Switching to Swiss-Websters soon!!!

[Evan Jamison]

One of my herp buddies ordered some Swiss-Websters a couple months ago, and once he gets enough raised up, I will be aquiring a good sized colony of them. I'm so stoked, because I've about had it with my pansy mutt-mice males. The colony I have been working with for the past year (about 40.200) just seems to have a lot of dud males. I'd say half of my tubs produce little to no babies, and I rarely see vaginal plugs in these tubs, so it seems the males just don't have the drive. I usually cull these tubs and replace them after 3 months if I see no production, but I'm about fed up with it. I have outbred them a few times with males from various sources, but to no avail.

My average litter size has been about 8 or 9, so with S-W's having 12-13 on average, and having many more of my females pregnant, I figure I will almost double my production without having to use any more space. I just wanted to share my excitement .

Has anyone else worked with S-W's before? If so, what has been your experience with them?

-Evan

[Sevo]

Evan, Do you know where I may be able to get a pair of these guys.. I live in Columbia Sc.. who usually carries this type of mice.

The sound great

chris

[Evan Jamison]

My friend got his from another reptile breeder, who got them form another reptile breeder etc...... There are a lot of suppliers who carry many different strains of mice, but some only sell to universities or labs. You'll just have to check to see if they will sell to private individuals. Be prepared to pay a fair amount for them though, they run about $3-4 each plus shipping from most suppliers. I think Ace Animals may sell publicly, but I'm not sure. If you do get them from a supplier, be sure to get the outbred strain, as all the inbred lines have lower production and shorter lifespans.

-Evan

[Bdadawg]

Evan ... what kind of temperatures are they at? While I know that above 80f slows down their breeding I've heard some people say that it actually sterilizes the male for a few months.

Harlan delivers to Logan and Salt lake and has the swiss-webster and the ICR mice. They are a nationwide lab supplier. Prices are similiar to the Ace ones.

Bryan

[Evan Jamison]

Bryan,
I keep my rodent shed at about 70 degrees, if not cooler. I got all my original mice from Ryan Hoyer, and he has had the same problem with them for years, it seems to be poor genetics. I'm waiting until Ryan has a good number of S-W's and I'm getting them from him, it's a lot cheaper that way . Are you working with a specific line, of just pet shop mice?

-Evan