breeShuford
New member
Feeders are expensive!!! Especially pinkies and fuzzies which I can't even get live of for the occasional fussy eaters unless I go 50 minutes out of town. So after years of selling my soul to the local pet stores I've finally had enough.
In the past I have tried breeding generic white mice, but my luck with them was not so good. If it wasn't my females castrating the males(poor things
), it was the smell. I come from a family of super sniffers so I was cleaning cages on a near daily basis.
So I did some searching and roumor had it ASF's were the way too go. It took a couple months too get a hold of a few. Now that I have had them for about four months let me tell you. No they are not anywhere near as smelly as lab mice, but yes they do have a smell, and it is very strong. In there defense though they only seem to give off this strong musky oder when the males realizes that the females are in estrus or are about to have babies. I find it entertaining that its easier to tell the exact day of expected birth by the males behavior. Non the less I had to move the colonies out of the large rat cages and into aquariums in order to not feed them all off right then and there. They overall seem happier to be in the aquariums anyway so it works out fine.
They're very intelligent. Wait I take that back, while training them is really easy there have been a number of times I've left the cage door or take lid open(once for a full two days) and they didn't try to escape. After saying that it sounds like I'm the one lacking a in a certain area. Haven't lost any snakes yet. They have a good disposition too. No squeals or squeaks from females biting off there male's nether regions. I haven't been bit yet, probably just jinxed myself though. As far as savings go... I can't believe how little they cost to up keep. The oh so quiet wheels are the only things I've really spent a lot on so far. Twelve adults are costing me on average five bucks a month for food. They feed all my little ones with leftover to grow. I'll quickly have enough to start feeding my adults without the assistance of the pet store.
This is the trio that stays by my desk. They're lucky because out here they get more attention and treats.
In the past I have tried breeding generic white mice, but my luck with them was not so good. If it wasn't my females castrating the males(poor things
), it was the smell. I come from a family of super sniffers so I was cleaning cages on a near daily basis. So I did some searching and roumor had it ASF's were the way too go. It took a couple months too get a hold of a few. Now that I have had them for about four months let me tell you. No they are not anywhere near as smelly as lab mice, but yes they do have a smell, and it is very strong. In there defense though they only seem to give off this strong musky oder when the males realizes that the females are in estrus or are about to have babies. I find it entertaining that its easier to tell the exact day of expected birth by the males behavior. Non the less I had to move the colonies out of the large rat cages and into aquariums in order to not feed them all off right then and there. They overall seem happier to be in the aquariums anyway so it works out fine.
They're very intelligent. Wait I take that back, while training them is really easy there have been a number of times I've left the cage door or take lid open(once for a full two days) and they didn't try to escape. After saying that it sounds like I'm the one lacking a in a certain area. Haven't lost any snakes yet. They have a good disposition too. No squeals or squeaks from females biting off there male's nether regions. I haven't been bit yet, probably just jinxed myself though. As far as savings go... I can't believe how little they cost to up keep. The oh so quiet wheels are the only things I've really spent a lot on so far. Twelve adults are costing me on average five bucks a month for food. They feed all my little ones with leftover to grow. I'll quickly have enough to start feeding my adults without the assistance of the pet store.
This is the trio that stays by my desk. They're lucky because out here they get more attention and treats.
