mother mouse neglects babies

Question
Ok....I rescued 2 little satin mice about 6 wks ago and then another one 4 weeks ago.  I knew the first 2 were girls for sure and watched the other for a couple days and then put Onyx with the girls because I had seen no signs of boy parts.  Surprise, 3 wks later I wake up to 6 babies from Sugar, and 3 days later, 6 babies from Cinnamon.  Onyx got evicted into his own cage because he proved that he was a he! :)  Cinnamon was helping Sugar with her babies even befor she had her own babies and when she had her own both of them took care of all of the babies, 12 in total.  Sugars babies are now 6 days old and all black little girls who look like daddy.  My concern is that Sugar is now not spending time with the babies, when Cinnamon leaves, she covers the babies so they stay warm since Sugar isn't helping.  She is staying in a tube, not running on her wheel and I'm starting to get concerned.  She is not very social and so it is nearly impossible to handle her to check to see if something is wrong.  Do mice neglect babies who are this old especially when she was such a good momma to begin with?  Should I be concerned about something being wrong?  Should I help Cinnamon take care of all the babies since only 6 are hers?  I just odn't know what to do, all the babies are fat and healthy looking, but Cinnamon does have a couple little ones and I'm concerned about her having enough milk for them all.  HELP!

Answer
Dear Tara,

Sugar's babies are very, very lucky that Cinnamon is there.  Because mouse litters can be up to 16 babies, Cinnamon should have no problem caring for 12.  You all got lucky that the litters were so small.  

Mother mice simply get confused sometimes.  There's nothing you can do except leave them all together and see what happens.  Sugar may never figure it out or she may one day start nursing them again.  As long as no one is getting hurt, don't worry about it.  

Have fun with the babies!  You can start handling them for a few minutes at a time on the 8th day.  

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha