Hi There Dawn!!..

why your very welcome!!..

sorry its taken me so long to get back to you..ive only juist started a new
job and i dont get that much time to spent on the net anymore...

and im soo glad you found that website useful..its got some great info on
it...

phew!..im glad theyre both girls!!....

as for me..well i ended up with a whole family of mice....
but believe me if i could turn back time i wouldnt have it any other
way..having baby mice was a wonderful experience...the babies were gorgeous!!...

oh and females can mount each other, the more dominant one is the one that
starts it up...none of my girls have done that..the one thing i did have was an
infamous whisker biter..(thats what you call one, that bites the other mices
whiskers to show whos boss, its a behavioural problem)..well she shaved all her
sisters whiskers..even her mothers!..hehe..:P

hmm..now as for the smell..well it may be due to the kind of litter your
using...wood shavings absorb alot of urine..i found when i was using it that it
really stunk after 2 days...

so i tried out kitty litter after they suggested it in one of the pet
stores..you can use any kind really, as long as its not toxic or too big for the
mices feet(they need some comfort)...but the one that i prefer is one thats
recommended by the rspca..its called Maxs cat litter ....
i buy a 12 kg bag..(cus ive got a small mouse community going on!!)hehe...

i usually clean my guys out once or twice a week...and only wash they plastic
box out with soup once a month..cus i think they like to have a bit of their
scent or they may feel disoriented...they mark their territory like dogs do...

i dont actullay keep my mice in cages..but in large plastic containers...with
a hole on the side for their water bottle..and they each have their own kleenex
box house..which i change periodically...
i find it much better than a cage cus they have much more space and have more
freedom since their container is clear ..i never use a lid...

hmmm..a good way to check if the have any mites is to get a bit of sticky
tape and try holding one of your girls so that the stick side gets on the
skin..preferebly on their back in the nape area... if you hold it up to the
light or even under a light with a white background you may be able to see some
little red mites..
but if their in egg form you'll only be able to see them under the
microscope..even a toy microscope will let you see them. i had that problem..and
a quick trip to the vet and he gave us this excellent anti mite medication
called "revolution".. you can get it from your local vet.. ..you'll need a tiny
5 ml syringe and all you'll need of the solution is up to the first line on the
syringe (the line nearest the tip where the needle is)..you can just hold the
mouse close so that she doesnt move....then quickly tap the drop of solution
from the syringe onto the skin...make sure the skin is dry ....cus it doesnt
work on wet or damp skin..one application is all thats needed...oh and since the
solution if alchohol based the amount you dont use will evaparate...so you have
to be quick...
you'll have to rewash all their playthings and house... and clean or get rid
of all the material in their house.....do this before you put the mice in their
cage to prevent re infestation..
now pet stores will usually try and sell you anti mite spray thats used on
birds..thats just a waste of money cus it doesnt work(thats what the vet told
me)...revolution is worth it cus the mites will be killed and the chance of them
coming back is tiny...you could reapply a few months later if you like..

hmm..the other thing could be that they have dry skin....so you could just put
a bit of either olive oil or baby oil onto the area they're rubbing...once a day
for about a week should be enough..but you could do it again if you think they
need it... its simple and done in a few minutes :0)...

well anways..i hope ive help you out a bit..let me know how things go...and
feel free to email me anytime..im always happy to be of any help..

Ciao and have a beautiful day!!.. :0)

Kathy :0)





Dawn Brown <sungirl_green@...> wrote:
Hi Katherine

Thanks for responding. I found that web site very informative. Fortunately for
me Holly and Belle climb on their wire cage a lot which means I can get a good
look at them without stressing either of us. My verdict is that we do indeed
have two girls, but even if I'm wrong their private parts look them same to me,
everything close to the tail and no bulges. I don't think I will have to break
the news to my husband that we are expecting the patter of some very tiny feet!
I was very concerned last week when we put them back into a clean cage as we saw
Holly mounting Belle, but the web site said that can happen between girls
sorting out the pecking order. Maybe the smell is because they still haven't
settled that yet. I cleaned their cage out with some disinfectant last week
because our previous mice had lived in it too. Leah and Karli have been gone
over two years, but I only cleaned the cage as per normal before putting it into
storage and then again before putting
Holly and Belle into it. I thought maybe there were still traces of Leah and
Karli that only Holly and Belle could smell. Even though the weather was really
hot last week, and smells usually get worse when it's hot, I didn't think the
cage smelt as strongly. Maybe because of the heat they weren't piddling as much!

I was lucky when I took them to the vet. The nurse took the cage out the back to
the vet who had a look at them and then the nurse brought them back. I wasn't
charged for the check. I intend to clean out my linen cupboard, so I think some
old towels will find their way to the surgery. They were very good with a couple
of our guinea pigs a few years back too.

I have another question. Holly and Belle seem to be scratching a lot and then
cleaning the spot where they scratched. Do you think they may have some
hitchhikers? I can't see anything obvious. Do you have any recommendations for
something I can easily treat them with just in case?

Thanks again

Dawn

Katherine Medina <hellowittykitty@...> wrote:
Hi there..

I had the same problem when i first got mice...they assured me that they were
both female...
plus i even took the one i suspected to be male to the vet..and he assured me it
was female...

well lo and behold..12 babies later..i learnt they werent..

one thing i learnt was to check before hand if the vet has had much dealing with
mice..you'll find alot only specialise in bigger animals..only go to one who's
got experience...or you'll be wasting your money and possibly be risking the
little rodents health....

heres a great site that i learnt alot from..

http://www.fancymice.info/breedfrontpage.htm

its got some great pic to help sex the mice...one thing to remember is that the
males have a bulge where the testis are..near the rear of the tail..and only the
females have nipples....its best to keep them seperate until you know exaclty
what youve got..as the can reproduce from the age of 6 weeks...

hope the site helps...

i wish you and your Li'l Lady Have a Bright and Beautiful Day!... :0)

Kathy :0)

sungirl_green <sungirl_green@...> wrote:
We need expert help! On December 6 my daughter bought two
supposedly female mice from two different petshops. We had kept two
females before (they were sisters) and we had no problems with
smells until the end of the week when the cage was due for cleaning
anyway. These two new mice smell very quickly after cleaning, and
although a local vet said she was fairly sure they were both girls,
I still have doubts. We cannot keep even one boy mouse as my
husband isn't too keen on them anyway and simply won't tolerate the
smell. I thought the smell may have been because the mice didn't
know each other and were trying to sort out who was the boss.
However, after nearly a month together and only a couple of
altercations (none serious), I feel they should be sorted out by now.

I would like to know if there is someone near us who could check
them for us. My daughter would probably want to trade any boys for
girls, and if babies arrive, I'd like to be able to take them
somewhere safe, we can't keep them.

We live in Greenvale, so if there is someone who lives in the
northwest of Melbourne who could help I would appreciate contact
details.

Thank you
Regards

Dawn Brown

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