One of my Rexes has returned from being lent out to another breeder, she was gone for almost a month...




Her name is Sonja, she is my puffy princess. Sadly, she didn't seem to like any of my friend's bucks, and since I've failed to breed her with any of my own if looks like Sonja is now officially retired...




But that happens sometimes, especially with Satin Rexes I've found. They are very difficult to breed, so I have given up and Sonja is now back and in with her old friends once again...




I put her in a neutral tank with Xenia (the black Rex), and two of my Pearls, Judy and Trudy...




Things have definitely changed while Sonja has been gone, as the twin greys were pups before she left but now are all grown up. But they seemed to accept her back into the tank with no problem, that's good. I'm just happy to have Sonja back, really.

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as i knew mouse breeder i was told really never to handle , new fresh mice as mother can eat them . im not being judgemental just asking , does it come with time an experiince , there great mice , ive had lots of lovely litters which ill put pics up later , as 1 mouse is larger then my other mice and big ears like the white one in your pic on youre page , hope all goes well with youre lovely mice

They are soo cute!
Congratulations!


Chloe x

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Nobody loves you as unconditionally as those who leave paw prints on your heart.

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Thanks.


That's right, you have to be very careful handling baby mice. For example, on the day they are born I wait for the mother to come out of the nest and then remove her from the tank first, the carefully open the box and with gloved hands check the nest for any problems.

You have to do this because stillborn pups have to be removed and if any pups have become seperated from the litter they will die unless you put them back in with the group. I have saved many pups this way.

Then I don't go near the pups for the next three days, and for the first week I always wash my hands first and then rub them with shavings from the nest. Because you are right, even a mother mouse who knows and trusts you might abandon pups if they don't smell right. After a week though mom and babies have bonded fully and it's completely safe to handle them with bare hands.

Plus at that point I need the pups to get used to my smell, it's part of the taming process.

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I had Ragu's big litter out for a visit, don't they look pretty...




The six Pearls are really growing like weeds, though the four Skewbalds are coming along nicely as well. They're so cute when they are all dog-piled up...




I let them crawl free on the bedspread for the very first time today and none of them cried at all, they just kept moving around looking for each other...




This is a good way of seeing if any of the pups are falling behind in muscle development. We look for ones that are slow crawlers and who can't lift their heads yet...




But there is no pups like that in Ragu's litter, they are all perfectly healthy and getting stronger by the day.

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Can you tell at that stage in development what colour they are likely to be?

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Mum to:
Sam & Lucy (human children)
Henrick (GSD)
Syd, Dizzy, Elvis(Cats)
Harvey, Mojo,Freckles, Nobby and Sugar(Mice)
Snakey-Lakey and friends(Fish)
Remy, Fidget, Rommel, Monty and Edd (dumbo rats)
Spike, Cordelia,Willow,Fred,Xander, Angel, Darla (hamsters)
A place in my heart will always belong to my babies at the bridge.

Yes, from experience with previous pups I can tell that the four pale-skinned ones will be Skewbalds (or Broken Agoutis), while the rest are definitely going to be Pearls like the mum. I love Pearls.

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With her mom returned to her own aquarium, Amber has now started to get used to life as an adult mouse...




The Golden Agouti is still quite shy, but that's okay in her tank as her two tank mates are gentle, quiet mice...




Vena, seen above staking out a claim on the day's treat of wheat husks, is a former runt I nursed to her first proper growth spurt. She's not very big, but she's pretty active...




It's odd to think of Amber being the biggest and strongest in her tank, but then all three of them are little mice, even Sui, the brown-and-white doe...




Amongst the gentle trio she's the closest thing they have to a leader, not that she dominates anybody. She's just the one who does all the preening.

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Had Ragu's pups out on the bed again this moring, they are really starting to pick up speed now...




Gone are the days when they would just sleep contentedly in a big dog-pile. Now they instantly head off in search of adventure when you place them on the bedspread...




As you can see, they all can rise up now and creep about on their feet, no more crawling slowly...




The grey-coated Pearls are easily the strongest, but again I was expecting that. Skewbalds are normally slower to develop and are petite...




I have sexed the Pearls and found that there are two boys and four girls. Not that it really matters at the moment as they are all identical, but it's just interesting to note. I haven't sexed the Skewbalds yet though...




I'm going to wait and do the Broken Agoutis when they get a little bigger...




I'm hoping for some does, and of course one buck for my friend.

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Here's an interesting mouse of mine that is sort of hard to catch a look at, it's Svetlana...




The Rex is quite the recluse, she seems only to come out late at night to play and eat...





I miss seeing her, she's pretty unique among the mice here, what with her fawny brown-ticked wavy coat...




She's actually quite large, if you can't tell in the pics. I would have liked to have bred her, but she has a few personality quirks I'd rather not pass on. Personality first, that's my motto...




Svetlana is still a fun mouse to watch though.

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