10/01/2023
Just waiting for one more litter!
Unfortunately I have some bad news on one of the final litters I was really looking forward to, Cashew will no longer be a breeder for me. She will always be with me as she's one of my sweetest and beautiful mice, but she has rose some concerns. She and her sisters (they were all rescues that had been housed together for nearly a year and most of their lives) were my first breeding colony. Sage, Nutmeg, Maniac, and Cashew joined my first female mice Cow, Peppa, and Gravel and eventually were introduced to our proud poppa Jarod. Jarod came with an orphaned darling daughter Vienna that survived with me for nearly 3 months before passing. When Vienna passed i decided I loved the babies and wanted to breed and make some great pet quality babies. All of the females were put in smaller groups and Jarod did his job as a male. I was very sure Cashew had become pregnant as well. When the other girls began having babies I noticed Cashew lost weight but I did not see any babies nor was she nursing. I separated her just in case since she was acting a little odd. It's been about six months since and I have improved as a breeder, owner, and the setups have changed. I decided to try cashew again, this time with peanut. I knew this time she was for sure pregnant and was even nursing Sunflowers babies. Yesterday she began labor and was in the process of giving birth so I left her alone and went to check back on her 4 hours later. It was during this check that I was horrified to see that she had cannibalized all of her newborns and had entered Sunflowers nest. I separated her immediately before she could do any harm to the older babies and she is now housed with some of the females that are not breeders for me. As disappointing as this is I am glad she has not harmed anyone else and I'm glad I can keep her with a group as my pet. I love her and all the others 🩵. Hopefully no more bad news anytime soon, Abre.