Anyone here breed and exhibit fancy mice? PIC HEAVY

[Ariadna]

Hello!
YES. I breed, show, and judge mice in the US. I am currently president and founder of the Fancy Mouse Breeders Association. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mousebreeders/
I have been breeding mice for several years now. I was able to import mice from the UK and across the country. I am actually very proud of my beauties. Someone on FB alerted me to this thread...I don't post much here anymore, but I am on FB frequently.
Here are some of my squeakers. I run Mason Dixon Rodentry btw. Go by Candycorn on most of the rodent boards.
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And for those curious and wondering about the difference between a "show" mouse vs one you can pick up in a pet store...here are two of mine. One is a show mouse the other is a pet store type. Incredible difference no?
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Oh my gosh so many amazingly beautiful mice!! I cannot believe there is a president from a US club here, hi! lol

I own Mushroom Rodentry, which I have been operating for 5 years now. Gosh I would love to have mice like yours! Our mice are no where near the size of your show mice, nor are that nicely conformed, but breeders such as myself are striving hard to reach such a goal. I so envy you having satins and splashed mice! There are many varieties we do not have in Australia as it is illegal to import them into the country (and no, you can't just pay the quarantine fee, it doesn't work like that here), the only people permitted to import mice are laboratories and research institutions and only if they have a permit, on top of that the mice they import must be from certified lab stock and the amount of paperwork and backhistory required on the animals for disease control is immense. Laboratories are also not permitted to release stock to the public at all, they can be fined enormous amounts and even be shut down as it goes against the code of ethics. Damn it! I would just love to see a satin in person one day, they look so amazing!

It's awesome to hear of so many people owning mice, they're such fascinating critters! So many adorable photos too!

Gloomygirl, what were you treating with? Lice and mites are very easily treatable using ivermectin (topical treatment). Mice who have lice or mites require an application once a week and daily enclosure and environment cleans until the problem subsides. From there mice just require treatment with ivermectin once a month (much like your spot on treatments for cats and dogs). If not iver mectin, I know Revolution puppy and kitten can also be used, at the rate of about one drop per mouse.
It's sad to hear you had such a bad experience Mice are amazing pets to own.

[gemini_pony]

I love mice and rats. All these pics are so cute!! I will be stalking for more.

[whippetluv]

Those are adorable though! What color is the black with the brown/reddish stomach called? It looks like Halloween.

That is called a black tan. They always look like little dobermans to me! It's my favorite variety of mice. I had them shipped to me from England.

Post Merge: June 03, 2014, 05:35:30 AM

I own Mushroom Rodentry, which I have been operating for 5 years now. Gosh I would love to have mice like yours! Our mice are no where near the size of your show mice, nor are that nicely conformed, but breeders such as myself are striving hard to reach such a goal. I so envy you having satins and splashed mice! There are many varieties we do not have in Australia as it is illegal to import them into the country (and no, you can't just pay the quarantine fee, it doesn't work like that here), the only people permitted to import mice are laboratories and research institutions and only if they have a permit, on top of that the mice they import must be from certified lab stock and the amount of paperwork and backhistory required on the animals for disease control is immense. Laboratories are also not permitted to release stock to the public at all, they can be fined enormous amounts and even be shut down as it goes against the code of ethics. Damn it! I would just love to see a satin in person one day, they look so amazing!

BUT you do have a form of manx that we don't have here! That is a bright side! I am very aware sadly of the rules you have there...its a darn shame really. I get why they are so protective of their native species..but there should be SOME way to get a special permit. I feel the same way about the ban on african rodents here in the states. I had African Dormice in college and loved them...but they are now banned from import and have died off in the States.
If you ever get a chnace to Vacation here in the states, I am sure we would all love to meet you and let you see our mice!

[Ariadna]

Those are adorable though! What color is the black with the brown/reddish stomach called? It looks like Halloween.

That is called a black tan. They always look like little dobermans to me! It's my favorite variety of mice. I had them shipped to me from England.

Post Merge: June 03, 2014, 05:35:30 AM

I own Mushroom Rodentry, which I have been operating for 5 years now. Gosh I would love to have mice like yours! Our mice are no where near the size of your show mice, nor are that nicely conformed, but breeders such as myself are striving hard to reach such a goal. I so envy you having satins and splashed mice! There are many varieties we do not have in Australia as it is illegal to import them into the country (and no, you can't just pay the quarantine fee, it doesn't work like that here), the only people permitted to import mice are laboratories and research institutions and only if they have a permit, on top of that the mice they import must be from certified lab stock and the amount of paperwork and backhistory required on the animals for disease control is immense. Laboratories are also not permitted to release stock to the public at all, they can be fined enormous amounts and even be shut down as it goes against the code of ethics. Damn it! I would just love to see a satin in person one day, they look so amazing!

BUT you do have a form of manx that we don't have here! That is a bright side! I am very aware sadly of the rules you have there...its a darn shame really. I get why they are so protective of their native species..but there should be SOME way to get a special permit. I feel the same way about the ban on african rodents here in the states. I had African Dormice in college and loved them...but they are now banned from import and have died off in the States.
If you ever get a chnace to Vacation here in the states, I am sure we would all love to meet you and let you see our mice!

Oh my gosh, that would be amazing! I would love to, I may possibly be heading to Montana in the next year or two, so who knows

I guess the other benefit in the Australian rodent fancy is that we don't have sendai over here, manx is awesome too
I would love to be able to hold a permit to import a few mice, heck just one even, permitting it came from excellent sources and was thoroughly tested for all disease risks such as sendai. I'd even import a standard coat Siamese just for the lovely conformation *drool*
We can't import Gambians, pygmy hedgehogs, hamsters, gerbils, etc. So these don't exist in the country (well illegally, pygmy hedgehogs do, but getting caught with them can result in fines of around $20,000 per animal and jail time :/)

I've been showing for about 4 years now, how long have you shown mice for? Any idea as to how many awards you have? I don't show as much as I used to, I may only take a few mice or rats, I used to take quite a few.

[whippetluv]

I've been showing for about 4 years now, how long have you shown mice for? Any idea as to how many awards you have? I don't show as much as I used to, I may only take a few mice or rats, I used to take quite a few.

I have actually judged more shows than I have entered. The US has had a rough few years getting shows together. The FMBA finally has gotten to the point of having 3 shows (plus 2 virtual which you can enter...one is this July!) a year...before that it was only one show a year or less! So while I have judged 3 times..I have only shown once! I have been breeding about 4 years and this past April I took two first place ribbons. One for the Marked variety for a splash buck. And one in the tan for an Agouti tan buck. I was very close to best in show...but alas! LOL! Here are my two boys.
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[Ariadna]

Oh they're so gorgeous! Also congratulations!

I'm currently breeding agouti tan mice, but my dudes are not as nice as that, but some of the self agoutis have given really nice colour.

The club I have been with the longest has a show once every two months (next one is this weekend), I show both rats and mice and at various shows may have only entered one species because I was judging the other. I don't recall how many shows I have been to, I have been to a few though!

I think I have around 400 awards, and numerous titles (champions, best of categories, etc) though some awards I was the only exhibitor in my class, so it kind of sucks as I had no competition :/ Classes have since changed to make classes larger and make more competition for exhibitors which I much prefer, especially with the rat classes.

When I do make it to the US I hope to make it when a show may be under way, I would love to see how they run overseas and get my own photos of overseas varieties

I think my biggest accomplishment was for one of my rats to take grand champion in show that come from my original line, I was so proud of my big doopy dude, his name was Hoity Toity and was a buff (ruby eyed black) self

For my mice I took Grand Champion in show at the 2013 Sydney Royal Easter Show, which is the largest rat and mouse show in Australia, it was awesome!

This may sound like an odd question, but how does the splashed gene work? I've read it only works on c-dilutes, is that so?

[4Lindy]

Whippetluv - just curious, how do you import mice from England?  Does a person have to bring them to you?  I mean surely you can't pop a mouse in a box and mail it over??? 

[Ariadna]

Not sure about international transit, but when I freight mice interstate they are freighted through an airflight freight company, they are placed inside storage tubs that have been modified to transport live animals, and they are given carrot for food and water.
Though, interstate freight they're in transport no longer than about 2 hours, so not sure what is required for freight over a day, though I know someone recently freighted mice via a truck courier and it was in transit for 5 days with carrot and feed and did fine.

[whippetluv]

This may sound like an odd question, but how does the splashed gene work? I've read it only works on c-dilutes, is that so?

Thanks..and yes. Splash can only be seen on a c-dilute mouse. Most of mine are siamese based. Ch but Ce or Cch also works. It is a dominate gene so only one parent needs to be splashed to produce splashed babies...but both must have a C dilute (either a carrier or visual). So if I have a splash and I breed to a stone or beige mouse...I can get splash. Now a mouse CAN be splash...but it may not be visible. Such as a PEW mouse who looks just like a pink eyed white...might be a hidden splash, only a test breeding can prove it. But splash was lab created...so it will never just pop into a population unless it was bred in. All of the current splash mice out there came from labratory animals. It is just now starting to appear in some US pet stores in parts of the country.

As for transport - you have them flown by plane like you would a dog or cat. They get put into special rodent shipping containers and they came by British Airways. It was about 2500 dollars to ship 44 mice. Each one had to have a certification from a vet and we had to pay for couriers, vet fees, shipping company fees, import company fees,  box to ship them in, and the plane tickets. They arrived with little wee waterbottles but carrots or cucumber would have also worked. They were in our hands in the same amount of time any flight from England to Baltimore Maryland takes. (minus the fight over paperwork at the airport) In the US it is not legal to "mail" mammels, so they have to be flown the same way. It costs about 120 dollars to ship mice across America but again it happens in a single day which is good for the mice. I have also had this done once when I wanted mice from Oregon state.

[HavACrumpet452]

You guys inspired me to get some pet mice for the first time in 5 or 6 years. I missed them so much. I looked around this weekend and didn't find any I liked elsewhere so I just went with the feeder tanks at a local store run by a reptile enthusiast. I got a male black tan with a white blaze and white in the center of his belly. He's totally mismarked but the only one who I really liked. I also got a little trouble. I picked out the 8 for the price of 1 mouse, lol. She's mostly a black self with a few white specks on her belly. I expect the babies to pop out tonight. Then I get to socialize them because these feeder mice are not touched except to grab them by their tails and put them in a box to send to a snake owner. The male has already taken a nibble of me and got the result he wanted when I put him down. I'm a little hand shy since growing up with gerbils who bite HARD. Its gonna take a little getting used to having rodents again even though mice hardly bite.

[moonsugar]

Oh my goodness, look at all these little cuties! I adore mice - we had a few as pets when I was little, including "Cariot" the patchy black and white mouse, "Hunca Munca" the grey and "Toby" the fat little orange manx. I would absolutely love some pet mice, but none of the rental properties we've stayed at since have allowed them. Breeding and exhibition sounds like an incredibly fun hobby to get into; I wish I could.

[FluffleNuff]

My jaw just hit the floor. This is amazing! They're beautiful! And an amazing hobby!


I tried breeding hamsters once, but my baby (who was the mama) fell sick after giving birth. In the end, she performed her own surgery by biting off her cancerous lump, but sadly she also gave up on her babies. She was so depressed for weeks, just moping around. We cleared her entire cage, so the smell wouldn't remind her, and I started playing with her again (I didn't during and after the pregnancy.) Thankfully, she was soon back to her happy self

She is no longer with me, but she was the best friend and the most beautiful hamster I ever had.

How did I get so off topic? Oh. Yeah.

Are there any breeding tips that you guys have on taking care of litters and the mama and things like that? I've not touched breeding for a looong time because of my dear (her name is Opal), but I would maybe like to try again when I have more knowledge.

[darlingfaerie]

Mice are so cute, <3 people do not give them enough credit. They get too squeamish about the tales, but really, how can something so tiny and furry be scary? They are also amazing mums. I work part time at a pet store while I am in University and we get our mice from a local breeder. On occasion though we wind up with pregnant mice so we will pop the pregnant ones into a separate cage so they can have their babies and it's amazing! The mums all take care of the babies, no matter who their actually mum is. They work together so well!

Y'all are lucky to have such beautiful little darlings. (:

[Ariadna]

My jaw just hit the floor. This is amazing! They're beautiful! And an amazing hobby!


I tried breeding hamsters once, but my baby (who was the mama) fell sick after giving birth. In the end, she performed her own surgery by biting off her cancerous lump, but sadly she also gave up on her babies. She was so depressed for weeks, just moping around. We cleared her entire cage, so the smell wouldn't remind her, and I started playing with her again (I didn't during and after the pregnancy.) Thankfully, she was soon back to her happy self

She is no longer with me, but she was the best friend and the most beautiful hamster I ever had.

How did I get so off topic? Oh. Yeah.

Are there any breeding tips that you guys have on taking care of litters and the mama and things like that? I've not touched breeding for a looong time because of my dear (her name is Opal), but I would maybe like to try again when I have more knowledge.

Hamsters and mice are rather different creatures, even rats and mice vary greatly in their behaviour and nursing. Mice don't tend to get depressed about losing litters, in fact the reason they have so many babies is because in the wild only a few from the litter will survive. In fact, mice can even eat their litters if they feel unsafe, insecure, etc.
In regards to litters and such, I basically keep the enclosure clean, ensure food and water is supplied at all times, an pregnant/nursing does are usually fed a supplement I have formulated for rats and mice, much like a vitamin supplement. Works a charm an they really enjoy it too, especially mixed in with some rat and mouse milk formula or natural yoghurt.

I can tend to be a bit clinical with my mice an their litters, as much as I love their socks off I don't baby them or dote over litters, overall my mice are bred for show an are to a degree, stock. Everyone has a different method of raising and caring for mice and litters, not everyone does things the same as some people find some methods don't work to great for them, while others do. So in regard to your hamsters, I would find some knowledgable hamster breeders, chat to a few, and find out their opinions and what they would do, etc. From there you can gain some great information, and you may come across something you had not thought of before.

I wish I could help you more with your hamster question, but I've never seen one. They are not available in Australia, and as I had posted before, it's illegal to import them (along with Gambians, rats, mice, pygmy hedgehogs, etc). All I know is, they're rediculous on a wheel and really like their chow, lol!