how do you breed mice or rats? do you walk into the pet store and say i need a male and female adult mouse or rat? i have an empty 20 gal and am gonna need em.
Well if you plan on only using the 20G you cannot do rats... there is sooo not enough room for 2 rats and their babies... plus with rats its ideal to seperate mom and dad so she doesnt end up wiht new babies before she weans the old ones... this could and probably will end with her death... however you could do mice! I wouldnt recomend more than 1m 2F for a 20g but go with what your comfy with they are your mice... just DO NOT do more than 1m as they will fight over the girls... whether you seprate male or not after breeding is up to you some breeders do some dont... I personally dont and have not had a problem... I do not recomend getting your mice from a pet store... those tend to be past their prime and inbred... inbred isnt much of a problem if you plan to kill them off and feed them to something... I would find a local breeder... I am not sure of exact age but you dont want your mouse too young or too old... I also suggest that you seperate boy babies from girl babies and babies from parents once they are eating on their own as to prevent very inbred babies... that is if they are alive past weaning... I am not sure what size you plan to feed... any other questions?
well theyd be going to a ball python, so theyd be like hoppers or weanlings. but how do you tell the difference between a male and female at such a young age?
If your feeding all the babies you wont have to worry about it but should you decide to keep a litter longer or something... Once you know what to look for its really easy... here is a great site with pics http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/sexing.cfm they have babies on there too just a bit down on the page... hope that helps!
no problem...I remember when I first started out I had all the same questions lol... it was hard to get clear answers from most people
20 gal is not a good choice. Best choice is 8in x 14in cage where top is stainless bars with compartment for pellets, compartment for water bottle. Water bottle compartment must have shield so mice can not chew stopper through bars. Water bottle should be wide mouth (for brush cleaning) glass to resist periodic bleach decontamination Rubber stopper and ball-in-straight tube sipper. Bedding can be recycled paper chips and changed weekly. Yes, you might be able to house 1 male with 2 females. Get white because easier to sex at weaning date. Get mice from different sources for genetic strength. Do not choose mice with scratches/bites. Bites on tail, back may be from fighting; do not choose these mice because they will be stressed. Male mice, even from same litter, may fight and kill each other. Female mice usually will not fight each other. Occasionally a male may bite the female mouse. Fighting mice must be separated immediately. Do not choose mice from cages with scratching around ears/neck which may indicate mites. Mites are best treated with cotton balls treated with permethrin, (MiteArrest) one to each cage. Feed commercial mouse food. Don't breed until 1.5-2mos old for best results. Mice may stop breeding near 10-12 months. Litters are typically 10-15 pups. Gestation is aprox 21 days The day of birth, the female will mate again, therefore, a new liter may appear on or near the weaning day (21 days). Pups are cared for by mom, other female and male. A good breeding female with male can easily take care of 12-13 pups. Bother as little as possible during litters. Remove dead pups. Remove babies at 21 days and separate into male and females. Females will have anus closer to urethra. Males will have testes swelling. Males will have "genital beard/fringe" between anus and penis. Mice are sexually mature between 21 days and 28 days. Any questions? -Nino
