mice won't stop cannibalizing young

I ended up leaving the male in there making my own mix of food (mix of cat food, seeds, and pellets) I assumed the females were lacking protien and letting them do their own thing with weaning the babies.. and no more eating eachother. Odin (snake) is quite well fed now..

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Originally Posted by Parsons483

I ended up leaving the male in there making my own mix of food (mix of cat food, seeds, and pellets) I assumed the females were lacking protien and letting them do their own thing with weaning the babies.. and no more eating eachother. Odin (snake) is quite well fed now..

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I'm glad that something finally worked out for you, & I suspected the food to be the issue. I feed my mice quality* "lab blocks" (aka pellets) that are large & don't fall thru the wire bars on the tops; then I also supplement their diet with one or more of these: sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, raw unsalted peanuts a few times/week. Also give small amounts of greens (usually kale) for extra vitamins, there's nothing better. You can offer other things too, but these are the essentials. Was using Purina 5001 (for rodents!), now using Mazuri (again, for breeding rodents). Cats have very different needs, & their chow may contain things NOT good for mice long-term. Including excessive fats (which cats NEED) & artificial colors, which mice cannot excrete & which can make them (or your snake, ultimately) sick. I would suggest that you get some proper lab blocks shipped to you, if your local stores won't order it. BTW, I switched brands only because of availability (to my local feed store), but both are good. They are balanced specifically FOR the protein & other needs of RODENTS, unlike cat or dog foods. Don't say no one told you. All the best.

BTW, in winter (assuming your mice are not kept in a warm house) they'll also burn more calories just like we do; for that reason, I give mine more seeds/nuts (protein & fats) than in summer. My mice are in a chilly garage attached to my house, btw. Their cages are fully insulated, & they do well with the modifications I make.

Those seed/grain mixtures they sell in pet stores have eye appeal, but seem to work best for hamsters, not mice or rats, all of which I've raised thousands of.

what you could do is once the mice get old enough, just separate them from the adults? that way they cant be eaten!:D

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Originally Posted by BoopsTheBallPython

what you could do is once the mice get old enough, just separate them from the adults? that way they cant be eaten!:D

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They don't make it that far. They get eaten long before they're weaned, fyi. :( This can happen for many reasons, including the mom mouse has dried up & is too old to keep breeding, or bad genetics from the start. In my colony, I know it's not about the food. If it's not the mom's first litter, I would feed her off as a non-breeder. If I notice any cannibalism of a litter, I pull the rest out before they meet the same fate. Sometimes I can sneak them into another mouse's litter (if they're the same size & not too many for her to feed overall), but usually they get fed off or frozen for future feedings. Breeding mice requires some "tough love", lol.