Feeder Mouse Breeding..How to?

[jason4173]

A while back I picked up a bunch of mice from a local pet store. They were giving them away as babies and I figured that having 2 BPs that this would be a good opportunity to get them some free food and give me the chance to keep my own mice handy for feeding.

My question is that now that the mice have gotten a little bigger they fight all the time. I have had one female have babies and seperated her and the babies from the rest since I found that one of the babies was eaten by some of the other mice. I have 16 total mice, half males and half females. How is the best way to keep them healthy, breeding, and not fighting and continue having healthy babies????

Thanks!

[Beardedragon]

A while back I picked up a bunch of mice from a local pet store. They were giving them away as babies and I figured that having 2 BPs that this would be a good opportunity to get them some free food and give me the chance to keep my own mice handy for feeding.

My question is that now that the mice have gotten a little bigger they fight all the time. I have had one female have babies and seperated her and the babies from the rest since I found that one of the babies was eaten by some of the other mice. I have 16 total mice, half males and half females. How is the best way to keep them healthy, breeding, and not fighting and continue having healthy babies????

Thanks!

Make sure that there is only one male per tank. If one has babys and there are more than one male, other males will eat the babys that are not his. They will also fight. I have two tubs with a 1.8-9 ratio and keep the babys in with all the other mice and im over run right now with baby mice!

[Argentra]

That, or keep them in trios which is what I do. I have three groups with two females and one male each. All three in the trio raise the litters together, and get along well.

If more than one male is in the presence of females, they will fight. Period. I have that going on with my feeders now since they are of breeding age and I don't have the room currently to have the sexes separate.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

That is a lot of mice for 2 BP

I would recommend to keep 2 trio (1.2) and put them in 2 separate enclosures. (Even than it will still be a lot)

Ideally you want something that will provide them with the security they need, dark plastic tubs are in my opinion the best way to achieve that.

Mice especially the ones from pet store are very skittish and will tend to be more aggressive towards each other including the babies.

A lot of people try to breed mice and often give up because they are not successful, to trick is to be persistent and realize that it gets better and easier with the second generation.

Food is very important I feed mine a mix of dog food (18 % Protein) and Mazuri 6F. (No pet store rodent food)

Some people are successful with harem breeding, I personally am successful housing my females together and having the male rotating through the enclosure.

Finding what works for you is what matter, experiment around but keep in mind that SECURITY is key.

As far as bedding you will want something that absorb well, mice stink and so far the best bedding in my opinion is Equine Fresh, which can be found at the tractor supply.

Gestation is 21 to 23 days the female can get pregnant again hours from giving birth so you need to keep this in mind as you only breed for 2 snakes.

Average is 6 to 12 babies, I average 13 to 17 babies per litters.

All the females are retired after 5 litters.

Babies can be weaned at 3 to 4 weeks of age.

At 5 weeks they are sexually mature so it is very important to separate them by sex if you do not want to be over run by mice.

Ideal breeding age 10/12 weeks.

This is what I use for my breeders (I house 2 females in each tubs and have 2 males rotating)



I keep the weaned mice in bigger grow out tubs.

[jason4173]

Thanks for the thoughts!! I guess that I did go a little over what I needed to keep a supply of mice for my snakes. It is important to me that they are kept right and kept healthy as I am feeding them to my snakes and do NOT want my snakes getting sick because of poor kept food.

What are some things to consider when keeping and feeding these mice to my snakes as far as their health? I did have one male mouse die, not sure why...so I have stopped feeding these mice to my snakes for the time being to see if any others are sick acting or if I loose anymore...I have not noticed anything with any of the others...besides the constant fighting...they all seem healthy and active....

[bamf64]

what i do(since i only hav 3 snakes) is put a 1.2 ratio of mice and let them breed, then when the female gives birth i separate the male into the male tub. let the mothers raise up the babies until there weaned, then it all works out because i have one tub for my breeder female, one for the males and one for the females. its perfect.

[suzuki4life]

I run mice 1.8


determine how many babies you plan to have...that tells you how many females you need. Choose a male and feed off the rest. I would probably figure out how many babies I need, divide that number by 8 and that should = the number of females you need...I would then add one to be safe.