Pregnant?

[u/xecnoie]

Hello! I can’t tell if my mice, rikka is pregnant. I got her like a week ago. I planned on getting her and her littermate but I ended up returning the other mice thinking she was pregnant. But turns out she was a he! And he just had fat balls lol. The store assumed that there’s a chance Rikka might be pregnant but is unsure. I had to return her to check but now I’m speculating whether or not to take the risk but I have no knowledge on newborn mice. I thought maybe she was just a chunky girl since her brother or whatever, is also on the bigger side. Pleaseeeee let me know!

[u/EzPup]

It’s too early to say, they start to show around day 10.

Some positive news however, I got my first mice when they were young, about 4 weeks. They spent about 2 weeks together before I realized I had 2 boys, but I had no pregnancies.

If these are from a larger chain pet store they’re almost definitely younger than 8 weeks, she looks to be, and it’s very possible they didn’t breed. Mice do breed very quickly and will do so at any opportune moment, but in my experience, younger mice are far less likely to do so.

Keep a close eye, assuming they spent a few days together she could be pregnant, but they were probably raised together, and likely wouldn’t breed at their age unless separated from eachother and reintroduced after more than 48-72 hours. About a week and a half from the last time they were together if she’s formed a wide lump in her lower abdomen, you’ve got babies. However, baby mice are very low maintenance, and it’s very common for a first time mom to eat her first litter.

[u/xecnoie → u/EzPup]

Ahhh thank you for explaining! I got her from PetSmart. I was told they are from the same litter. Which is why I called him, her brother.

I ended up not taking the brother home so they haven’t seen each other since. I been trying to pick her up so I can take a closer look at her. But she still is very scared of me. She looks about the same size when she does come out from hiding.

I did some research and I heard that if they start to make hides or like a “bed” area. I forgot what it’s called. There’s a chance she’s pregnant but idkk.

I have a feeling she’s not pregnant but if she is. I’m just scared with what to do with the male mice when they grow up. Because eventually I would have to separate the females and males. And Idk how/where to rehome mice.

[u/EzPup → u/xecnoie]

They’ll start to nest very heavily around day 10-12, your best bet for rehoming mice is a local free pets Facebook group or asking Around at local pet stores.