I Hate Mice!

[Jay_Bunny]

I just went to check on Mama, our albino breeder mouse and on a previous check of her and her litter I had noted she had killed and eaten 4 babies, leaving five (we had fed one pinky off). Well I checked her just now and the other five are now gone.




Both the male and female have constant access to food and water so I don't understand why she would do this. Rah! And one of my male breeders just died and my other pair of breeders isn't producing squat. And on top of that, two females I'm raising up to be breeders won't be ready till mid April. So as of right now I have one pair that eats their young, one thats not producing, one that just lost the male, and two females who are too young.

So arg! I hate mice. I can't wait to get my rats going. Are they any better than this?

And do you think I should feed off Mama and Spotty, the pair that killed and consumed their young?

[cassandra]

*comfort*

I completely understand the frustration and suck that is mice breeding. I think the last time I had a Momma snarf down her entire litter, yeah, I fed her off...but mostly just for revenge.

Personally, I kept plugging away at it and I have now a successfully colony (i.e., too many mice, but that's what freezers are for).

[Jay_Bunny]

I've been trying to get a colony going since November but I've only gotten 3 litters since then and one just got eaten. I only have two females old enough to breed. I think my older female is too old to have babies anymore. I found her mate dead and she is looking a bit shabby lately even though she's getting the same amount of food and water as everyone else.

*sigh*

Maybe I need to build myself a mouse rack (as soon as I finish my rat rack) and go out and get new females and new males.

[littleindiangirl]

Isn't that the way things go? You buy pets for your kid and they breed like crazy because the guy at the petstore didnt know how to sex them.

Now when you want some, the darn things either wont do it, or freak out and eat the litter! Gah! I feel for you, I dont breed mice, but if I did I would be disappointed just as much and seek revenge...

[Jay_Bunny]

I can't wait till I can get a rat colony up and going. I've got two females that are of breeding age/size and they are currently in with a male but thats still another month before we see any babies there and thats if they got busy around now.

Well now I have two less feeders to buy tomorrow.

[cassandra]

I think it took me about a year to get the colony going well...they just are not very pleasant animals, although I do quite like my current buck and 2 good mommas...=)

[Jay_Bunny]

I think my older female would have been my best breeder if I had gotten her at a younger age. We adopted her rather than bought her so she could have been a pet for over a year before we got her.

I must say though, I love my rats. They have their own personalities and are such funny little things. Monk and Nibble come running over when I put my hand in the cage. They climb all over my hands and arms and just love the interaction. I'm thinking about just abandoning the idea of breeding mice and sticking with rats since the only snake in the house right now that eats mice is our baby corn. And then the only other animal that eats mice is our ferret but she'll eat anything and should have no issue switching to rats.

[MRC]

from what I have read mice feed on their young because they are usually lacking protein. The mothers will also feed on the young if the babies are unhealthy, or lack of water etc. There are a number of things. I use to breed mice and they really suck. I now strictly breed rats which are much easier and the odor is minimal compared to mice. I also have 7 trios of dwarf hamsters when i need smaller stuff. The hamsters have virtually no odor and start breeding again as soon as they give birth. They are very prolific, however the down side is they are very cute.

[Jay_Bunny]

I don't like hamsters. I had a female when I was little and the little sucker bit me and that was the end of the beginning of me keeping hamsters.

I can't wait till my rats start producing. There is a PetClub down the street (not the best but...) and they said they could get in a few more dumbo females for me if I was interested, so I'm hoping to get a dumbo female.

[lillyorchid]

Mice are HORRIBLE mothers. I've tried many times with breeding mice and its the same thing everytime with mom eating all of the babies. I now won't own a mouse eating snake because I refure to pay $3+ for a stinking little mouse from the petstore.