Lost my first litter... :(

I know it's not uncommon for first time mouse mom's to eat their first litter...but still bummed out none-the-less! My other female is getting ready to pop any day now and I'm pretty much expecting the same result (also a first time mom)...here's hoping that I'll have better luck about three weeks from now!

Sorry to hear that dude. I have a mother about to pop in a few days here also. I am expecting her to eat at least a few if not all the babies from the first litter.

Hopefully next litter you will get to keep some.

if you have other reptiles or smaller snakes that will eat pinkys, i would take all babies from first time moms and feed right away or freez them for later. i know it sucks cuz you want the bigger ones for you bigger snakes but theres like a 65% first time mommas are gonna eat there young so it wont be a total loss if you take them before they get eaten then when shes prego the 2nd time let her raise up the babies. worked for me anyways

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Originally Posted by reptileguy

if you have other reptiles or smaller snakes that will eat pinkys, i would take all babies from first time moms and feed right away or freez them for later. i know it sucks cuz you want the bigger ones for you bigger snakes but theres like a 65% first time mommas are gonna eat there young so it wont be a total loss if you take them before they get eaten then when shes prego the 2nd time let her raise up the babies. worked for me anyways

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good idea. how do you freeze mice anyway? What do you wrap them in to keep them from getting freezer burn? Also, how cold should I set my freezer? I am probably going to do this for when I get a corn snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reptileguy

if you have other reptiles or smaller snakes that will eat pinkys, i would take all babies from first time moms and feed right away or freez them for later. i know it sucks cuz you want the bigger ones for you bigger snakes but theres like a 65% first time mommas are gonna eat there young so it wont be a total loss if you take them before they get eaten then when shes prego the 2nd time let her raise up the babies. worked for me anyways

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:clap: I second that notion.

You guys really lose that many first litters? Except for when I first started I haven't really had that issue. I don't breed until they are 12 weeks though.

theres 2 ways ive done it. one ( the most humane way) is to use co2 chamber . if you paintball the co2 canaster works perfect just put pinkys into a tupperware container and give a 2 sec shot of co2 into the container and put the lid on ( dont worry co2 is heavyier than air so it wont escape if your slow to cover with the lid) in about 10 sec the pinkys are peacfuly asleep and then put them into a ziplock freezer bag. second way to do it is skip part one lol put them into a ziplock bag and toss them into the freezer ( set it and forget it lol) pinkys will last a couple months in freezer without freezer burns the best way to store them is to put them in the bag then get your vaccuum and the attachment the is used for small thin areas ( looks kinda like a long knife lol) put the tip of that into the bag about 2inches and turn on vac for 2 secs and it will vaccum seal it. make sure to keep a tight seal on the bag when sliding the vaccum back out of it. it will store for 6months-2 years like this. hope it helps.

i only have that problem every 5 new mommas or so lol but it does still happen

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reptileguy

theres 2 ways ive done it. one ( the most humane way) is to use co2 chamber . if you paintball the co2 canaster works perfect just put pinkys into a tupperware container and give a 2 sec shot of co2 into the container and put the lid on ( dont worry co2 is heavyier than air so it wont escape if your slow to cover with the lid) in about 10 sec the pinkys are peacfuly asleep and then put them into a ziplock freezer bag. second way to do it is skip part one lol put them into a ziplock bag and toss them into the freezer ( set it and forget it lol) pinkys will last a couple months in freezer without freezer burns the best way to store them is to put them in the bag then get your vaccuum and the attachment the is used for small thin areas ( looks kinda like a long knife lol) put the tip of that into the bag about 2inches and turn on vac for 2 secs and it will vaccum seal it. make sure to keep a tight seal on the bag when sliding the vaccum back out of it. it will store for 6months-2 years like this. hope it helps.

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lol I used to paintball until I realised how stupid it was to spend so much money on fake guns and $60-$100 on 2000 balls of paint, when you can buy a real gun that shoots real bullets for way cheaper.

But option #2 made me lol (just throw them in the freezer alive)

Is that really an option? I mean, will the pinky feel pain or be unconcious before it starts to feel pain? I wouldn't want to torture it.

Odd. I've never lost a litter from first time moms eating their babies. I've lost them from the other mothers eating the pups.