I've tried to raise my own mice a few times now... I've got a few Rubbermade buckets with holes punched in the top. I've got mice wheels in them, water containers, etc... but every time I've put mice in them after a few days it starts to smell HORRIBLE. I've tried a few times but every time the stench starts to build and I end up giving up and feeding the "breeders" to the snakes.

I'm cleaning out the tanks about every 4 or 5 days... but the guys at the pet store said I should only have to do it every week...

I had one pair of mice for about 4 weeks that never bred... and they were about 3 weeks old when I got them.

Any suggestions on how to do it?