Temp regulation in Mouse tubs

[Argentra]

What temp range do you need for mice to breed and how can one regulate the temps in a rubbermaid tub?

I recently moved my 1.2 mice into a tub with similar proportions to a 10gal tank, but with more floor space. The entire center of the lid is window screen and I placed adhesive felt to the outsides of each side and most of the back (ran out). The thermometer in there says 73.

I have these three mice for breeding, and have owned them since late August, but nothing is happening. True, I got them from my feeder supplier as 'adults' where they are separated by size not age, so they were all together in a trough tub with many others. Could they be too old? What would be the best way to get a small breeder group going?

[monk90222]

I have my mice in the garage and it is about 60 degrees in there now and I have great production, so temp is not that big of an issue IMO....as long as its 60-80..(room temp)...
Mice are strangely hard to breed...much harder than rats...What I did is I just put 1.2 per tub and left them alone...after almost 2 mos, they were all prego, and now I have consistent litters ever since....
In your case, if nothing happened since August, I would feed the females off and get 2 younger females....

[frankykeno]

I've always found with the rodents (we do rats, both regular and ASF...I never had a bit of luck with mice) that too hot is way worse than too chilly. Rodents just don't do well in the heat and their tanks/tubs can build up more heat than you're aware of fast. Also ventilation is a must especially with mice.

[Argentra]

Cool. Thanks for the input. I guess it's just the reptile 'specialist' in me that freaks out when temps get low...even when dealing with mammals. I know that rodents are really sensitive to heat, because that's how we lost one of our rats this past summer. After that I made sure to have a fan on a timer near their cage. For ventilation, would you recommend melting some holes along the top of the tub sides in addition to the screen in the lid?

I guess the mice I got are too old, or someone is infertile. Figures... So, what age/size should I get to insure breeding? Would it work to raise weanlings up?

[CntrlF8]

if it were me starting over again, I'd get weenling females, because you know they're 3-4 weeks old. Raise them up until they're 11-12 weeks old, then get a small adult male. My only concern would be that female mice who have been together for a while have been known to kill any incoming strangers, which might present a problem for you.

Personally, I just seperated all the females from my first litter this past weekend into their own tub. I've got 6 in there right now, and will have 4 left after this weekend. When they're old enough I'm gonna put a new male in there and see what happens...

[Stewart_Reptiles]

For ventilation, would you recommend melting some holes along the top of the tub sides in addition to the screen in the lid?

I would not recommend it, this could become the starting point for your mice to chew their way out.

So, what age/size should I get to insure breeding? Would it work to raise weanlings up?

I would wait until they reach about 8 weeks to start breeding them.

I had a hard time starting up with mice but now with proper housing my colony is thriving and I have no issue of cannibalism which is often a problem with mice (I average 12 to 17 babies per litters)

[Argentra]

Hmm, what type of housing do you use? I want them to breed in a comfortable enclosure, but it can't take up TOO much space.

Also, I've heard that moving established females into a new enclosure with the new male will cut down on chances of loss of the male. Following this, if I got two weanling females and raised them up, then got a male and put everyone in a new tub it should work. What does everyone here think of that?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

[QUOTE=Argentra;661969]Hmm, what type of housing do you use? I want them to breed in a comfortable enclosure, but it can't take up TOO much space.[QUOTE]
From what I have experienced it seems like the key with mice is security this is why I use this rack You can find the DIY here http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=50518

I house 2 females per tubs, and have 2 males that rotate between 3 tubs each, spending 2 weeks at the time in each tub.

It work great and I have never loss a or a female this way and I also never had any cannibalism issue.

[Argentra]

Cool rack. I wish I had the money to make something like that... but I just spent ALL my extra on the new RBI cage for my BP.

What size tubs are those? I'll be going out to Lowes to look for cheap tubs soon. Hmm, security... maybe my mice feel too exposed since I had them in a 10gal at first, then moved them to a clear rubbermaid tub. I guess I'll try the opaque ones and pick up some younger mice. Thanks!

[CntrlF8]

I'm currently using 35qt sterilite tubs with a hole cut in the top (most of the top is missing) covered with 1/4" hardware cloth, held in place by zip ties. My groups are harem bred, 1.3 per tub, and soon to be 1.4, possibly 1.5...