Rats or Mice Which is easier?

I tried my hand at breeding mice. It went very, very wrong. I got two females and one male. I noticed the male "introducing" himself to both of the females after only a couple of hours together. So I thought everything was going good but after about two days the female killed the male. I cleaned out the male and cleaned the cage to get rid of any germs for the dead body. After a couple of more days I just cleaned the cage (starting to smell) and about ten minutes later the one female killed the other. It has been about a week since then and the female does not appear to be pregnant (I thought that was why she killed the other female, To protect the babies).

So here are my questions:
1: Why did she kill them? Or is she just crazy?
2: Are rats easier to breed and do they smell as bad as mice?
3: I heard you can put vanilla extract in the water to help with the smell, is this true and if so what is the mixture ratio?

I forgot to say what kind of cage. It is a plastic "hamster" type cage about the size of a ten gallon maybe a little bigger. It has a hiding area and a wheel (which is thankfully quick)

Thank you for your time!!

Rats don't smell if they are kept clean.
Rats need a BIG cage.
Rats are better parents than mice are.
Rats are also wonderful pets, are incredibly smart and social and have been known to mourn the deaths of cagemates.
I'm the wierd one on this site because I don't see rats as food, I see them as pets. I've kept them for 3 years.

in my experience... rats are easier... mice:madeuce:

Rats are easier than mice~ but you can't feed a baby corn snake a rat pink

1: Why did she kill them? Or is she just crazy?
Could be they were sickly~ could be she came from an established colony and did not want to be in a new colony~ could be she is just crazy. Happens in mice~ rats~ people too.

10 days is not long enough to tell if she is pregnant or not~ but if she was only with the male for a short time I doubt it. She should not have killed the others because she is pregnant. Domestic mice live in colonies and the entire colony cares for the pups.

2: Are rats easier to breed and do they smell as bad as mice?
Yes easier to breed~ but still takes time and patience.
No~ they do not smell at bad as mice.

3: I heard you can put vanilla extract in the water to help with the smell, is this true and if so what is the mixture ratio?
Yes~ put about a capful of vanilla in the water bottle it will help with the smell SOME. It will also clog up your water bottle and make it nasty with clumps if you don't clean it very well very often.

BTW ~the cage you describe is not big enough to breed rats. If you want to use that cage get more mice~ bumch of females~ one male. Leave them alone except to clean the cage.

Good luck!

Thank you JM )

I really do not want to breed rats. I was just sort of curious. I really do not like rats.

If I got more mice, what should I do with the female that I have? Do you think that she will continue to kill? Should I feed her to the python?

I'd feed her out and start fresh
Good luck

what he said

One of the most common reasons for killer mice is a lack of protein in the diet... Give them some dog food with every feeding to help with this...

sfaoldguy said:

One of the most common reasons for killer mice is a lack of protein in the diet... Give them some dog food with every feeding to help with this...

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Dry or wet dog food???

Dry dog food. Also, check the ingredient list of the dog food and make sure there is NO red dye in the food. This can take a little time if you're shopping at a supermarket and just want to pick up a bag of cheap dog food. After checking out the isle at the safeway near me only ONE food didn't contain dye.

Also, to help with the smell line the bottom of the rodent's cage with cat litter.

Why is everyone to giddy about feeding mice and rats dog food?

You know, they make dog food for dogs, and rodent food for rodents. Get some quality lab block and you'll be fine. www.mazuri.com

Joejr14 said:

Why is everyone to giddy about feeding mice and rats dog food?

You know, they make dog food for dogs, and rodent food for rodents. Get some quality lab block and you'll be fine. www.mazuri.com

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This is actually what I am feeding the mice.

Joejr14 said:

Why is everyone to giddy about feeding mice and rats dog food?

You know, they make dog food for dogs, and rodent food for rodents. Get some quality lab block and you'll be fine. www.mazuri.com

Click to expand...

Simple, its a lot cheaper to buy dog food than it is to buy ANY rodent food I have seen unless you buy online in large quantities. Personally, I have neither the need for that much, nor the storage space for it.

However seeing that mice have different nutritional needs than dogs, I did some research and came up with a home mixed food that fits the bill and offers the mice food that is far less boring than dusty old lab blocks, for a lot less money. (On a small scale anyhow)

All ingredients are from the bulk bin at Winco foods. All measurements are listed in cups:

1 Unsalted Peanuts
1 five grain Cereal mix (oatmeal like with several grains)
1 Corn kernels (Popcorn or dried corn)
2 Cereal O's (Generic Cheerios, unsweetened)
1 Nut of choice or mixed nuts, unsalted. ( I use soy nut, or dry soy beans,
this is optional)
2 Dry Dog Food
1 pasta of choice, dry (I use the short chopped macaroni salad pasta. This is
optional)
1/2 Millet (Optional, original recipe used Bird seed, most went to waste)
1/2 Barley (I added for the grain quality)
1 Pinto Beans, Dry (I added for the protein)

This recipe was created by finding several recipes online and modifying them by what my mice actually eat. The Pintos are new, don't know how that will end up yet. The Millet is a new change, Bird seed didn't fly too well, and several of the sites suggested Millet. Also suggested are raisins or other dried fruit. My mice didn't eat the raisins so I removed them.
The primary recipe was obtained here: House of Mouse

I spent just over $7 US last night and have enough mixed to last a month, and enough ingredients to make another batch besides.

OH, FYI my storage container, thus my batch size, uses about 2 1/2 times those quantities. Its just easier for me to mix it at that level.

Don't like the smell of mice? Try Gerbils!
They are the perfect size for corn snakes and they are not smelly. The cage needs to be cleaned every 1 to 2 weeks. So far my 1 pair has produced 2 litters of 8, total 15, each since May 14.

The one "problem" with gerbils is that you can only keep 1F with 1M per cage and 8 pups per litter is not supposed to be the norm. Usually around 5 but my rodent food contains 21% Protein which might help.

You can find more information on my website Gerbil Breeding Project

Here are some pictures of the pups ~1inch ~2.5cm


7 days old


18 days


---
Skylinux
Network-Technologies.org

Penman6668 said:

Dry or wet dog food???

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I use dry... I grind it in my blender and combine it with a gerbil/hamster mix... I also add some nonground dry dog food for them to chew on...

I agree with everything that has been said.. in addition, to a good diet, clean bedding, decreased cannibalism and overall increased pinky production I reccomend switching to Dwarf Hamsters!!!!

just my .02 :crazy02:

-Tonya

MaizeCrazy said:

I agree with everything that has been said.. in addition, to a good diet, clean bedding, decreased cannibalism and overall increased pinky production I reccomend switching to Dwarf Hamsters!!!!

just my .02 :crazy02:

-Tonya

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Do they reproduce like mice?

If I remember my research correctly, the gestation period for mice is slightly higher than for dwarf hamsters. However, mice produce pinkies in higher numbers, 10 - 12 (average) than hamsters, 4-6 (average). My best breeder mice have produced as many as 18. My best breeder hamsters have produced as many as 8.

According to these numbers my mice should have produced better right? Not my experience. My hamsters have produced triple the pinkies than my mice. As a bonus the hamsters have NEVER eaten their young or each other... It could simply be my choice of breeders... who knows.

I have a few that will give me a warning nip when I get close when cleaning.... but tolerate me examining their babies - the mice don't bite, but will freak out and bite their babies if I bug them too much. Ugh...

Hope this helps!

-Tonya

Penman6668 said:

Dry or wet dog food???

Click to expand...

This is funny to me b/c I just don't think like that, but i ca see why you would ask.

Some dog food is okay, but I wouldn't use all dog food..it leads to fatty mice, and fatty mice don't reproduce well, nor are they good for snakes.

If you want more protein, try soybeans. They are excellent source, especially for females, b/c they encourage estrogen production, BUT your males might end up with little mouse boobies!!!