Mouse Nipple

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September 20th, 2010 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Is my new mouse pregnant? I just got her at a pet store yesterday...?

I'm a first-time mouse owner, and I got my first fancy mouse yesterday at Petsmart. She was the last mouse left, and is definitely female. Right away I noticed that she was a lot rounder than most mice I have seen. Her stomach is a little hard too. And she squeaks and twitches when you touch her sides. Other than that she doesn't mind being handled. She also has small nipples on her underside, but I'm not sure if that is normal for a female mouse or only a pregnant one. Yesterday she ran on her wheel a lot, but today she seems more interested in sleeping under her bedding. At first when I got her she bit me a few times too, but she doesn't bite me any more. That could be that she got used to me though, she might have just been nervous. She hasn't eaten much and has hardly drank any water since I got her... But maybe she is just not used to the new surroundings yet...
Does it sound like she is pregnant? If it does, what do I need to do?

Petsmarts are usually segregated by sex. (At least, the ones where I live are). In other words, one Petsmart will carry only female animals and another Petsmart will carry only male animals. If your Petsmart was segregated (you can always call them and ask) then it's really unlikely that she is pregnant.

It can be next to impossible to tell if a mouse is pregnant unless she's pretty far along. Then you can sometimes palpate her and feel the babies, but I would NOT recommend it since you are not very experienced (sorry!).

Her pregnancy will only last about 3 weeks. So, if after a month, you do not see any babies, then you are probably in the clear.

If you do a quick google search you will find lots of helpful websites on how to take care of a mama mouse and her babies, like this website: http://exoticpets.about.com/od/careofmice/f/mousebabies.htm. But it sounds like you don't really have anything to worry about. She sounds like she is still adjusting to her new surroundings.

Keep socializing her and she'll be a great pet.