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Beginner to Breeding!!

Floof

Floof

New member
Alright,so we're thinking of eventually breeding our own mice...
Basically,I need a complete "how-to" and your guys' opinions.

What have you found to be the best substrate for mice?
Is a 12"x7"x9"(lxwxh),acrylic "critter keeper" sufficient for a small colony (i.e. 1.1 or 1.2)?
We only have one hatchling right now--will it be worth it to start breeding mice now?
What about food?On terms of kitchen leftovers and the like,what would be safe for the mice and,in turn,the snake?
Is there any way to cut down on the infamous stench? My mom's biggest peeve--only tripled by the fact that,with a lack of space,the mice would be shoved somewhere in our tight-packed "living area"...Most likely in my bedroom to boot,since I have the only shelving truly not accessible by certain puppies.
A bit of a different question,but...How sensitive are mice to noise and general uproar?They wouldn't be in the center of it,but,to make a long story short,my brother is abnormally destructive and the extremely vocal deaf dog doesn't like it...

This one's pretty off topic,but What about alternately feeding live and f/t? An idea supplied by a friend of ours who was watching a friend of hers feed her corn snake...Live.She made a good point.Living in a viv with only some stuff to climb on,how does the snake stimulate his/her mind?After a brief discussion,we came up with the solution of,maybe,feeding the snake alternately live and f/t...Live one week,f/t the next,live the next...Et cetera.I realize there are worries about a mouse harming your snake,but it sounds like if a snake is used to the routine,it shouldn't have to worry about getting any flesh wounds...With this routine,too,it wouldn't be too difficult to switch from the combo to straight-on one or the other.

If there's anything else you think I should know about raising mice,please let me know. The closest I've ever gotten to so much as raising a mouse was a hamster my younger brother bought on a whim(small town=over-lenient stores) several years ago...Needless to say,I never did consider it "his" hamster.>.<

Thanks,everyone!
-Taylor
 
Due to our cats' interest, I've got 3 sets of breding mice in my bedroom. I clean them out twice a week, apart from if they've got brand-new pinkies in which case I delay for a couple of days. I can't say they smell much at all, but then I always have my windows open, and had a fan in constant use during the summer. My mice are thriving on a combination of rat food and complete dry kitten food, but I've seen lab blocks recommended quite often. I don't think just kitchen scraps would be enough, but they do like toast crusts and cooked bacon rinds
 
I would recommend against swapping between f/t and live. Because your snake may acquire a taste for live and then refuse f/t. As for keeping your snakes mind interested pick it up watch tv with it spend time with it and it will stay plenty stimulated. I know a number of people on here who watch entire movies with their adult corns (that is a bit long for your hatchling but still a few minutes holding can help them a lot!
 
And there's always the zombie mouse dance! Induces hunt and strike from most of my snakes, they have to constrict and 'kill' the mouse without any danger to themselves
 
Thanks,everyone,for your input! :)

Do snakes really watch TV when you do that,though? ... Of course,they probably do_Our dogs do...So much for the old myth of dogs being unable to see images on-screen.Playing Sims Pets has become torturous with any furry friends in the room. :rolleyes:

Cat food?There's an interesting suggestion...Shame we don't have a cat. :bird: Commercial mouse-feed isn't too far of a leap...Personally,I was trying to find an output for the ridiculous amounts of leftovers we seem to accumulate...:shrugs:
 
More than once I've seen Vern craning her neck to watch the bedroom TV. I think the randomly flashing lights mesmorize her.
 
MerlinsPop said:
More than once I've seen Vern craning her neck to watch the bedroom TV. I think the randomly flashing lights mesmorize her.
Click to expand...

Oh wow,that sounds adorable... :) Suddenly I can't wait for that big-screen dad promised for Christmas... :grin01:
 
Im sorry I may have missed how big is the planned colony of mice. I use that size critter keeper to finish off weanlings. It may be a little small for a colony. I feed rodent lab block and grain mix for rodents and occasional organic apples and organic carrots.
 
Not much would be needed,so I figure 1.1... 1.2 tops.Would it still be too small for them?o.o; I honestly never knew mice needed so much space...:shrugs:
 
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