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Thinking about having a small mouse colony

NickP961

NickP961

New member
Hello. I am thinking of maybe starting a small mouse colony. Not big, but with a good amount. What's a good diet? Will bird seed, grain, and fruit be sufficient? What do you guys do? I just want to try this, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't. Is it worth all the time? How do you keep your mice?(Setup I mean) Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I do this right. Also, do you suggest purchasing adult mice, or raising up smaller/younger mice? Thanks!!!
 
Unless you have a separate ventilated room, the smell is AWFUL from mice. I tried for a while, but the smell was NOT worth it for me.

Others may say differently, though.
 
Nick, I had mice in an unheated attached garage (closed) in the winter where the outside temps never got above 30 F. We couldn't smell them in the house. I think they'd do fine in a barn.

They need some protein, so add dog foor (without red dye, I hear) 1:3 birdseed. Or get some 18% hog grower feed. This thread has a lot of answers for you : http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122636

Good luck!
 
Okay, thanks!! Do you guys get bit a lot from the mice breeders? How bad does it hurt? (Just wondering..haah)
 
The only times my mice have bitten me it's been more of a warning nip. Just a small nip, didn't even break the skin. Hamsters on the other hand are much worse!! lol!
I handle my mice from a few days old so they are very tame and friendly. Usually when you go to put stuff in the tank a few climb your arms lol!
 
Okay, few. Glad to hear hamsters are worse because I've had them and this bites hurt like a b$&@$. Also do you suggest getting small mice and raising them up together or just get adult mice? Thanks.
 
Nick, I once tought like you did LOL. I have a garage that is not attached to the house. I tought humm I can save 20-40$ a week in feed, it's worth trying it...I was wrong, Mice stink like crazy! 2 40Gallon tanks with a ration of 6 females to 1 male, multiple hides and isolation tanks for moms with new pups. I lasted 2 months... Mice grow slowly, not like rats. You will be investing a lot of time for minimal return. If you don't have 40+ animals to feed and a lot of patience, I would stay clear of having a mouse colony...
 
So I should just scratch the idea of having mice? I do want some more opinions of those of you that keep mice. I probably will only do, say, 1 male and 4-5 females and go from there. Thanks everyone.
 
Nick I would say that it depends on the size of mice you need... If you the itty bitty ones for hatchlings, then you would want mice... then you could cull all but 2 (moms need to nurse something, I've read it's bad for them if you cull all the pups) and the remaining pups will grow faster...

If you need fuzzies and up, I'd go with rats. Rats are generally friendly(Start out with a friendly pair and you get friendly pups) and have huge litters... I've been switching my snakes up, for three weeks mice one week rats since my rats have been producing like crazy and my ball pythons just don't eat that fast :)

Mice seem to smell more than rats do, but I change tubs weekly and I use Kiln dried pine which seems to cut down on the smell some. I've also noticed that foods increase or decease the smell... Like Flint River Mills(FRM) seems to increase the smell and the mice seem to drink more. Dog food and Mazuri have about the same level of smell. I'm now using a feed block/seed/left over garden veggie mix now and i haven't noticed a increase or decrease in smell....

I also wouldn't plan on separating the mice when they are pregnant... Mice will often pile all the babies in one pile and take turns feeding the group... So if one mom had 10 pups the others that only had 4 will help her will all those babies... Also moving the mom could stress her out and cause her to reabsorb the litter. If you want to move anything it should be the male, though it isn't necessary.

I haven't noticed any problems with moving the mice to a cleaning container while I switch tubs. I've never had a mouse bite me when messing with the pups, just make sure you touch every single one of them and all the parents so they have your smell. a Mouse bite feels like a pinch, most of the time they don't break the skin but they do some times. I have had a rat bite me when checking her pups and it felt like I took a knife to my finger ... really bad... It did bleed, and it did hurt for the rest of the day and I do have a scar, but I'm a baby when it comes to pain so...
 
18% protein pork grower is a good diet. I don't supplement it with anything. One of my females just dropped 18 pups. I enjoy breeding my mice. And honestly i don't mind spending more time with them than my snakes. They are cool little critters and can be really friendly. So, to me, yes it is worth the "work" and time. I have a 6-tub mouse rack using mortar tubs from home depot. Racks don't smell as bad as tanks, but it might not be worth it for you to build/buy one for your small project. I'd go ahead and get adult mice, then hold back from their litter, and go from there. Don't take anybody out of an established colony. Females don't need a break. It stresses them to move them, or their male. Food and water needs to be accessible at all times. First time mommas might eat their babies, give them 1 or 2 more chances. I get 50 pounds of pork grower for $12 and 4 cubic feet of KILN DRIED pine bedding for 6 dollars. I guess that's pretty much all there is to breeding mice, besides culling.
 
What size of mortar tubs do you use?

Also, I've wondered, is there a rule of thumb for the ratio of breeding female mice per snake? Maybe three ratios or four.

breeder mice for pinkies per snake?
breeder mice for fuzzies per snake?
breeder mice for hoppers per snake?
breeder mice for adults per snake?

I searched and can't find any guide lines other than someone who had 20 mice colonies of 1:6 for 200 snakes. Anyone? Anyone? Ferris?
 
They had them labled as small. But the website says they are mediums. One female per snake should do it. If you are feeding live then it get's complicated because of how fast the babies grow. If not, then you can just cull them at the appropriate sizes and freeze. If you don't care about extras or having more breeders you could do more. I can't get the pictures up until tomorrow.
 
Thanks Pheonix! For the explaination and the photos.

One more question. The feed, do you have that on the screen on top? In a bowl in the tub, what?
 
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