Ok, so I am guessing we move on from 3 hoppers a week to 1-2 weaned mice a week since he is getting bigger. I found a few charts for ages, but they all differ. Right now we are feeding f/t mice from petco. The brand is Gourmet Rodent. About how old would you say those hoppers are? My boyfriend and I are discussing whether or not we will need a grow out tank to start off, or if we will end up killing the mice before they reach sexual maturity. I read that it is 2-3 weeks for hoppers and 3-4 weeks for "weaned mice". I'm not sure what the difference is between an older hopper and a younger weaned mouse if the weeks overlap. What is the actual definition of a weaned mouse? I also read that sexual maturity happens around 5-8 weeks, later for males.

After some discussion, this is our potential plan. Please tell me if it sounds do-able. We will have the main tank for breeding/nursing. The breeder male would get his own separate tank to avoid excessive mating/breeding. We plan to kill and then freeze the entire litter and then breed another one, etc, etc. We would worry about getting additional grow out tanks when our snake is starting to eat bigger mice who are reaching sexual maturity. The only way I foresee this being a problem is if he gets to that point quickly. Right now, like I said, he is eating 3 prepackaged hoppers a week. The weaned mice, which I assume are a little bigger, we'll start after his next shed. How long do you think we could go without needing the grow out tanks with this plan?