Breeding mice...

[gotballs?]

Not sure if this is in the right spot, but here goes...

I am looking into trying to start breeding my own mice to feed to Tabitha... any suggestions or tips or how-tos anyone wants to post?

Right now she is eating a weanling(sub-adult) mouse every 4-5 days, and even though it isn't hurting my wallet yet, I can see it doing so later on when she starts getting really hungry. Plus, I am thinking about getting 1-2 more snakes soon, and would like to have a food breeding system in place prior to doing so.

Any help or suggestions would be great.

Thanks ya'll!!!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

The most important is DO NOT give up, mice for some reason are not as easy as rats and ASF when it comes to getting started.

When I started it took me a good while to be successful at it, I had to try different things and see what was working for me.

As far as setup goes security is crucial with mice they are very skittish and prone to stress and of course this translates into cannibalism.

Mice from pet stores are nippy, VERY skittish and definitely more likely to cannibalize their youngs. The good new it gets better with the first generation.

I started of with 1.2 I was not lucky they did not breed so I got another male and they than started breeding.

I kept all the females to raise them up to breeding size as well as 2 males to have a 2.12 colony once they were ready to breed I got rid of my original group from the pet store.

I house them in a rack which was really cheap to make here is the DIY.

http://stewartreptiles.com/Articles/...eding_Rack.pdf

Dark low tubs = security which is a must.

You don’t want to over-crowd either so 2 females in those tubs is just perfect even when they have their babies (once the babies are 4 weeks old they go in a bigger holding tubs).

I keep 2 females in each tubs (sibling or tub mates that grew up together)

I have 2 males that rotates in 3 tubs each as followed spending 2 weeks at the time in each tub.

As far as diet I use Mazuri and dog food (3/4 of mazuri ¼ of dog food)

I use Equine fresh for bedding to reduce odors.

Once the babies reach 5 weeks I separate them males in one tub females in the other (otherwise you will get overrun by mice very quickly)

I average 12 to 17 babies per litter.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I haven't had the best luck starting my mice, either--I got 1.4, they grew up healthy...and no babies. Putting the male in with a pet female, we determined that he's a great companion for that pet female...because he's shooting blanks. lol

So, we tried introducing a new male to the colony of 4 females...and they castrated him. >.<

So, we're feeding them off, and going to start again from scratch.

[Jyson]

I defintely agree with Deborah's care sheet.
The key thing is to not give up. The first couple litters (especially the first) is usually the weakest, after that they start to get a handle on how to raise their babies. Security is also very important as well mice are way more skittish than rats. Now once they start breeding, they dont stop.

[ptate]

Two major factors when it comes to breeding mice is temps and nutrition. Temps need to be maintained from the low 70's to the mid 70's. Anything much above 75 will begin to have an adverse effect on reproduction. Also make sure that the mice are being fed a good quality diet. Mazuri is a good choice or any other comparable brand.
When I used to breed mice, I did a 1:5 ratio in a rack system. It is important not to move the males around much. Each male had his own tub and females were rotated into "his" tub until they became pregnant at which point they were moved to a nursing rack and a new female took her place in the breeding rack. Most mice don't really start breeding until they reach 8 weeks or older so if the mice you got were from a pet store, more than likely they were just past the hopper stage 3 1/2 to 4 weeks old. Be patient and give it some time. Once they do start breeding you will have more mice than you know what to do with.
Good luck!

[Clear]

Two major factors when it comes to breeding mice is temps and nutrition. Temps need to be maintained from the low 70's to the mid 70's. Anything much above 75 will begin to have an adverse effect on reproduction.

I keep my room about 73F at night and about 77F during the day, you think thats to hot? (I just started)

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I keep my room about 73F at night and about 77F during the day, you think thats to hot? (I just started)

You will be fine while I try to achieve temps in the mid 70's, my room sometimes gets up to the high 70's low 80's and I still have a production of 12 to 17 babies per litters.

[ERP]

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, I DONT KNOW IF MOST YALL KNOW PROBABLY DO, BUT IN CASE YOU DONT: IF YOU BREED MICE DO NOT FEED THEM DOG FOOD WITH RED DYE THE CHEAPER THE BETTER RED DYE IS KNOWN TO BE TOXIC...NOT TO THE MICE BUT TO THE SNAKES THAT WILL EVENTUALLY EAT THEM

thank you
dont want any dead snakes!