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new to feeder breeding (mice)

W

wisconsin

brandon
i have two females and one male (mice) in a ten gallon tank, they have food, water, and a six-pack beer box tipped on its side as a home (they love it). any tips for me?
do i wait for them to get pregnant?
please help a noob
i just need advice on what i should be doing with these mice, if anything at all.
thnaks
 
Just wait. It can take a couple of months for the mice to settle in and have babies - and be aware that some mice will eat their first litter (but that doesn't mean they'll eat every other litter - my first six breeders did that, ate their first litter, and have gone on to teach new mothers how to properly take care of their babies.)
 
Yup..Wait is about all you can do... It can take a few weeks... If the male and the females are breeding age then you should get some prego females in 3-4 weeks after starting the colony...
Give them a good diet and some dog food for added protein and they should start pumping out the babies for you...I personaly have never had a female eat her whole first litter and sometimes they can be just as good as a proven females litter...But that's not to say they are smaller then most litters and they still might eat them..
Ryan-Valley Pets
 
A cautionary tale, if I may...

I purchased a 1.2 mouse colony, and set them up as pets would be set up...in a tank with a running wheel, a nice hide, fancy substrate and food "stuffs", a rope to climb and walk on...all the things a happy pet mouse could want. My daughter, who is almost 3, LOVED "her" mice, and wanted to play with them. I let her...everyday, but not "out of control" lengths of time.

Fast forward to 3 months later...no babies. No mating. In fact, the male, whose testicles were swollen at the time of purchase, indicating sexual maturity and preparedness, were no longer swollen, and visually were almost identical to a female's genitalia.

So I did some research, and discovered that mice can actually be very sensitive to external stimulation that wil inhibit breeding. Too much handling, interrupted day/night light cycles, odd sounds and disturbances...all of these things can cause mice to lose interest in breeding.

So I went to the store and bought a new 1.3 colony, put them in a different aquarium, and placed them on the top shelf of a closet, not to be disturbed other than cleanings, feedings and occasionally checking on them. They were mating the second night I had them. I have had the new colony for less than 3 weeks, and I have 2 that "look" pregnant, in that the bellies are visibly swollen compared to the rest of the body size. I removed one of the females from the first colony, put her in with the second colony, and she, too, appears to be pregnant, in less than a week from the introduction to the "Do Not Disturb" colony.

The second colony has only a home, a food dish, some cholla cactus stem chew toys, and a water bottle. There is no "excercise equipment", they do not get handled, their location in the closet prevents my bedroom light from interfereing with the natural light cycles from the window that they recieve, there food is pellets, mixed with the occasional dry fruit and seed, and their bedding is pellets with a smattering of cotton to soften it inside the hide.

The bottom line...decide if your mice are pets or breeders, and stick to the plan. I found out the hard way that pets are not good breeders as far as mice are concerned...
 
That's true with most rodents...If they have to much to do they take a while to breed! They say this with most rodents, if you are planning on breeding them. I give my mice food, water and a clean home... I have over 20 colonies, 1.5 and they get a colony mouse block from purina, and a water bottle.. That's all! They breed like mad! I also breed gerbils, hamsters and rats...It seems to be the same with them also... Fresh food, water and a clean home and they are more then willing to breed! Soon you will have to many like so! lol
ForRy002.jpg

Ryan
 
i breed mice and treat them just like pets. i handle them almost every day. one of my females is very friendly and loves to run on my hand the second i open the lid to the tank. they have their hide and a wheel. they breed with no problem. my male almost always impregnates the female right after they give birth (or least he tries to lol). i guess it just depends on the mice.
 
I don't think the pet treatment is the sole reason for my first colony not breeding. They are kept in a cage in my room where my daughter always has her face pressed up to it, the lights are affecting their day/night cycles, there is alot of foot traffic, and a general "hullaballoo" throughout most of the day and night.

I just figured with the new colony, I would remove ALL manner of distractions, and put the mice in a more "clinical" scenario, to hopefully help instigate a breeding response...which seems to be working.

I am sure there are plenty of mouse colonies that get the pet/rockstar treatment and re-produce just fine. Just in MY house, the over-abundance of everyday distractions seems to have muted the desire to breed. Once I took one of the females out of that environment and put her into the more "clinical" environment, she almost immediately fell into "breed mode" and is now, I believe, pregnant. I suppose it could also be the male in my first colony...
 
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