Mouse is a proud Daddy...HELP!

Question
I asked a question a month or so ago about my little male hedgehog, and whether or not to get a companion. I got him from a friend, who hand raised him and two females (They were feeder mice) Origionally we thought he was a girl, but I found out he was a boy and we seperated them. Not soon enough turns out, my friends mouse was pregnant, and she came home yesterday to find babies.

Now hedgehog is a dad, and we;re not sure what to do. We don't want to put Hedgehog and Kiss in together, 8 babies is more than enough. We will be able to find homes for the babies, thats not a problem.

But how do we raise mice babies, should Saint (The other female) Be allowed in with Kiss and The Babies?

I've been doing research, but the more advice the merrier.

And lastly, my friend knows I worry about Hedgehog being alone for the day while I go to school and work, even though I spend a lot of tiem with him and leave the radio on low volume, I worry about him being lonley. So, could he be interested to one of his sons if he wasn't there for the birth? I don't think they'll know their his. We don't want him and Kiss in together though, we don't want any more babies.

(He lives in a well-cleaned ten gallon aquariom with a wire lid, if that changes anything on the son issue)

Answer
Dear Samantha,

Well, congratulations to Hedgehog!

You might like to check out these posts about pregnancy, birth, and raising babies (pardon any redundancy):

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/2/pregnancy-infancy-1.htm

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/8/mouse-reproduction.htm

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/2/mouse-babies.htm

Saint should definitely live with Kiss and the babies.  Mother mice are very appreciative of help.

Hedgehog is fine being left alone during the day.  The radio won't interest him.  Mice sleep most of the day anyway, and they are pretty happy with just a few hours of quality people time. It's great that you are so solicitous of him.  

Male mice rarely live together well.  The exceptions are usually littermates or father and son who have never been separated.  However, if you have people willing to take the mouse if it doesn't work out, you can try putting a boy in with him when it is just over three weeks old.  He won't hurt the baby right away.  The problems would ensue when the boy got a bit bigger.  When I say he won't hurt him, I don't mean there won't be trouble.  It's possible that he will insist on harassing him from day one.

When you put any two mice together, the thing to remember is chasing and squeaking are ok so long as there is no blood and so long as the mice sleep together and both appear happy and healthy.  I have had chasing and squeaking continue for 3 months but that is a very rare extreme.  My mouse Chanterelle was very aggressive for a long time but now, to my relief, everybody lives together just fine.  Still, I would separate the two after two weeks with such a little guy. He deserves a quieter life than that.

If the little mouse stops and stands up and turns his front to his Dad, that's good.  It means he is saying "Don't hurt me, I'm only a baby" (he is offering himself for sacrifice).  Adult mice respect this.

Good luck and have fun raising the babies!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha