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Is it worth raising feeders for 1 snake

B

Bustacapp

New member
Just curiouse if its worth raising feeders for a single corn or will i end up with way to many pinkies and if it is worth it what do people usually get mice or rats if they get pregnant do they stay pregnant like guinea pigs ? is there certain foods you can feed them so they are more nutritional to the corns?
if one isnt really worth while to breed feeders how many corns do i need to make it worth while i could always use an excuse for more corns
 
For just one snake, probably not economically worthwhile unless you also enjoy keeping rodents.

There is a certain cost to get started, Food itself is cheap but only if you boy in bulk, like 33 lb or 50 lb bags and then it's as low as $.35 per lb. The best food is a healthy good quality lab block from Harlan or Mazuri. Supplements of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains are good as well, but the lab block is their staple food and should be available in demand feeders.

You will undoubtedly get surplus mice as well, but that;s easily solved by humanely euthanizing and freezing them. Sealed well they will last a year in the freezer, or over 2 years if you have a vacuum sealer.

Whether mice or rats, hard to say, Mice will always stay small enough to be fed to a corn so you have an efficient outlet for all of them including the adult breeders. Rats get too big for corns after about 3-4 weeks.
 
I have 3 corns, 2 kings, and a BP. I plan on breeding corns next spring, which means I will have alot of mouths to feed.

I have a 1.1 rat colony(for my BP and my "on it's way" BCI), and I have two 1.3 mouse colonies. I have barely enough food for my snakes, and occasionally need to supplement with storebought, if I'm lacking a specific size. On average, I have 3-5 litters per month, ranging in size from 4 pinks to 11 pinks per litter.(my rats haven't produced anything yet). I also have 2 colubrids that refuse frozen food, and only eat live mice, and my BP will only take live adult mice, and soon will be getting live rat pups and such.

FWIW...I started my first 1.3 breeding colony when I had only 1 corn, and was considering one king.

IMO...You can always euthanize and freeze them. You could also arrange with one of your local pet stores to buy any "extras" you might have, or find a local herp society to take any extras...reptile rescue facilities will ALWAYS take "free food".

Bear in mind that it takes some time for mice to grow. Having "extra" doesn't always mean you have extra. Your snake will eventually need hoppers, weanlings, and small, medium, and large adults. This all takes time. While you are feeding pinkies, you will need to let some grow to adult sizes for later feedings, and also to replace any females that need to be "retired" to the feeding bin.

It takes approximately 3 weeks gestation, and then a good 2-3 weeks to grow to weanling size. The bigger your snake gets, the longer it takes to "grow" it's food. And yes...like most rodents, they will "continually" reproduce. I have one female that no sooner drops a litter, and she is showing signs of pregnancy again. I also have a couple that don't quite produce the numbers I would like.

On top of all that...it is ALWAYS a good excuse to get another snake..."I have too many mice. What else could I do with them?"...get another snake ;).
 
Not worth the effort

I currently have 80 or so corns and another 10 miscellaneous snakes (Kings, gopher, BP's, etc) and I don't really want to go back raising my own feeders. I ended up spending more time on the rodents than with the snakes. Once you figure in the cost of cages, bedding, and food, plus the time it takes keeping records of births, cleaning and disinfecting cages, watering, and euthanizing it's not worth it. At least that's my experience.
 
Well breeding rodents for over 80 snakes is a bit different than breeding rodents for 1-10 snakes.
 
I was wondering if sombody can please explain to me how to breed mice?....do I just need a male and female and they do all of the work or is it like a snake and you have to do most of the work?....I'm expecting hacthlings soon so I wanted to breed my own pinkys instead of having to buy a ton of pinkys week......and also what is enthusazin
 
Breeding mice

I would advise starting with weaned mice. Mice have a strict social order and don't tolerate "outsiders" once the colony is established. 1 male to 4 females could give you around 50 or so pinkies a month (average of 12 pinkies per female every 21 days). It may take them a month or two to get going, but once they do they should be good for 6 months to a year.

Feed them lab blocks and clean, de-chlorinated cold water. For every gallon of water, add about 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. This and aspen bedding that gets changed AT LEAST once a week will help keep the smell down.

I would also advise keeping the mice somewhere quiet and cool. They become sterile at around 80F over heat very easily.

You may want to try 2 or 3 colonies in case something unfortunate happens with one of the other colonies (rogue female; problems with the male, etc).

Good luck. It's nice having food when you need it, but in my experience the rodents require much more work than the snakes they get fed to.
 
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