Breeding mice

[hornet]

I'm thinking of breeding some mice. I dont have a huge number of herps but that number will be growing in the next 6months or so and breeding would also make supplying fresh killed for fussy feeders much easier. I have done some research and it says its best to use 1 male to 2-4females. Should the male be removed or the females separated before/upon the birth of their young or are they fone just left in a group?

 

[cougars]

Leave the male in with the girls.Should have no problems

 

[hornet]

cheers so really if i only wanted to breed a small amount 2-3 tubs should do, the breeder tub and a spare in case they need to be separated? Currently i only need fuzzy wiener mice so the bubs would be culled before they would need separating

 

[cougars]

Yep..Thats how I do it

 

[hornet]

cheers

 

[stockhorse]

If you only have a few snakes don't bother.In a short while they will move on to rats.By the time you have set up tubs waterers and bought your breeders it will of cost you more than just buying mice from the pet store.

 

[TheReptileCove]

in my experience if your doing it in small numbers i would do a 1.3 ratio and keep the male in. leaving the male in means the females go through this 48 hour period where they cant fall pregnant again which means you will be getting pinkies alot quicker. It doesnt take long either and doesnt realy cost much either if your doing it on a small scale. if you want to save some money use high protie dog food to feed them : ) .

 

[hornet]

If you only have a few snakes don't bother.In a short while they will move on to rats.By the time you have set up tubs waterers and bought your breeders it will of cost you more than just buying mice from the pet store.

Well i already have a couple of tubs (remembered i have a converted storage tub i used to use for rats) i still have waterers and i still have food so all i need is the breeders. While the snakes i have now wont need mice for too much longer next month i should be gettin more that will need mice so it should still be worth it. Plus i have spiders that will gladly chow down on any excess mice lol

 

[JAS101]

i have 1 male to 3 female per tub [ i only have 2 mice tubs] as they are only for one fussy snake and the spiders .

 

[Jk888]

just let them run free in your house=D

 

[JAS101]

just let them run free in your house=D

lol i can see it now 5 millon super mice running a muck in a house.

 

[cwtiger]

I have mine mice at 4 to 1 and that ratio keeps me in mice as well as some extra's to sell onto to others that can't get mice. I keep the male in at all times. If you start and get to many then you could take the male out for awhile to give the girls a break. And note for self remember once your mice start and have a few litters and get of age make sure you grow up some bubs to replace the older ones. On a small scale mice don't cost much at all to keep and if you already have the tubs from the rats then you are set just make sure that the wire isn't to big I made the mistake at first of putting my mice in x rat enclosures and couldn't work out where my hoppers were going until one day I saw one squeeze through the wire cheeky little things.

 

[hornet]

I read that peak production age is 3-9months? So when the breeders are approx 8months that would be a good time to rear their replacments yea?

 

[guzzo]

I have 3 tubs. All Plastic with rat mesh tops. I have one male in with 6 females and they are all at various stages of either being pregnant or raising young. I find that all the females pitch in and raise/feed the babies and at the moment there is a big pile of babies ranging from new pinkies to almost hoppers. Even the pregnant ones feed the babies from the others so they all grow nice and quickly. As soon as they are able to feed on their own i seperate the males into one tub and the females into another. These are my feeder mice. It seems to be working very well and i have a heap of mice at all stages of growth.

Anyhow thats just how i do it.

 

[hornet]

do you need hides or is the substrate good enough for them if they want some cover?

 

[Sel]

I give mine straw and they make their own little burrows

 

[JAS101]

do you need hides or is the substrate good enough for them if they want some cover?

i use an old icecream container with some shredded paper in it .

 

[Jungletrans]

l have a different setup for mice . An old bird cage , 1mtr cube , on a stand with plastic shelves giving 4 levels and lots of icecream container hides . All l do is catch the number and size l need , not taking pregnant females or the favorite male , at the moment he has a white head with a big black spot over one eye . There are mega mice in there but they don't eat that much . l have 3 fussy pythons that will only eat mice , no problem .

 

[guzzo]

I do not use a hide. I keep them on the recycled paper typ cat litter. I also keep them in a dark outside cupboard.

 

[RatHappy]

I breed rats, you best to breed 1 male to 3/4 females. After about 15 days, take the male out while the females give birth as some times the males will kill the offspring. If you wanna keep some of the babbies to making a bigger breeding program. Baby mice are weaned from there mothers at 4weeks old, However they dont start breeding until 5/6weeks something before and sometimes later, just up to mouse. So then put the females in a tub with male and start all over again.