My mouse colony... the next chapter

[kc261]

Now that I seem to be past the sneezy mice issue, I thought I'd start a new thread. Here's the link to that thread in case anyone wants it:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=73792

The good news is that several of my females appear to be pregnant. The store I bought them at keeps all of their feeder mice in one bin, so I knew they might be pregnant when I got them. I just picked out the 4 biggest females to put in with the male, but I think it is possible all 4 of those are pregnant. One is starting to look like she swallowed a golf ball, so she'll probably pop soon. I think I'm going to try to remove the male before she delivers, and put him in with the next group, in case he would have any notions about those babies not being his and therefore needing to eat them.

The bins I bought measure about 11"x16" on the bottom. I had thought, by eyeballing them at the store, that they were about as big as a 10 gallon tank, but they are definitely smaller. About what size breeder group can I keep in those bins? The 1.4 group that I just put together looks ok, but I think by the time there is a litter or 2, especially in the hopper stage, it will be too crowded.

I am feeding them hog feed (this is probably more than 50% of their intake) plus a mix of black oil sunflower seeds, wild bird seed mix, lentils, split peas, dog food, and assorted table scraps. Is that a reasonable diet or am I missing something?

[SatanicIntention]

If they are not eating each other or their offspring and aren't wasting the food, then I'd say it's a good mixture. I give mine the same diet(minus lentils/dried peas and dog food) and they do great. Hog feed went up $4 though!

[kc261]

Nobody has a comment on what size group would be appropriate in those bins?

[kc261]

Somebody must know what size of breeding colony will be good in an 16"x11" bin.

I picked up a few more males from a different pet store, to make up for the lost ones. I will have to post pics soon, because they are super cute. I decided to throw quarantine out the window, after about half a day of observing them closely, because my other choice was to leave the new males together, and I didn't want to lose another male to fighting. Besides, if anything, I think the ones I had originally that had been sick might be more of a danger to the new ones than vice versa. So it was sort of a calculated risk. That was several days ago, and so far it seems ok. Not something I would ever do once my colony gets established.

They don't waste much of the food, although the hog food does sort of crumble and leave a lot of crumbs behind. I am pretty sure if I could somehow measure the weight of the hog food that actually gets into their tummies, I'd still be paying less per pound of that than if I'd bought rodent food. It still remains to be seen if they eat their babies.

The biggest female had delivered when we checked on them Sunday morning. One was dead (stillborn?) and the others were in 2 piles. Sunday evening, I saw that the pinks were scattered and not kept together in a nest. I got the impression the mother was not taking care of them. Monday afternoon, I removed 10 dead pinks. I'm not sure if the problem was the mother neglecting them, or if she neglected them because they weren't right when they were born. They did seem small to me, even for mouse pinks, but maybe the ones I've bought for the corns were all more than 1-2 days old. I'm wondering if perhaps 10 babies were too much for a probably too young mother (remember I think they were preggo when I got them at the pet store), and the babies were delivered preemie. The pinks were NOT eaten though. A couple had been nibbled on slightly, but most were fully intact, so I guess that is a good sign. I guess I'll just have to see how she handles motherhood next time around.

The next female (who wasn't nearly as preggo looking) had delivered when I checked Monday afternoon. Her babies are piled together in a nest and she was sitting on top of them. I only took a quick peek, so I'm not sure how many she had, but they looked healthy from what I could see. I hope this litter gets to grow up!

[SatanicIntention]

I have tubs that size and keep varying amounts of mice in them. One tub has 2.6 I think, one has 2.7 or .8(bigger tub).

[kc261]

I have tubs that size and keep varying amounts of mice in them. One tub has 2.6 I think, one has 2.7 or .8(bigger tub).

That's a 2.6 breeding group with babies growing up in the tub? Or do you separate the mothers before they deliver?

[SatanicIntention]

No, mice stay together always.

Now if you used those cement mixing tubs, you could fit alot more mice in them

[stangs13]

If they are not eating each other or their offspring and aren't wasting the food, then I'd say it's a good mixture. I give mine the same diet(minus lentils/dried peas and dog food) and they do great. Hog feed went up $4 though!

Its crazy!! Wellness dog food just rose from 46 a bag to 58 a bag!

[SatanicIntention]

Yep! But the hog feed I don't understand.. I didn't want free weevils with it! LoL(yes I took it back, ick, ick)

[kc261]

No, mice stay together always.

Now if you used those cement mixing tubs, you could fit alot more mice in them

OK, I plan on keeping my mice together, but I know some people separate so I wanted to be sure.

Free weevils...ick.

Thanks again Becky!

I still have at least 1 live pinkie this morning. The mom and another female were on top of the nest, so I couldn't see much, but one was sticking out the side a little bit. At least it seems this litter is being properly taken care of.