what would be a good size container to breed mice in? and how fast does it take for them to go from pinkies to adults?
A standard 10 gallon with mesh top will work fine for each breeding pair. Big operations usually house each male with 2-4 females in the same box, allthough for that I would reccomend a larger enclosure. Large plastic sweater boxes / storage bins like you can find at wal-mart work fine too, but a mesh top should be constructed for proper ventilation. I would not use bins with holes cut into them because mice will chew on any exposed edge of the plastic they can get to until they make the hole large enough to escape. Try to start with breeding stock from different bloodlines to avoid complications from inbreeding. Pine shavings works fine for a substrate, and should be changed weekly. Get a little bowl for food and a rodent water bottle, and add some cardboard toilet paper tubes for them to chew on. For food, feed them hampster/gerbil seed mixes, as well as fresh veggies and black oil sunflower seeds (aids in fertility), and add a vitamin supplement to the water. As new litters are born to the breeding pair, you will need to remove the last litter into a new tank or else they can get jealous of the parental attention being given to the newborns and kill them. From conception to birth usually takes about 21 days, and from birth to adulthood takes about 45-50 days. Average litter is around 15.
sounds good thanks for the info. i want to start breeding mice because it costs a good amount of cash every week to feed my monitor.
How is Tripp doing? I personally feed mine on various insects/worms and seafood, no rodents. I just do it that way because it more closely mimics their natural diet and I think he will stay healthier in the long run, but many people do have nice healthy monitors on a mostly rodent diet.
I feed various fish, shrimp, and will start feeding crawfish when he is bigger (all raw of course, and live whenever available). I use vitamin dusted worms/insects as his staple food, and throw in a small amount of seafood every day as a nutritious treat.
How big is he? If he is still little you can get live minnows really cheap from a bait shop or pet store, and they're the perfect size!
he is around a foot long. i used to get minnows for my turtle and then i started getting small comets. i could give him some small comets right now. he has a really big mouth. but i will start with minnows to see if he likes them. should i just put them in his water bowl?
Well, there are a couple options. First, if your water bowl is very deep at all, he will probably not understand how to catch them just by putting them in his water. To start with, just put them on the floor of his feeding box (and I would use an empty box to feed, so that he doesn't eat his substrate). Once he learns to recognize the fish as a tasty food item, you can try putting them in a bowl with just a little water in it, just use enough water to cover the fish where they can move around sideways but can't really go up or down. This is important because your monitor will have to be able to feel them out with his tounge and nose before he will grab one. It may take a little patience, but they will chase them once they get the hang of it.
the bowl isnt very deep it just covers his back when he lays in it. i put a minnow in front of him right now, and he seemed interested in it but he did not eat it. i think he was full from his feeding about 20min ago.
If he doesn't take it right away, try sprinkling a bit of the calcium dust on it (assuming you dust his other food)
I have 2 ten gal. tanks w/ wire mesh tops. 5 females +1 male in each tank. 5 inches of aspen shavings and water bottle. No feed dish, I drop a handfull of chunk dog food in on top of shavings. NOW,this sounds weird but it works. All the mothers have their babies in the same nest and nurse each others babies. Sometimes there are 3 differant liters in the nest with a weeks age differance in each.Ive never lost one. The myth about handling the babies and the mother rejecting them is not true. Ive cleaned cages and then put them back,they're just glad to be back together. READ on, you're gonna think I'm lyin but I'm not....... I've returned a fuzzy to the nest after being bitten by a nile crocadile (wasn't hungry at the time}and soaking wet and nearly drowned. The mother revived him, he was snake food later. This "Mouse Machine",as I call it has been working for years. Nile Crox Rock........
oh i used to work in a pet store and we breed our own mice ...it help if you keep them cool.make sure it stay around 80.a lot of the time the mice would stop breeding if the temp was to high...also make sure to over feed them mice are canibalistic
does anyone know how long a rats gestation period is and how fast the babies go from pinkies to adults?
I don't raise rats yet but i've got to start.Hope I have as good luck as I've had with mice.I just talked with a friend that raises them for pet shops and for her snakes.She said the gestation period is about 30 days.They can be weaned in about 3 wks.(their ears will start to stand up).When they are about 3 months old they can be bred. She also said to move the mother and babies to a seperate cage.(unlike mice). This info is not from personal experience but she knows her stuff. Good luck and wish me luck.
Getting ready to dip into rat breeding myself. I have 8 BPs now. Between finding the appropriate size rats, price of the rats, inconvenience of going out buying rats and the fact that none of my snakes will touch a dead rat it just seems like the only way to go. I am going out tomorrow and getting everything I need. I will let you know how things go, Klik.
thanks laffin and good luck. shrap good luck. 8BPs now damn man lucky...but i bet your 8BPs dont eat as much rats and mice and my Savannah monitor does in a week lol 3mice a day or 2rat pups and come cut up steak and turkey. he would eat more if i let him
