I have a pixie frog and he is getting to his pinkie stage. I went and bought pinkies at petsmart this week and it was 10 bucks for 6 small pinkies. I looked online and with shipping it is even more. I was wondering if I could set up a breeding pair(1.1) and just let them breed and use this as my mice source. A pair could keep up with his eating habits, as he doesn't eat a lot of mice, and the mice could be pets to me and not just "breedeing machines". My question ot you: Is it worth it to do what I want to do? I also had anothe Idea. Can you make money breeding and selling frozen mice, or no? for how much they had cost at petsmart, I was thinking it may be, and my mom will do it with me if it is a money-making thing. As much as I don't think that will happen, we have to explore possibilities here, too. I would euthanize the mice by putting them in an air-tight container with some dry ice. I heard this works because they breath in CO2. Any help appreciated, TS
Well, I don't think on a small scale that it's really a money maker. I think if you buy a couple or 3 mice, and get into producing your own pinkies, then you will definately save money. There are a few threads in this forum on making your own CO2 chamber, and it's pretty easy to do. As long as you can stand the mice smell, they stink really bad. I have found that keeping mine in a tank with a wire lid, seems to hold the smell better than an open-wired cage.
I wouldnt breed my pet mice for food for my other pet{that seems really heartless taking away your pets babys to be eaten}
Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? It may seem heartless to you, but if you have a lot of snakes, then it is definately cost effecient. Back to the questions, on a small scale, i don't think it's worth it really, it's when you get maybe 10+ snakes, that it would be cost efficient. You have to take into account the food costs, housing, and also getting the CO2 chamber up and running.
Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? now what im saying this is because ive had pet rats before and you shouldnt get attached to a animal when you know your going to kill its babys to get food for your other pet.Now I agree but what im saying is dont get attached it's not a good idea for the people with big hearts for animals. **edited by Luke**
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? Ah, now that post was a bit confusing, as you just stated what the author's question was, so i've edited the bit that didn't make sense. As for getting attached to the mice, i totally agree with you. You'd definately need to be able to euthanise these animals, and if you can't, rodent breeding for feeders, really isn't your thing.
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? On the type of scale you probably would be looking at I wouldn't have thought you'd make much tbh. Once you balance the daily cost of keeping feeders caged and fed against what your saving instead of having to buy them from the petshop you'll probably find you are making very little if anything. I breed feeders rats myself mainly because I had trouble getting the right sized prey (for some reason weaner rats are rare as hens teeth where I live) and breeding my own allows me to choose what weight I want. All of my breeders or holdbacks(got about a dozen permanent and 4 litters of "temporary" residents at the moment) are named and treated like pets but I make a definate effort not to get attached to anything I know is going to be reapered or sent to a pet shop. Culling wise CO2 or spinal dislocation are probably your better options and both are recognised officially as humane methods of dispatch.
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? Mice do smell, so that is one big thing to take into consideration. And euthanizing the babies can be pretty tough if you get attached to them. Just remember that mice have a nasty habit of cannibalizing their babies if you fuss with the nest, so that can put a big of strain on you. If you just need a steady supply of pinkies, I'd suggest taking her whole litter at once, since mice pups quickly grow past the 'pinkie' stage. Several days ago I posted a breeding and sexing primer for mice (I'm working on one for rats, but I've got to wait for my pups to grow!) that you might want to look through, it'll give you an idea of how to sex your babies, as well as the basics on mouse breeding. There are a lot of breeding guides out there on the internet, but most of them are geared towards mass-production in a lab setting. http://www.reptilerooms.com/forumtopic-49528.html
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? The best advice I could give is don't feed that many pinkies to a frog, it can cause fatty liver disease. You are better off feeding earthworms, crickets, superworms,roaches, just about any thing without a vertebrae.
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? Ok. Thanks for the feedback. Gail, so you're saying that mice aren't good for a pixie frog? I thought once they got big enough they should be a part of the diet. If that is the case, then I might only buy a few here and there and just give them as treats. BTW, how many pinkies does a female mouse produce a month? If they have small liters, and being that I would probably use the mice as a once in a while treat, a pair may just produce enough to feed my frog occasionally. And I did plan on taking the whole litter at once and euthanizing them and freezing them. I don't know. I will think about it. In the long run, though, won't taking care of 2 mice outweigh the price of 10 bucks for 6 pinkies? Also, the way I look at it, if you are euthanizing pinkies ot be fed to another animal, they are going to a good cause. I am researching into fatty liver disease. TS
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? My mice average 9-13 a litter, and that's every 21-25 days. so even on the low end, you're looking at a possible 60+ babies every 6 months, just from one pair of mice, if they breed back-to-back. That's more than any one frog could eat in that amount of time. Feeding and keeping mice can add up, if you don't already have most of the materials on hand. They require lab blocks or seed/grain/catfood mix, plus bedding that must be changed 3-4x a week, a water bottle, cage, food dish... if you don't have all of that to start with, it can cost quite a bit to get everything established. Really, if you're just planning on breeding to feed a single frog, you'll end up spending more time taking care of his food than you will taking care of him...
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? To make it worth it as has been said you would need many mouse eaters and even then it's iffy with the bulk pricing online. For 1 animal I would find a local mouse breeder and buy from them.
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? I didn't start breeding my own until I had 25+ mouse-eaters. That's when it started becoming easier to breed my own, instead of buying 500+ frozen rodents in a single order (which doesn't last as long as you'd think!)
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? Well...Do you guys know the best breeders that offer the least expensive bulk rodents? I could buy like 100 and that would last long. I think you guys are right, it isn't great ot care for his food more than him. Thanks. TS
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? I really like rodentpro, but the shipping can be kinda pricey if you're doing a small order. Do you have any specialty petshops in your area? Sometimes you can request a special order, and that way you can get something lie 40-50 frozen pinks at a time, and you can get away without having to pay the shipping costs
RE: Re: RE: Worth it to breed mice? Or as I said look for a local breeder, creigslist may even help with that. Then you can even see the conditions under which they are kept to be sure you get healthy feeders. begunwithaletter, you really have written some great info on rodent breeding and I thought I'd let you know it's appreciated. I don't currently have enough rodent eaters to justify breeding my own but when I do I will be referencing your posts.
