Sooner or later a male fox and a female mouse will decide to have children of their own. When this happens, there are some radical changes to the male fox body prior to mating.
When preparing to mate with a female mouse, the fox must consume extra amounts of Calcium and Protein. They get most of the Calcium from milk and most of their protein from chicken and beef. This turns on special hormones that make the fox more suitable for the mouse. Inside the fox's testes the hormones make the production of sperm go into "hyper-drive" the calcium mixes in with the seminal fluid to make it extremely thick. This process takes anywhere from 6 to 24 hours per 1 hour of actual mating.
The female mouse undergoes changes as well. Her ovaries have a "hair-trigger" the slightest sexual arousal will cause her to release eggs. The vulva becomes slippery and her hormones cause her to become extremely infatuated with her mate. She may gently nibble on his shoulder and/or He may nibble on her tail or neck, this doesn't hurt either one (foxes and mice have been doing this for more than 1000 years.)
Finally the moment comes, the fox and mouse begin to mate. While they are mating the female mouse produces a special protein which will be injected into the sperm as they enter her. This protein allows the sperm to rapidly swim up to the waiting eggs and easily penetrate them. The extremely thick fox semen flows into the mouse and clings to her walls. The sperm then swim up to the waiting eggs to fertilize them. On average, mating lasts about 20 to 30 minutes and the couple may mate 2 or 3 consecutive times before the male is spent. Once all of the eggs have been fertilized, a special gland which all vulpines* have turns on and absorbs all the remaining sperm. (Often after mating the female mouse looks like she's already pregnant.) The sperm are broken down into proteins and stored in the gland until the eggs attach themselves to her uterus. The proteins are then given to the unborn children which makes them grow stronger and faster.
About 1 month after the first mating, the female mouse is ready to give birth. Any unused protein will be sent to the digestive system to be broken down so she can use it to make the next time the couple mates a lot better.
Alpha Golden Foxes and White Mice have the potential for creating 200+ offspring/litter but usually 10 to 20. White Mice have an almost unlimited capacity in her uterus and the pregnant female white mouse can weigh nearly 300 pounds at full-term. Does this hurt the mouse, no. over the 2500 years that foxes and mice have mated with one another, the mouse has always viewed the birth of her offspring to her fox mate as a wonderful experience. She often feels little or no pain.
Once the litter is born, the couple often kiss and embrace after a job well done. And they will soon attend to their many new offspring, providing them with lots of love and a caring family enviroment.
