Keeping MICE VS RATS

[Marrissa]

I breed both as well. For my little guys, it's much easier to give them the right sized mouse and get a feeding response than a rat pup that doesn't move much. Also for the mice I used a base layer of alfalfa pellets and top with pine shavings. The alfalfa really keeps the smell down. My rats, mice, and snakes are all in my bedroom so keeping smell down is important to me. For the rats I used a base of pine pellets and top with pine shavings. The alfalfa pellets are more expensive and not needed for the rats so I just use them for the mice. I change mouse and rat tubs every week and the mice don't smell any more than the rats do. I also don't have a problem with them cannibalizing. I have them in a mouse rack and keep one male per tub. The females all raise the babies in one big pile.

[Joe Massey]

ive been using the Harem breeding method as well for more than a year now with my mice, its just recently that they went on eating each other. i have no idea why.. this is soooo confusing for me. well that the advantage of having this thread, it gives me more ideas..

still confused with keeping the mice or changing the colony or going with rats all the way.

using the mice as feeders for the small ones does make sense.

[Rhasputin]

I don't think there's really much difference in keeping them, to me I don't like keeping rats because they're more needy, and I feel bad if I don't play with them, and then I play with them and don't want to feed them.

The downside of mice, is that your ball pythons can outgrow them. You'd have to be feeding tons of mice to one snake, instead of one or two rats. I think that's the biggest difference.

[GoingPostal]

I have both, my ball python won't take a rat and my hognose and cat both eat mice also so need them although I would prefer if I could go to just rats. I do feel like rats need more space and interaction than a mouse, being smarter and they smell more to me. I haven't had cannibalism problems in my mice for many years.

[MarkS]

I gave up all of my rodents over a year ago due to time constraints. I'm seriously thinking about getting into it again due to the need for hopper mice for the tough to get started hatchlings, I've never had much trouble switching them over to frozen rats once they are feeding regularily and I've found it a lot easier to get hatchlings started on hoppers rather then rat pups. Personally I'd go with the mice even though I don't like keeping them as much as I like keeping rats.

[bad-one]

I've always had great luck with rats, they are easy to keep and breed and cover all sizes need for ball pythons. I start groups with a few adults picked up from local pet shops and soon have plenty of healthy little babies.

Mice on the other hand hate me, I've never had any healthy appearing adult groups that I've kept breed. EVER.