raising mice for food question

[punyhuman07]

well got my tub today they only had one let man making all those holes took forever i love the set up is it nessasary (sorry about spelling) to put the mesh in the front?

[truthsdeceit]

NO!!! dont' put the mesh in front. I made a big mistake doing this.

The tubs with the mesh are acctually 60qt and hold my rats and all they do all day is throw bedding out the front. WHAT A MESS!!! So don't do it.

The smaller tubs are the ones I use for mice, they just have 3 rows of holes on the sides and 2 rows along both sides of the lid. I keep my holes about an inch and a half apart. And one hole for the water bottle.

It should be more than enough air.

So yeah, pay attention to the way I did the smaller tubs, ignore the big ones.

[punyhuman07]

yeah it looked like it would make a mess pushing all the bedding out side the tub....

[Smith285]

hey truth, I'm just wondering if you ever have too many mice, seeing as how you only have four snakes. Do you just freeze them when you get too many, or do you even get too many? I've never thought of breeding my own, but then again there is a monthly reptile show just down the street that rodentpro goes to so I don't have to pay shipping on frozen rodents (saves a ton of money) but I think it'd be cool just to enjoy the breeding process like you said.

[punyhuman07]

i wish i had a show around like that so i wouldn't have to pay shipping but the more i'm learning here breeding i think is going to be so much rewarding...

[Smith285]

punyhuman, I'm not sure if you've mentioned this, but just out of curiosity, how many snakes do you have?

[punyhuman07]

i have two at the moment a female and and a male picking up another this weekend after thanks giving from a shelter tat was resuced from a meth lab

[truthsdeceit]

hey truth, I'm just wondering if you ever have too many mice, seeing as how you only have four snakes. Do you just freeze them when you get too many, or do you even get too many? I've never thought of breeding my own, but then again there is a monthly reptile show just down the street that rodentpro goes to so I don't have to pay shipping on frozen rodents (saves a ton of money) but I think it'd be cool just to enjoy the breeding process like you said.

No Fair!! The only show round here is once yearly and 2-3hrs away by bus (i dont' have a car) I missed it this year cause of family obligations.
If I had a show near me I'd probably still be buying frozen. It's the shipping that kills.

We'll I keep a running ad on my local craigslist offering extras up for cheap mostly trying to offset my cost, I don't get that many hits. I've got one regular who buys pinkies so my litters get thinned out early.
I freeze big batches but I don't end up with extras unless I want extras. I rotate my male so I control how many pregos I end up with and when. So I just give my females longer breaks between litters when I don't need as many.

i wish i had a show around like that so i wouldn't have to pay shipping but the more i'm learning here breeding i think is going to be so much rewarding...

Yeah, I do it cause I enjoy it. It wouldn't be worth it at this point if I didn't. Since I come out even, or over cost if you figure in start up expenses.

punyhuman, I'm not sure if you've mentioned this, but just out of curiosity, how many snakes do you have?

what types do you have?

I think I've said, but I have a '07corn (eats fuzzies), '06 cal king (hoppers-weanlings), '05ball python (adult mice, small rats), and a '08 red tail boa (weanling-adult mice).

[Smith285]

I have three ball pythons, 1.1 normal, 1.0 pastel. It is really nice to have a show once a month, not only for feeders but just to look at all the different snakes and I get to meet a lot of local breeders. I don't have the room now, but in another couple of years I plan on adding a few more balls and breed them so I'm going to be looking to set up some feeders eventually (though not for a while). I actually found this thread to be the most useful one I've read on the subject

[truthsdeceit]

I have three ball pythons, 1.1 normal, 1.0 pastel. It is really nice to have a show once a month, not only for feeders but just to look at all the different snakes and I get to meet a lot of local breeders. I don't have the room now, but in another couple of years I plan on adding a few more balls and breed them so I'm going to be looking to set up some feeders eventually (though not for a while). I actually found this thread to be the most useful one I've read on the subject

I'm actually planning on breeding in the future too. So my rodent colonies will come in useful.

But for now, I do it cause I enjoy having them, it's really not cost efficient for just 4 snakes.

Glad you think this was useful. Stick it in your faves and give the link out to people who need similar help.