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Mice?

Cattsy

Cattsy

New member
Hey y'all,

Well looks like I've just gotten into the rodent business, at least for a little while. I have a BP that ONLY eats live (and yes, I've tried to switch him) I live in podunk NOwhere and the only place I could buy live feeders was Total Pet and I found out today that they are getting out of feeder mice and will only be ordering in frozen *gulp*

All they had left for mice was four adult females, no idea how old they are but they were used as breeders... no males. I did buy the lot though.

So I'm on the hunt for a male, I know there are a couple people around here breeding mice, just a matter of hooking up with someone to get a male or two.

I have some questions though. Currently the girls are in a 20gal tank. Can I keep them in that? I do also have some 12L sterilite containers that I've been collecting for the snakes I'm gonna get. They're 15"x11.5"x6. Anyway I read through a bit of the feeder forums and I've compiled a list of questions :p

Tub sizes - Sort of touched on this already but what sized tubs are good for how many mice/rodents? I'll have to grow up babies since my BP is a pretty big boy.

Should I keep the male in with the females? Or can I take him out? If I take him out how do I introduce him to the girls? will they hurt him?

How do I add new females to the colony? Or should I just pick some girls from the first litters and grow them up to replace the ones I've got and let them grow up together? I don't know how many litters these girls will actually produce for me.

Bedding: Kitty litter? plain non clumping type like from walmart? Problems? sucesses? THinking about using this with shredded paper as I've got plenty of both.

Is it only the dye in dog food that's bad for snakes? Read that somewhere else on the forums, but some people recomend adding it for extra protein for nursing moms. WHat about cat food? Either or I have alot of, and I feed a high quality no grain/carb/additive food to both cats and dogs. Will have to check if they use dyes, doubt it.

Water bottles seems to be the consensus? I have one of those glass type that sticks to the side of the aquarium with suction cups, but if I move to bins how do you attach the bottles to the bins? SOmeone mentioned drilling a hole and putting washers on either side to keep them from chewing, cool Idea think I'll snag it, but how do you keep bottles from tipping over?

I have a few other questions about like, when they have to be seperated male/females, how old they have to be to breed, when shoudl I retire them, but I think I can find the answers to those with some more reading :)

THanks all!
Trina
 
You may want to check out the southern Alberta or Edmonton reptile forums, as I know there are some members on both who are breeders that should be able to supply you with more breeder mice. As for your other questions, I'll leave that up to those experienced with keeping and breeding them.
 
I have some questions though. Currently the girls are in a 20gal tank. Can I keep them in that? I do also have some 12L sterilite containers that I've been collecting for the snakes I'm gonna get. They're 15"x11.5"x6. Anyway I read through a bit of the feeder forums and I've compiled a list of questions :p

Yes, I think you could keep mice in a 20G.

Tub sizes - Sort of touched on this already but what sized tubs are good for how many mice/rodents? I'll have to grow up babies since my BP is a pretty big boy.

You could probably keep 1.2 in a 12L sterilite, but I think a little bigger tub would be good since you need to grow them up before feeding.

Should I keep the male in with the females? Or can I take him out? If I take him out how do I introduce him to the girls? will they hurt him?

I always kept 1.2 or 1.3 as a group. Females may kill a newly introduced male, so I did not move males in & out. However, other people will tell you differently from previous experience, so once you have several males you can see what works best for you.

How do I add new females to the colony? Or should I just pick some girls from the first litters and grow them up to replace the ones I've got and let them grow up together? I don't know how many litters these girls will actually produce for me.

I never had any difficulties adding new females to a colony, but you can also just hold back some girls from the 1st litter.

Bedding: Kitty litter? plain non clumping type like from walmart? Problems? sucesses? THinking about using this with shredded paper as I've got plenty of both.

Aspen, pine, Carefresh, shredded paper are all good. I wouldn't recommend kitty litter.

Is it only the dye in dog food that's bad for snakes? Read that somewhere else on the forums, but some people recomend adding it for extra protein for nursing moms. WHat about cat food? Either or I have alot of, and I feed a high quality no grain/carb/additive food to both cats and dogs. Will have to check if they use dyes, doubt it.

I don't recommend using ONLY cat/dog food, but if you are mixing up your mouse food rather than feeding lab blocks, you can use dye free cat or dog food as part of your mixture.

Water bottles seems to be the consensus? I have one of those glass type that sticks to the side of the aquarium with suction cups, but if I move to bins how do you attach the bottles to the bins? SOmeone mentioned drilling a hole and putting washers on either side to keep them from chewing, cool Idea think I'll snag it, but how do you keep bottles from tipping over?

Oh yeah, bottles! Bowls are instantly a mess. I drilled holes in the side of the tub & put on the washers. Bottles were supported by rubberbands hooked to the top lip of the tub (more holes, just barely big enough to pass a small S hook thru). Worked fine.

I hope this helps!
 
So I'm on the hunt for a male, I know there are a couple people around here breeding mice, just a matter of hooking up with someone to get a male or two.

Get only one unless you plan on having two separate cages for breeders.

I have some questions though. Currently the girls are in a 20gal tank. Can I keep them in that? I do also have some 12L sterilite containers that I've been collecting for the snakes I'm gonna get. They're 15"x11.5"x6. Anyway I read through a bit of the feeder forums and I've compiled a list of questions :p

A 10gal can hold one buck and three does well, so that's great.

Should I keep the male in with the females? Or can I take him out? If I take him out how do I introduce him to the girls? will they hurt him?

Bucks will help take care of the pups, so keep him in.

How do I add new females to the colony? Or should I just pick some girls from the first litters and grow them up to replace the ones I've got and let them grow up together? I don't know how many litters these girls will actually produce for me.

Not 100% sure about what to do...

Bedding: Kitty litter? plain non clumping type like from walmart? Problems? sucesses? THinking about using this with shredded paper as I've got plenty of both.

Putting half an inch of clay cat litter under whatever substrate you use will help with the smell. Kiln dried pine, aspen, and Carefresh can be used.

Is it only the dye in dog food that's bad for snakes? Read that somewhere else on the forums, but some people recomend adding it for extra protein for nursing moms. WHat about cat food? Either or I have alot of, and I feed a high quality no grain/carb/additive food to both cats and dogs. Will have to check if they use dyes, doubt it.

I think so.... I am using The Good Life Recipe cat food for my mice, and so far, they like it. I have it mixed with a lab block for rodents, though. The cat food is meant to only be extra protein and fat for the does.

Water bottles seems to be the consensus? I have one of those glass type that sticks to the side of the aquarium with suction cups, but if I move to bins how do you attach the bottles to the bins? SOmeone mentioned drilling a hole and putting washers on either side to keep them from chewing, cool Idea think I'll snag it, but how do you keep bottles from tipping over?

I use duct tape, plain and simple.

I have a few other questions about like, when they have to be seperated male/females, how old they have to be to breed, when shoudl I retire them, but I think I can find the answers to those with some more reading :)

It's like... 20 days they can breed, so separate at 3 weeks.



Answered what I could. :p
 
I like aquariums unless you're gonna breed a whole lot. If you do tubs, they have to have lots of ventilation. Having holes drilled into the side doesn't work well, more like having a screen top. 1/4" mesh works well.

I usually did 1.3 or so in 10-gal aquariums. I'd probably go 1.5 in a 20 (long). The most economical yet good bedding in my opinion is pine. You can get big bags from walmart and such. Water bottles are the only way to go. Don't try anything else. Moving mice in and out is problematic. They fight a lot. You'll probably have some fighting anyway putting together a group of adults. Once they have babies pick out a male and some females to grow up together to form a new colony.

I usually retire mice after around 8 months. They can go longer, but why not start with some new ones periodically? If you're not paying attention you'll wonder why they're not producing. Keep the temps lower than the low 80's for best results (probably not too hard in Canada - I'm in Arizona).
 
Breeding for 1 BP I would go with the 1.4 in that 20. Actually I would buy 2 males and intro 1 to see if the females will accept him. If they do, thats great feed off the other, if not you have a back up. Since these have been previous breeders, I would hold back several pink females for a second colony(from the 1st litter). Let the 1st colony breed for 2-3 months and then replace them with the newer one, Switching out ever 6-9 months. So getting an extra 10 gallon tank, would not be a bad thing. I wouldnt think you would need more than that for breeding for 1.

Besides you will need something to put weanlings in. DO NOT USE DUCT TAPE......The glue is toxic and rodents will eat it. not to mention they will get stuck on it. Use a hanger for your water bottle. They sell the waterbottle and hanger together most of the time.

Your breeding for feeders not pets. Do not seperate the dads unless they are eating the pinks. Often males take on a good role of sitting on the pinks when the females need a break.

Bedding ... Aspen, Carefresh, PIne works fine
 
thanks guys for all the experience and advice :) I think that answers my questions!

We will see how it all works out :p

Trina
 
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