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Considering a colony or two

lumene

lumene

rebuilding my life
Well Hi! I've been gone a few months, sorry. Life happened.

Anyway, the time has come for me to consider a feeder colony (or two) of my own. I am up to 25 snakes, and realized I am spending a fortune on mice and rats..

I am thinking of starting with ASFs, since I know a reliable breeder and she gifted my scalekids several meals this summer. I only have five snakes (non corns and kings) who would be eating them at more than 30g so I wouldn't really be worried about overcrowding or growing them up too long.

Opinions? Advice? (I am still undecided, but I've been looking at how much I've spent in the last four months alone.)
 
Go for it! I imagine asf's are easier than mice, and mice are pretty darn easy. Make sure you research asf's though. I do know they behave differently than my mice. 25 snakes is a lot for just 2 colonies if you are wanting to not buy feeders at all anymore.
 
I would go with mice, though Asf's breed regularly, they don't have as many in a litter as mice. Yes mice have a foul odor but Asf's do to. Just not as strong. Most Asf colonies are quite the nippers and tend to bite a lot more often than mice. The care is not much different than mice which is great,if you go that route. I breed rats, mice, and Asf's and all have there draw backs and great things about them. Asf pinkies are wonderful to feed picky corns "IF" you can get them on day 1. After that they tend to plump up fast. But it often takes Asf's longer to mature to breeding age/size than mice. Just my 2 cents....

Also with 25 snakes you might wanna think more mass production to keep up with your demand. One colony for every two snakes is they way I see it. Not all your colonies will produce when you need them to, so having back-up (frozen extras) is important. Also it takes time and money to breed a lot of rodents, so weigh the cost of time and supplies in there as well. Good luck with what ever you decide :)
 
I love how my second post isn't here... I probably didn't finish it before I fell asleep. >.<

I could figure out a way to ventilate my living room I would breed mice. ASf's would just be easier in a 1 bedroom apartment (not that I'm saying I won't do it, having both mice and ASFs would be ideal, I'd just have to plan more).

I don't think I want to do mass production right now (1 bed apartment, three people right now, all my pets.. its just not feasible space wise). I only have one closet to work with.
And its not that I don't love my supplier, I do. Its just cheaper to raise some of my own, even if its only a third of what my animals consume and then keep f/t from the supplier and use as needed and either way I will hopefully never run out again.
 
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