Hey /an/
Recently I bought a pregnant mouse from PetCo as a mistake, but I decided to keep her. She was building her nest the night before she gave birth to a litter of 3 or 5. However, she ate 1-3 of her children on the first day but continued to nurse the other two. This morning when I woke up, I saw she was nursing them and keeping them warm, 15 minutes later I saw she devoured them. The other weird thing is the fact that she immediately continued to build her nest after she killed the last of her children.
Any idea why she ate them and continued to build? I don't believe I was bothering/scaring her, and I'm certain she was getting enough protein. I don't own any male mice, just two other females in her habitat who get along and even seemed to be helping her.
one reason they might eat their young is because there is something wrong with it.
>>2109273
yeah I've read that they do that. but then there's the question of were all 3-5 children deformed? I doubt it.
Maybe she was stressed? If she was a first time mother this is more likely as well. Even if you didn't bother her it still might have stressed her out
If that is a picture of their enclosure she probably ate them because of overcrowding
>>2109314
Their entire home is a long 10 gallon tank. The picture is of the box I put in there to build their nest in, it's about the size of a tissue box but slightly taller. Is that too small?
>>2109325
Show us a picture of the whole set up
>>2109332
Not at home right now but I took this about a week ago.
Cage currently has the much larger box, actual bedding, an actual bottle holder, and no yellow spinner compared to this image.
>>2109252
Could be overcrowding, could be stress (having her living situation change drastically although for the better, is still stress inducing), could be the babies were deformed, had died (from one reason or another) or sick, or the mother was sick or had reason to believe she wasn't healthy enough care for all the babies. That way she gets nutrients from the baby and less babies to feed. It could also be stupidity/stress from being a first time mother, and some animals just aren't the best moms.
There's really no sure fire way to tell the cause unfortunately
>>2109336
That is way too cramped a tiny, especially with three mice. I don't like tanks but I'd recommend a 20 gallon(the long ones).
Cannibalism in mice, hamsters, gerbils, etc is very common. They are incredibly sensitive and just about anything can trigger it. Her cagemates could have been bothering her, you could have easily bothered her(too much noise, you looking too much, too much light, etc) and so fourth.
>>2109336
What kind of bedding are you using?
I'm a fan of timothy hay as rodent bedding. It can be tough to find it without a lot of dust, but if you do, it makes a good substrate. The only problems are some people say it can poke them in the eyes and that it doesn't absorb odor well.
I've never had the eye poking issue ever happen, and as far as odor, if you clean the cage once a week or so I've never had a problem with the hay being stinky.
One thing I don't like about the tank you have is that it's really high, but not very long. A longer and lower tank with a mesh lid is a better option.
A 20 gallon long with a mesh lid is about $40-$50 total. Might be a worthwhile investment. And probably you can sell the old tank on craigslist after buying the new one, to recoup some of the cost.
>>2109336
>>2109988
Also, I would go with a bigger wheel, and one of the type that doesn't have that kind of axle.
Something like this type looks a lot safer
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/petco-small-animal-mesh-exercise-wheels-in-assorted-colors
Wouldn't go smaller than the 7" size. Wheels sold specifically for mice are just so cramped. Most animals do better with the next size up.
>>2109988
Oh yeah. Another alternative to hay could be hay pellets, the kind used to feed horses.
These might? be a more stable surface for the wheel to rest upon.
The one downside with hay I have experienced is that it can be a little bit unstable.
>>2109988
I had to use newspaper with my mouse because he was allergic to carefresh and wood chips, and once it started I couldn't use anything that might have dust or become irritable. If OP has that issue, newspaper may be the last resort. But I doubt that's the case because they all look healthy
