thinking about mice or asfrs....

[melrappmel]

so yesterday I went to the pet store and bought a mouse for 1.30 I thought about it and each month I would be spending 3.90 and every year 46.80 and Im thinking of getting another ball python after christmas so thats 93.60 thats almost one hundred dollars a year! gasp thats alot for mice when your a 14 year old that makes 20 dollars a week in allowance I wondered would it be cheaper in the long run to just buy some mice or asfrs and breed them I already have like four cages (because I've had alot of hamsters) and a ton of left over food and bedding would it be worth it?

[BuckeyeBalls]

so yesterday I went to the pet store and bought a mouse for 1.30 I thought about it and each month I would be spending 3.90 and every year 46.80 and Im thinking of getting another ball python after christmas so thats 93.60 thats almost one hundred dollars a year! gasp thats alot for mice when your a 14 year old that makes 20 dollars a week in allowance I wondered would it be cheaper in the long run to just buy some mice or asfrs and breed them I already have like four cages (because I've had alot of hamsters) and a ton of left over food and bedding would it be worth it?

Just a thing to keep in mind as the snake gets bigger the price you pay goes up. Maybe you could find frozen feeders from a reptile show?

[melrappmel]

their not f/t their live mice

[R&DP]

I think melrappmel was talking about buying frozen feeders instead of live, they are cheaper than live. I breed both, but i'm thinking of going to all asfs. They don't smell as bad as mice.

[mechnut450]

with breeding you need to think of a couple things
the cost of keeping and such that breeding rodents would cost you
what to do with all the extra rodents as there will be time when they breed faster than can fed off, ( what to do/fed) while your waiting on said rodents to get ot feeding/breeding sizes)
also remember that at some point the ball python will go to rats ( not really ever a full grown one unless the snake get on the larger size of the spieces)

Rought break down on what i running right now to feed 21 snakes
I buying 20 lb of mammal food( being cheap cat/dog somethign ot feed them)
2 big bails of pine shavings
and i still need to get rodents al lthe time.
With under 4 snakes it easier to buy frozen bulk or just get them at the store.

I need prolly close to 10 adult breeding colonies of rats to try and keep my enough rats on hand to feed my snakes. and that if each colony pops out about 30 pups ( one colony a week minium) and I consider a breeder colony as 1 male and 3 females. I also need to have replacement breeders ready to swap out as a female dies from age,breeding issues and such.

[anatess]

so yesterday I went to the pet store and bought a mouse for 1.30 I thought about it and each month I would be spending 3.90 and every year 46.80 and Im thinking of getting another ball python after christmas so thats 93.60 thats almost one hundred dollars a year! gasp thats alot for mice when your a 14 year old that makes 20 dollars a week in allowance I wondered would it be cheaper in the long run to just buy some mice or asfrs and breed them I already have like four cages (because I've had alot of hamsters) and a ton of left over food and bedding would it be worth it?

For 1 snake, it's probably not going to save you any money. But, if you plan on expanding your collection, then yes, it can be beneficial. So, when you get to the 2 snakes point, you can start to breed your own.

I would suggest going with ASF rats and starting with just one pair to support 2 snakes. They can produce from 15-18 rats every month. It takes about 3 months for the ASF to get to adult size so it is ideal if you have juvenile snakes, because the snakes' feeding size grow at about the same rate as the ASFs. And then the ASF rat cannot outgrow an adult ball python's feeding size, so, if the snakes go into a fast, you don't have to worry about the rats getting too big.

There will be times when you get an over-supply of rats. This would be the perfect time to retire your breeders and start fresh. All you need to do is take a male and a female weaned rats and let them grow together to breeding size. Then you have about 3 months where you don't have any production.

There is a sticky in the ASF section of this forum on the most economical way to raise ASF rats (the type of bedding and feed, etc.).

This can be a really satisfying experience for you too. And, if you can find another snake owner over in your area that needs rats, you can potentially sell them some of your rats to get some money to buy rat food.

Just something to think about.