Problem with Feeder Mice eating their babies

Hi Guys

I have a huge problem, I have 7 Corns and 2 Brazilian Rainbow Boas and am trying to breed my own mice & Rats.

The rats are still to young to breed and my mice breed like crazy, the problem I have is the mice eat the babies as quickly as they are born, so obviously they cannot grow to the correct size to be harvested.

I used to have them in clear plastic tubs and has moved them to a semi translucent (very dark) tubs to give them more privacy, but it still does not seem to work.

Any tips, ideas or reasons why this is happening?

Thank you in advance for your inout

What's the avg temp of the room? What are you feeding them? What bedding do you use? How much ventilation do you have on the tubs?

Usually the mice eating their babies that badly is a husbandry issue.

Well I use pine shavings, same as what the petshop use (where I bought them) to breed their mice.
Temperature is room temperature, I would say around 15 to 18 at night and between 18 to 25 in the day.
I have them in the stationary plastic drawer system which I have meshed over so they cannot escape, so ventilation should be fine as there are no lids.
I am also feeding them Pig pellets which as per studies is one of the best diets to put them on and is very cheap. (it looks the same as rabbit pellets, but contain some extra corn etc)
So as per the research I did everything regarding the husbandry is perfect, I even give them fresh vegetables and fruit leftovers when I have.

noises and light changes will stress them as well. they are clearly stressed out

Aha, this must be it seeing that I keep them in my computer/snake room and I play computer games, music etc in there.

I will move them to a quieter place and see if this works, thank you very much, I never thought that the light and the noise (not overly loud) would stress them out.
Will this affect the rats too?

Thank you very much for the lesson

Yes it will effect Rats too. The only sounds we have in our colonies are the sounds of our AC units and cleaning/waterings. We usually see our animals stressed out even for something as small as hiring a new employee to clean tubs or water as they are not used to "their" specific noises.

Danie add some seed(bird seed mix),and when you have left over veggies, offer that to them. Pig food is great, I use pig food, but the brand your offering may not have enough nutrients in it.

Also, are they letting the babies live for any length of time????

If they are letting them live then eating them, then it is environmental such as noise, smells etc.... If your coming into a prego mom that ate them before you can see them, then it is possible they were still born, or defected due to diet, or some other variable...

Buzz

How many do you have in each enclosure, and how long have you had them?

The pine shavings aren't the greatest, unless they are kiln-dried. Pine and cedar emit fumes that can cause respiratory issues. Aspen is safe though.

Hi

Yes she eats them before I can see them, I have had one success already and her babies are about to be weaned, so they are about 3.5 weeks old.

I have a ratio of 4:1 and 5:1

I have managed to get a supplier in JHB that sells the cubes everyone on Youtube seems to use and I have ordered 6kg of that that I will mix into the pig pellets and I do give them leftover veggies whenever there is.

I am sure the pine shavings I use is kiln dried, becuase the petshop gets them from a furniture company and having worked at one for 14 years I know you cannot make decent furniture without Kiln dried pine and the same goes for treated, so the substrate should be fine.

Well thank you for all the advice so far, I will definately give everything a go.

Hi Guys

Just an update, my mice are breeding like crazy. I listened to your advice and did the following:
I changed their diet by adding some dog pellets, mice cubes, sunflower seeds and general parrot mix to the pig pellets. I've put them in semi-see thru containers to give them some more privacy and everytime I notice a pregnant female I take her out and put her with up to 3 others in their own little kindergarden, birthing tubs.

I now "harvest" around 5 to 10 pinkies a day and I leave some to grow a bit bigger for future breeders as I have ordered 9 more cornsnakes that will arrive between February and April Next Year.

Just thought I'd let you know and thank you for everyone who gave me advice a I did what all or most of you advised.

Great news!