Might start breeding mice

[satomi325]

About how old would you say those hoppers are?

Hoppers are about 3 weeks old.

My boyfriend and I are discussing whether or not we will need a grow out tank to start off, or if we will end up killing the mice before they reach sexual maturity. I read that it is 2-3 weeks for hoppers and 3-4 weeks for "weaned mice". I'm not sure what the difference is between an older hopper and a younger weaned mouse if the weeks overlap. What is the actual definition of a weaned mouse? I also read that sexual maturity happens around 5-8 weeks, later for males.

Hoppers and weaned are based on growth development.
There is a stage where the babies hop around, which is why they're called hoppers. They're still dependent on mom's milk, but are looking like miniature mice. Fuzzy mice (the stage before hoppers) is just pinks that have peach fuzz fur.
Weaned is when they're eating solid foods and no longer need mom. The time period you said for hoppers and weaned mice is about right.

After some discussion, this is our potential plan. Please tell me if it sounds do-able. We will have the main tank for breeding/nursing. The breeder male would get his own separate tank to avoid excessive mating/breeding. We plan to kill and then freeze the entire litter and then breed another one, etc, etc. We would worry about getting additional grow out tanks when our snake is starting to eat bigger mice who are reaching sexual maturity. The only way I foresee this being a problem is if he gets to that point quickly. Right now, like I said, he is eating 3 prepackaged hoppers a week. The weaned mice, which I assume are a little bigger, we'll start after his next shed. How long do you think we could go without needing the grow out tanks with this plan?

Exactly how large is your snake in grams? At a year old, he could definitely eat an adult mouse or a weaned rat. Maybe even more.

oh and also, how big should the 2nd tank be since it will only have the one mouse in it? (2 at the most if we decide to keep one to raise to maturity) Should it be small since there is only 1 or 2 mice, or should it be a grow out tank size? If the latter, how big do those need to be? Same as the current one, or can it be smaller and be an ok environment.

You can probably fit 2 max in a 5 gallon tank.
A 10 gallon tank is big enough to house multiple mice and their nursing litters.
You can comfortably use a 20 gallon long for a grow out enclosure for multiple litters. But if you're only growing out 1 litter at a time, a 10 or 15 gallon will probably suffice.

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure that if we do this, we do it right. I know they're food, but the way I see it they're pets too and they need to be as well taken care of and comfortable as any other animal in my home. I don't want to just be shoving a bunch of mice in a tank together and act like its ok to have no room just because they're food. .

I agree with you. I breed rats, but I don't see them as just a food production. They're well taken care of and I really enjoy playing with them. They probably live better lives than some pet intended animals.

ok and he's looking for more food today, so 3 hoppers a week isn't enough at this point to keep him satisfied. definitely need the next level up. Would rats be a better idea than mice?

Personally, I start all my babies on rats. It's just easier in the long run to feed a single rat compared to multiple mice. Other than that, there is no difference in feeding rats and mice. Both have the same nutritional content.
Try feeding adult mice or a rat weanling. He may not switch to rats because some snakes are just really picky about their food.

[jarobin]

Exactly how large is your snake in grams? At a year old, he could definitely eat an adult mouse or a weaned rat. Maybe even more.

I actually just posted in another thread (breeding rats) too. Someone mentioned that he should be eating bigger mice. I bought him last 4th of July. He is 28 inches long which to me seems small. I can tell by his belly size that he should be able to eat larger rodents, but he's just so picky! I was explaining on the other board his eating habits. To summarize, he went almost the entire winter refusing food. After he had been eating 2 fuzzies a week, I was lucky to get him to eat 1 every 2 weeks. Around April he started eating again and moved quickly to hoppers. Around June I think he started eating 2 hoppers, and when I saw he got bigger I tried 3. He has been refusing the 3rd until about 2 weeks ago. Now he is eating 3 no problem and looking for more. I also mentioned that on top of being picky, he's kinda dumb lol. He doesn't coil like other snakes do around his prey. He wraps himself slightly and then struggles to figure out how to get it into his mouth. Sometimes he drops the mouse. If he drops it more than twice, he refuses to eat it. SO frustrating, and part of why we want to breed. Wasting a mouse that we have plenty more of is not as big of a deal.

I don't actually have a scale to weigh him right now. Mine broke and I haven't been able to get a new one. I would say the girth of his belly would be about the size, if not a little bigger than a full grown mouse. It's just how picky he is that worries me. When we first put him on hoppers, he was definitely big enough, but struggles and started refusing them for a few months and we had to go back to feeding fuzzies (4 or 5 a week) to compensate.

[jrivera9289]

I'd like to start breeding mice too, but not sure how. I mean when I was younger I bred my pet hamsters, but not as food. We just got two bps. One's a hatchling and eating one fuzzie a week and the other is a big boy and eats one mouse a week, but we may try feeding him twice a week. We had bought 6 mice, but 2 died before we got home...I assume it's because of the shock of the cold, 30 min car ride, lack of air and being smooched together 3 mice in a cup.. poor guys. I fed big boy one and now have 2 females and 1 male left. I'm not sure if I should feed big boy one of the females or buy a few more mice until one pops out babies. The only store I know that sells live is 30 min away...that's why i would like to start breeding my own mice. Another thing is how can I be sure not to get in bred babies..they get sick and die faster due to the close breeding. I'm considering selling some of the mice to other snake owners around us just because I don't want too many mice. I live in an apartment so space is small already having two 10 gallon tanks and soon getting a 30 gallon for big boy. Help... What's the easiest way to bred mice without too many and least smelly.

[satomi325]

I'd like to start breeding mice too, but not sure how. I mean when I was younger I bred my pet hamsters, but not as food. We just got two bps. One's a hatchling and eating one fuzzie a week and the other is a big boy and eats one mouse a week, but we may try feeding him twice a week. We had bought 6 mice, but 2 died before we got home...I assume it's because of the shock of the cold, 30 min car ride, lack of air and being smooched together 3 mice in a cup.. poor guys. I fed big boy one and now have 2 females and 1 male left. I'm not sure if I should feed big boy one of the females or buy a few more mice until one pops out babies. The only store I know that sells live is 30 min away...that's why i would like to start breeding my own mice. Another thing is how can I be sure not to get in bred babies..they get sick and die faster due to the close breeding. I'm considering selling some of the mice to other snake owners around us just because I don't want too many mice. I live in an apartment so space is small already having two 10 gallon tanks and soon getting a 30 gallon for big boy. Help... What's the easiest way to bred mice without too many and least smelly.

Rule of thumb is 1 female breeder per snake. So that means 2 female mice.
You may have to figure out a good schedule for yourself. Like, switching females in the schedule (one breeds and is pregnant while the other is birthing and nursing). Two litters at once may be too many offspring for you.

To prevent too much inbreeding, just bring in new blood once every year or two.

Mice smell horrid. So there's not much that will help you with the smell except regular cleaning. Using kiln dried pine bedding will help a little.
Rats and ASFs are much better in the hygiene department.

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[jrivera9289]

I have a feeding coming up in a few days and I kinda would like to keep my 3 live that I have since the male is maturing and he's showing more boy parts. I have no idea if any of the females are pregnant. I'm assuming not since they must have been not fully matured when I got them. I'm really hoping my snakes will eat the frozen mice I have or I'll have to make a trip to the store for some live. I am wondering if the 3 mice I have are siblings.