Ratio mices/snakes

Hello everyone,

I would like to know what is the good ratio mice/snakes if I whant to breed mice for my corns? How many female per male and how many familly per corn? And also I would like to know the cost for breeding mice? What would be the cost per mouse compare to buy it from a breeder.

Thanks!

Caroline

You can have 3 or 4 females per male. I think one female per snake is enough, or maybe 2 females for 3 snakes.

It cost about 40¢ of disposable stuff (food and bedding) per mouse to grow to adulthood. It's more work than money to keep them.

Mine are kept in 1.4 groups. Females pop out new litters (of 10-15) every 4-5 weeks. It costs me about $20 a month to feed and clean my mice and rats (2 groups of mice, 1 group of 2.6 rats). My mice I have about 80 babies a month and my rats about 100 babies a month. I though, have a lot of mouths to feed.

for three corns, I'd expect three female mice could keep you going. Personally, I'd place a frozen order big enough to last you six months. But I get SO fed up with keeping mice I only keep a few for stubborn feeders.

Thanks

Thanks everyone,

I was really wonder what would be the best because I find a place that sell the pinkies 25 cent, the fuzzies 35 cent, the hoppers 45 cent and the adult mice 60 cent if I buy 1000 (I can mix different sizes, canadian $). Is it better to buy them? Is it difficult to breed mice? I know that I can buy my mice for 6 snakes but I want to breed my snakes and have more snakes so for, say 50 adults, is it better to buy mice or breed them?


Thanks again.

If you have the space (can't be kept in the same room as the snakes), and don't mind the smell...I'd say breeding your own feeders is worth while if you have 25+ mouths to feed. Otherwise, ordering frozen is GREAT. I really am considering going back to ordering (it's a lot easier), but I have fun with all the neat little mice that are born (I love the cow mice!).

How many snakes you have blckkat? Yes the smell... That was my concern...
I want to do this at my home and I have 2 kids (6 months and 6 years). Hummm... I will have to think about this.

1.2 Ball Pythons
0.1 CA Boa
1.1 Western Hognose
6.10 Cornsnakes

I have a wide range of food sizes that I need. Everything from pinks (7 of the snakes are babies and get fed twice a week) to medium adult rats!

Their are ways to cut down on smell (and to make less cleaning each week). Petstores carry odor nutrilizing (sp?) bedding. This type of bedding is pretty pricey. If you keep only a cage of 1.4 mice, I wouldn't think it would be that big of an expense. Also their is products (made for ferrets) that nutrilizes (sp?) the ammonia in their urine (you put it in their water).

Yesterdays News is a good product. Biodegradable and better absorbition then Aspen. The price runs $14.99 for 20lbs at PETsMART.



PETsMART must have just started carrying this. It started out as a cat litter. I know it works really well for cats, so I'm sure its virtually odor-free! $6.99 for a 4lb bag at PETsMART.



Bi-Odor is the stuff that you can add to their water. $12.49 for an 8oz bottle at PETsMART

You could always mix the products to experiment a bit. I think I'm going to take a try at mixing the CitraMax with Aspen and see what it does. I keep my rodents in my home as well, but the mice are icky! Rats aren't nearly as smelly as mice!

Thanks very much for your infos! I live in Canada so we don't have petsmart but I will check in petshops to see if they have these products.

Thanks again!

Depending on the sizes of your current 6 snakes, I think a 1:3 of micewould do quite well. How old are your snakes?

I don't think there is any set formula for the amount of mice per snake that is needed. You'll just have to play with it a bit if you want to invest the time and effort into it. If a 1:3 is stretching you on the amount of babies, save back one of the female babies for a future breeder.

A 1:3 gives you the chance to have babies of various sizes at hand, ready to use. And also enough that you can freeze some of them at the right size you'll need to save for the unexpected down-times when you need to feed but all your females aren't popping or the babies aren't big enough.

Most people I think, just expect mice to pop out every month weanling sized mice, well it doesn't quite happen that way. If you have yearling or adult snakes that require adult mice, you have to raise some of the babies up for 4-6 weeks to get them to the appropriate size. So you always have to keep that in mind.

The mice are extra work, but with a nice and easy setup, their care is a breeze. I (read, my husband) built a rack system a few months ago for my 5 colonies. In each colony is a 1:6 right now. I'm cycling out the older females and adding in younger ones, so that explains the amount of females. There's feed bins on the top of the screen wire for them to eat out of, and all I do is add food once a week.

For the smell, I use the same stuff blckcat uses in their water, it is a god-send for everything. You can buy it in gallon jugs from various places, which is what I do. Those $12 8 oz bottles from Petsmart don't last long enough for me. Frequent cleaning helps keep down the smell too. Right now I'm just using straight aspen bedding for them, or a mix of Aspen Supreme pellets and aspen shavings. Also, if you are in a very dry environment, the smell is kept to a minimum...if more humid, the more frequently you need to clean. Just over the last year I've noticed a significant difference in that here in Southern Indiana.

I'd say if you want to try it, give it a go. I really enjoy the mice aside from the fact that they're snake food. And like blckcat, the "cow mice" are adorable as are the other color combinations I'm getting. And if it doesn't end up working out for ya, then its real easy to find takers for the breeders.

Thanks

Thanks Taceas, it really helped! For the moment I have 2 '04 and 4 '03 but I plan to have a lot more this summer so I will probably try with the mice and see how it goes. Do you know where we can buy good mice cages at a good price?

Thanks again!

It all depends on what type of cage you are looking for, really.

For rodents, I still like the solid sided containers, like glass aquariums. It is chew resistant and escape resistant for even the smallest of mice. It also is a lot more stable, less unlikely to be knocked over if its set on a solid surface.

I kept my very first colony of a 1:5 in a 20 gallon long, the most common aquarium utilized for corn snakes as well. It isn't as tall as most other aquariums, but its floor space is maximized for freedom of movement. If you have the space for it, I'd recommend that. I've comfortably kept a 1:8 in such an enclosure quite comfortably. Mice seem to do better when they are in a slightly crowded environment, at least that is my own observation. They're highly gregarious and enjoy the company and cuddling of one another.

But however, with the restricted air-flow in a 4 sided enclosure, the need for frequent cleanings is always there. It doesn't allow the urine to dry as fast as an open sided enclosure, and it can exacerbate an already smelly group of animals if not regularly cleaned.

Your other option is a wire cage, which I've used with rats with great success. I bought my rat cage from Martin's Cages, and I love it. It currently houses my ferret rather comfortably once I got rid of my rats. Its easy to clean, and just convenient all the way around.

However, finding a maker of mouse wire cages could be a daunting task. Mice are notorious escape artists, and anything in which their head can fit through, the rest of their body can squeeze through as well. And this is really apparent in the younger mice, they're quick and still small enough that wire is of no hindrance to them. Mice are also very good climbers, and if any door is left unlatched, they may be able to escape. The wire cages from any petshop are hugely inadequate for mice. They utilize vertical or horizontal wires, where most of the better made cages are squared wires which is more difficult for escape.

On the plus side, wire cages allow for optimum ventilation, which prevents the accumulation of ammonia from their urine (that can cause health issues in long exposures). However, I can only imagine the sticky stench a male mouse with a knack for climbing and urinating on the sides of the cage would cause. One thing I am glad for my rack system nowadays, no more sticky urine soaked water bottles.

Just shop around and see what you like. Its all about experimentation. =)