Frozen Mice

[jessel6893]

Well i was thinking about breeding mice, But it seemed it would be to hard for someone of my age to do it. So i`m thinking of switching to Frozen/Thawed Mice, Right now i buy the live mice and kill it by breaking the neck with a pencil. I have made sure my snakes will eat Thawed mice by buying one frozen pinky.
i saw by ordering on-line its best to buy in bigger amounts, I was wondering if the mice get old(to frozen) after awhile in the freezer and if so how long before they are Not use-able.

[Flagg]

Frozen in ziplocks, they last about 6 months.
Frozen in airtight tupperware, about 1 year
Frozen in unopened vacuum sealed pouches, 2 or more years.

I breed my own, used to be mice now it's African Soft Furred rats and occasional domestic rats. I purchased a low cost vacuum sealer and I vacuum pack all of my frozen mice individually and labeled by weight. So feeding days are easy, I just dig out the proper size for each snake. and throw them in hot water to thaw.

The only problem really is lack of freezer space, as I'm producing a few too many ASF rats at the moment. I had to buy a small chest freezer just for all my frozen rodents, so there goes a bit of the money I've saved by breeding my own. I think in the long run with long term vacuum storage I'll save even more and never worry about running out =)

[jessel6893]

Thank you for that info. Another quick question if you don`t mind answering, Doesn't the Cost of Bedding and Food Equal the cost of mice?

[Flagg]

Depends on the scale really.
Lab blocks in bulk are about $.40 per lb or less.

If you are feeding 1 or 2 snakes, then it would probably cost more to breed them than to buy frozen. But once the number of snakes gets up there, it's not so one sided.

Even for only a few snakes, you could get a cheap lab breeder type cage housing 1.2 and produce enough for a couple snakes with very little overhead.
Just find a cheap source of food, do NOT pay the ridiculous pet store prices. Pet store rodent food is garbage anyway.

[ssmith_1187]

Jessel,

A quick search turned up this...Harlan Teklad (http://www.theratshop.com/shop.php?cat=3)

Good luck!!!

Regards,
Steve

[snakemom1961]

For one snake ordering online isn't cost effective at all. By the time you add shipping charges to the cost of the mice it would be much cheaper buying locally at your pet store. I have a small colony of mice I use to breed pinks and fuzzies for my babies. Is it more cost effective? I don't know because I haven't sat down and figured out the cost of caring for them.

One thing you might try is looking for a reptile show near you. I purchased ex breeder frozen mice for my adult corn for 50 cents each. They were vacuum packed and in great condition. At my local pet store I was paying between 1.50 and 2.00 each. Hope this helps.

[moonwalker]

yea for one snake I would buy locally....