So I'm thinking about starting to breed mice... I've kept many pet rodents in the past, some of which I accidently bred (One of those rats I specificaly asked the petstore for a female that was def. not pregnant. Thanks guys) so I have a pretty good idea of husbandry... But there's tons of care sheets and stuff for me to read on how to set things up and care for them...

What I want to know is how many breeders should I get?

Right now I have 5 bps... 4 are 2008s and one is adult or subadult... The 2008s there are 2 large/older and 2 pretty tiny... Right now I'm feeding the small 08s 2 hoppers a week the large 08s 2 adult mice and the adult bp is on 4 mice a week... I got her recently from somebody that was mistreating her and let her get bit by a big, mean rat so I have her on mice right now to prevent her from being intimidated or bit again... I haven't read anything yet that says a rat is better or more nutritious that several mice, so I'm kinda rethinking my original plan of switching her back to rats. Can all my bps thrive on mice for their entire life? If I'm breeding myself I don't think the cost of producing several mice a week per bp would be worse than just giving them 1-2 rats per week (as adults later on) would it?

You see I've always been partial to rats.. I think they're much more intelligent and affectionate than mice... The majority of my pet rodents have been rats...

Of course for the health of my snakes I will suck it up and feed rats if need be. I've fed other snakes rats in the past... But if it's not going to hurt them to stick to mice... That would be preferable...

Sorry for being long-winded. I'll summarize my questions...

How many breeders should I start with? On about feb 17th I will be getting 4 more 08 bps, so I'll be feeding 8 youngin' and 1 adult bp.
I currently go through 4-5 hoppers and 6-8 adult mice per week. I imagine that will be near double come next month.

Do you guys feel it is okay to feel adult bps mice vs. rats?
Is it much more costly to do it that way?

How long is the reproductive cycle for mice? How long from birth to adulthood?

Thanks everyone