Convincing Fiance to breed feeder rats/mice

I really want to breed my own feeders for my bp, Lou, buyt my fiance doesnt want live rodents anywhere near the house. I slightly agree because well they have an odor but besides that I like the idea because I will know exactly how the mouse/ rat was care for before i sacrifice it to the favored animal. any tips about this because yeah buying ft isnt expensive but I just like to know that im feeding my snake something that isnt fubar.

Buy more snakes:gj::gj:
Get your feeding cost up to the point that it would justify breeding.:D:D

If you only have the one snake it really isnt cost effective to breed

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Buy more snakes:gj::gj:
Get your feeding cost up to the point that it would justify breeding.:D:D

If you only have the one snake it really isnt cost effective to breed

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I second that ^^^

But with only 1 snake, breeding would not be cost effective. I only have 6 and Im at the point where I have too many rats right now.

ok well then the plan is to get more snakes and other animals that will eat the mice/rats. becauses i like my scaly friends

Wait till you get them to start or right before! Rats grow quickly and unless you euthanize and freeze them, it's really difficult to maintain the right size you need.

I was thinking that i would do that she eats frozen thawed and I could easily just separate the two adults i would basicly just get some fuzzies then freeze them and wait until she either runs out or she out grows the fuzzies.

I have 6 tubs supporting 22 snakes with a couple extra I give to friends around me.
Just started a second 6 tub rack to start selling some rats so they can pay for their own food too;)

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Originally Posted by Ogre

I really want to breed my own feeders for my bp, Lou, buyt my fiance doesnt want live rodents anywhere near the house. I slightly agree because well they have an odor but besides that I like the idea because I will know exactly how the mouse/ rat was care for before i sacrifice it to the favored animal. any tips about this because yeah buying ft isnt expensive but I just like to know that im feeding my snake something that isnt fubar.

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GoodLuck! I can't keep ten live rats in the apartment without getting the silent treatment. If you get your spouse on board with the breeding let me know how you did it. LOL

Use pine shavings. U can get them from alot of fleet stores and such. Cuts down on the smell ALOT and gives them somethin to burrow in. i have 5 BP's and breed my own food. It saves alot of $

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Originally Posted by decensored

GoodLuck! I can't keep ten live rats in the apartment without getting the silent treatment. If you get your spouse on board with the breeding let me know how you did it. LOL

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Will do, but i think she would leave me if i tried, lol.

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Originally Posted by decensored

GoodLuck! I can't keep ten live rats in the apartment without getting the silent treatment. If you get your spouse on board with the breeding let me know how you did it. LOL

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My wife said.............. "Now that I am breeding the rats, we are spending less at the store buying rats. This gives her more shopping money":rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

My wife said.............. "Now that I am breeding the rats, we are spending less at the store buying rats. This gives her more shopping money":rolleyes:

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:gj: :gj:

I used to buy rodents from breeders but once i got to the point i was paying over 100 bucks every 2 weeks i started breeding my own. I know have 5 racks going for breeding and 2 racks for surplus i can sustain my weekly feeding of everything. The key to keeping the smell down is not just pine shavings. You also want to feed the rodents a good quality feed. This helps on the smell. Cheap dogfood tends to make them stink more. I feed my rodents mazuri rodent chow and mix in some black oil sunflower seed for coat. I also will mix in some bread from time to time as a filler and it seems to cut the smell down. I also clean twice a week. Now i also have a 12x24 shed building for my rat house so i cant help much on the issue of breeding in the house but with this combo of husbandry i have found it keeps the smell to a minimum. now another key is to not overload your tubs with rodents.

I had a couple of breeder mice (for my old corn snake, before he was lost) back when I lived in an apartment. I actually kept them on the balcony. It was cool enough in the shade for them, and there's only like...2 months of actual cold in my part of Texas, so I didn't have to bring them inside very often. XD Prooobably too cold in your neck of the woods for that though?

They certainly seemed fine with the arrangement. I was on the 2nd floor, so they didn't even have to worry about cats. They did really well, made lots of tasty babies. I only had 2 females and a male, and I had so many mice left over I had to donate them to the university for their snakes!

well you are pretty much on your own here buddy !! good luck :P