# Multimammates?



## KathyM (Jan 17, 2009)

I met a lovely multimammate today and wondered if anyone can tell me anything about their care? Housing, feeding etc? I think I'd like a couple in future but know nothing about them.


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## mattm (Jul 18, 2008)

They're almost identical to fancy mouse care, Kathy . I have heard that they aren't the friendliest things though! But I suppose they are getting nicer now they are quite common in captivity and people are breeding/handling them more. Unti recent times they were just thought of as ideal feeder-breeders and not really pets (because they produce large litters).

A syrian hamster sized cage is ideal with lots of room for climbing and playing, they're quite active when they want to be! A large tank with a ventilated top would also work, providing you could mod it out with climbing toys etc. I wouldn't go above 1cm bar spacing if possible (i know they're bigger than fancies but better to be safe than sorry, besides 1cm bar spacing is usually easiest to get hold of I think). They're very sociable. A freddy would be a good cage, you don't really have to go that big but if you wanted them to have a mansion lol! Or a mary!

A shunamite-style diet is fine, or anything that fits the nutritional requirements of fancy mice.

Hope that helps


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## mattm (Jul 18, 2008)

Somebody else will need to confirm whether males are as sociable as females as i've never kept males. I think they are, but don't hold me to that!


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## ditta (Sep 18, 2006)

yup we have a colony of 6 males together and they get on fine with both us and each other


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## KathyM (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks ever so much both of you. Matt, to be brutally honest if I did keep them I'd be thinking of making it worthwhile for the snakes if you get me (I'm so torn on this, but in the meantime might as well learn). The one I met today was lovely, dead soft and friendly. I am full of cold so couldn't tell if he smelled as bad as a male mouse? He was living in a small hamster cage but from what I've read they're much like rats in their sociability and like to live together, which is obviously the problem with male mice.


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

They don't smell as bad as male mice, no. I always found tanks to be best for them, cuz they are notorious escape artists and will chew anything (including their water bottle).


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## mattm (Jul 18, 2008)

Yeah I've heard the males smell much less than male fancies and the three girls I looked after were practically odourless.

I have nothing against responsible feeder-breeding as long as they have quality of life and I know you'll give them that Kathy! They are more suited to it producing large litters, I suppose.


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## ladyboid (Nov 25, 2007)

Same as above really but i would keep in chew proof cages.
I also feed mine the same as the mice and rats i have here but i add extra seed... they go mad for seeds .. millet or wild bird seed.


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

In our colony, the youngsters don't bite as a rule, but our breeding male is extremely vicious... ie he will launch across the tank at my hand and hang on! The adult females not as bad unless with very young babies. All pitch in and help with looking after babies etc, and our male will tolerate younger males usually for months with no probs.

I would also defo recommend a glass tank with metal lid as they are chewers. Mine have one of those perfecto ones and seem to do really well in it, they use one shelf for poos!


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

They are actually a small variety of rat, not mouse.
They do well with one male and several females to a breeding group.
It seems the more space you give them the better they do.
They feed on basic mouse / rat food mixes.
They can be very aggresive with people and each other.
Stephen


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## Minerva (Aug 24, 2008)

I have a secret love of Multis...simply as ive seen them adopt Rat babies, Mouse babies and other Multis babies and raise them all.

They also dont smell anywhere as bad as Fancy Mice, but alot can be nippy/hard to handle especially if you cup them in your hands, most seem to prefer being on an open palm/arm, but i have met a few lovely ones who are almost squishy, and their fur is beautifully soft to stroke.

As mentioned they do produce large litters, very reguarly, and if you was going to go down the ethical feeder route....they are a good starting point.


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## midori (Aug 27, 2006)

I have a 1:4 group of multis. They are meant to chew out of everything, and did chew out of the converted 50L RUB they were originally in, but they are now in a hamster style cage, with very small bar spacing, and they haven't chewed out of it yet. 

I feed them on my home-made rat mix (shunamite style dry diet) and give them millet sprays two or three times a week too. They also get fruit and veg, a little bit of bread, and I do offer them meat/fish/milky stuff/smoothies than my rats get, but they aren't as keen. 

I don't find them smelly at all, my mice stink to high heaven compared to the multis, and I'd say the multis smell less than my rats. 

I do find them quite bitey. You certainly need to either wear gloves or remove them from the cage before attemtping to touch the babies, which, in turn makes the babies awkward to tame. Sometimes they'll let me stroke them, sometimes they'll have a (bad) nip just whilst I am feeding them. It depends on their mood. I love them, but I probably wouldn't have them soley as pets. 

I have found they have average litters of 8-10, isn't that about the same, or even less, than fancy mice?


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## KathyM (Jan 17, 2009)

Hmmm not liking the sound of them being so aggressive? Is that down to socialisation as babies or just a species trait? Mind you all my fancy mice have been bitey gits too (but they were/are all rescues). 

I wouldn't really want to keep them as a breeding colony permanently but rather as a pair of males and a group of females if that was suitable. Otherwise we'd be over-run lol. Also would have concerns about over breeding and would want to make sure the females got enough rest. 

I really didn't want to get fancy mice again after these rescues pass on, as the boys really do smell and none of them were particularly handle-able. Would've preferred a species that we could've had as pets as well as feeders.


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## midori (Aug 27, 2006)

I'm not sure about the aggression. When we got them, my husband just picked them straight up and they were fine, but they have got worse over time, especially the male. As has been said, he literally launches at me. I'm keeping back some of the babies and am handling them, so I'll soon find out if they go the same way. 

I am not sure how it would work not keeping them as permenant social groups, I have heard this is when they are most likely to become aggressive to each other. I understand what you are saying about overbreeding though. 

Personally, if I wanted pets as well, I'd go for mice., uness you want to wear gloves a lot... :lol2: I am new to fancy mice, but mine are fairly friendly and certainly haven't attempted to bite. I do find the smell overpowering though, but I have been cleaning them every few days and it's not so bad. I also keep them in faunarums, which I find keeps the smell 'in' a bit.


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## Alex (Jun 14, 2009)

I keep Multimammate Rats, and i have handled them since the day i got them, and have only been bitten once.
As for the smell, there is minimum, if that. Even the males dont smell.
I feed them Shumanite, Dog biscuits , Millet spray, seeds, some veg and also mealworms as a treat.
I keep mine in a Perfecto glass tank, they like climbing up and down the shelves alot.


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## TRISTAN_HALL (Jun 9, 2009)

I started to keep them too ! i was told not to handle them as its breeding females that can be bitters, but cant help picking them up! i will get a bite soon!


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

None of my previous multis have ever been biters (even my breeding group of 1.4), but I have heard that before, as well.


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## Alex (Jun 14, 2009)

Amalthea said:


> *None of my previous multis have ever been biters *(even my breeding group of 1.4), but I have heard that before, as well.



The only time i was bitten was when i was feeding them, my hands smelt of their food, one came over and nipped me, it did'nt break the skin and was no-where near as bad as some of the stories of bites from multis that you hear of.


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## ditta (Sep 18, 2006)

ours are daft as brushes, we dont keep females anymore we just have a group on older males all together, i think cos they have no breeding issues they get along better, ive just cleaned ours out and they all try to run up your arm to get some 'me' time

we also have an older male who escaped in our van and lived for 3 months eating polos and take away....lol....he couldnt be put in with his group but he happily lives with a male fancy mouse who chose to invade his cage and never left, i give them java wood to chew on and they all have wheels.


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## mattm (Jul 18, 2008)

Well I love gerbils, but nobody seems to use them as feeders. They have the most wonderful temperaments if handled from a young age, come in a range of colours and are so entertaining to watch. In fact, I wonder if the reason is most people cannot bring themselves to cull the pups! (Obviously that can't be the real reason...).

Personally i'd only keep multis again if it was soely for the purpose of feeder-breeding, I don't think i'd have them as pets. If they happened to be tame then that would be a plus but they are never usually tame to the extent of fancy mice/gerbils/hamsers. Unless you are lucky and find a breeder that has handled them from a very young age! I found a mug of a friend to take them off of me (joking, obviously. Well about the mug part. They went towards a breeding program....for snakes lol.)

I suppose the multi temperament thing is down to a mixture of socialization and the species. They're naturally quite flighty and won't think twice about biting, but then I suppose mice, hamsters and gerbils were all once like this? Not sure! I know people that have handled from a young age have told me they've grown up to be handleable and won't bite, but still aren't exactly "friendly".

My three were...well.....painful!


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

I have known of several who were as squishy tame as a well handled fancy rat.


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## mattm (Jul 18, 2008)

They sound nice!


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

Fantastic!! One of my last breeding girls was lovely!


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

Overbreeding was a concern of mine when I first got my colony, however as other females help raise the young, my females never really seem to lose condition. I find this a much better alternative then repeated introductions of males to females, and males back to males, as from what I have heard introductions may well end in fights to the death.


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## KathyM (Jan 17, 2009)

Yeah the more I think about it, the less I think they're for me, and the less I think it's time to start breeding my own. 

Thanks ever so much for the help though everyone!


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## TRISTAN_HALL (Jun 9, 2009)

The females can feed loads of pups at a time! i have never seen so many nipples! (aka Robo nipples!!!) lol


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

When I had them, I had females who would jump nine inches straight UP to hang off my hand by their teeth - and I'd rather be bitten by an angry BIG adult buck rat than a female multi in a strop.

I found that the heterozygous pied ("Blaze" pattern) and homozygous non-pied (solid coloured) animals in my colony seemed to be less aggressive - it was the homozygous pied ("Saddle" pattern) animals that were really particularly bad. I had males you could just about casually handle, but you DID have to keep an eye on them.


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

My lot are just plain evil when it comes to biting, those cute furry little faces hide a rodenty psychopath, brilliant feeders for the royals though.


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

When I was breeding them, I found having a colony set up worked best. I let each doe have a few litters and then they were retired into pet homes (no I never culled my breeders for anything other than illness).


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## KathyM (Jan 17, 2009)

Yeah, don't think they're a good idea now but thanks ever so much. I've been advised to contact mouse breeders and ask about their culled mice to see if I can source more ethically reared feeders. Thanks ever so much for your help!


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