What age on their own?

[kimbyra]

Howdy!
I was thinking about getting a small colony started. If I buy mice hoppers, are they too young to be on their own? Or should I buy small adults?
How about rat pups?

 

[toyah]

Ideally you want them to be at least 5-6 weeks old before you buy them, as they'll survive and grow much better without mother then (they are weaned enough to technically survive on their own at 3-4 weeks, but the longer they get mother's milk the better really).

As a general rule, anything that looks "cartoonish" and like a real baby is too young. Once they're old enough they look almost like miniature rats or mice, rather than squinty babies.

 

[kimbyra]

Thanks! :cheers:
I'm kinda freaked about having to kill them though. (I may try a homdeade CO2 chamber.) Thats something I'll have to work out. lol

 

[Velvet]

Thanks for asking!

I also wondered about that...lol

Killing them isn't that bad...unless you happen to be a serious mouse-lover (which I am not! I don't even want to touch them when I feed my snakes!) Just remind yourself that its what they would be doing in the wild anyway... Works for me! :santa:

 

[toyah]

The CO2 chamber is going to be the best way I think, as if you're nervous about killing the mice then the method that is least stressful for the animals will also be the least stressful for you. Just remember to let the CO2 in slowly ... if you do it too quickly then instead of going to sleep then dying they will suffocate while still conscious and struggle, which will freak you out as well as them!

 

[Ssthisto]

Strangely, I've had the opposite experience - an adult animal being visibly stressed for a longer period of time at slow introduction of CO2, but the animals (of ages from pinky upwards) that I introduce into a high initial concentration and then 'top up' the container have moved in a non-stressed, drunken-appearing fashion for maybe six seconds if that, then lost consciousness and gone into the agonal gasping within thirty seconds. They're generally completely gone within a minute.

 

[kimbyra]

Thanks for the replies guys!
Man, I don't want to experiment to get the best results. I actually LIKE mice, though they are stinky. I wish there was an easier, quicker (without the violence) way, but what can you do?

 

[Tula_Montage]

I have found it almost impossible to integrate new strains as adults. They are fine from about 4 weeks together but after that they just fight and cause chaos. Buying from the same strain of older mice means they will most likley reproduce much quicker with a better success rate. I remember putting a young pair together from completely different strains. They fought for about a week then settled down, the female got pregnant but was a terrible mother. All I was left with each time were pinky heads. Eventually I killed both mice. Neither were compatible with my other mooses. It was impossible to integrate them into already or newly established colonies.

I have found the best thing to do is buy one adult pair from the same strain and create a colony from there. I have 7 adult females and 4 adult males all from the original male and female. I have 4 groups, various females to one male and all are producing very very well. Its taken about 2 months for me to get to this stage but now I have mooses coming out my ears LOL

I much prefer the bag and wack system. Especially since I only kill what I need and when I need it. pinks/fuzzies just go straight in the freezer though.

 

[Quigs]

I regularly wean mice at around 2 weeks. They do just fine.

Q