reacts with water.
Next, take another capsule worth and mix it with one drop of water. This will make a paste about the consistency of mustard. You have plenty to play with, so if the mixture is too watery, try again. Now pick up the mouse by the scruff of the neck. This is the skin just behind its head. This does not hurt it-- it's how its mama used to carry it-- but it will struggle valiantly. Holding it gently but firmly, quickly place a small amount into its now open mouth. This is hard. Be careful of its nose! Wipe a bit more onto its whiskers and chin. It will ingest that when it washes itself. If you couldn't get any inside it at all, wipe some more on its head. Put it back into the cage so it will wash itself.
I hate that mice are raised to be feeders. Be good to them.
squeaks,
Natasha
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