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The basics of breeding rodents....
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by theemojohnm on October 5, 2008
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I am in the process of moving ALL of my herps into a shed in my yard. Now that I have the room and means too, I am interested in breeding my own snake food, as paying $2.50 per mouse at the local PetCo to feed ALOT of snakes is running me broke (not to mention I hate the place)...
I will be the first to admit, I AM NOT a mammal person at ALL! LOL...
I have absolutely NO IDEA how to begin breeding rodents. I am interested in raisng both feeder rats and mice, and am particularly intersted in the African short-haired rats and short-haired pygmy mice.
Anyone have any "step-by-step" guidelines of how to get started? I assume this can be accomplished in Sterilite tubs? How many and what size am I looking at?
Any other "odds and ends" and basics are GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
Take Care.
~John Mendrola.
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by agkistrodude on October 6, 2008
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I used allot of info off this website when I started.
http://www.snakebreeder.co.uk/html/mice.html
Take care, Marty
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by tj on October 6, 2008
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"as paying $2.50 per mouse at the local PetCo to feed ALOT of snakes is running me broke (not to mention I hate the place"
Eesh. John, if you decide you don't want to breed mice, going to a reptile show and buying in bulk is a great alternative. You'll pay nowhere near $2.50 a mouse and you can just toss them in the freezer for when you need them.
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by Cro on October 6, 2008
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John, I would suggest that you stay away from the African Pygmy Mice, as they are a lot of trouble. They are very bad about killing and eating the cage mates. They could more appropriately be called African Cannibal Mice, LOL. The only reason for them, is the tiny pinks if you are raising something like new-born Eyelash Vipers or Bush Vipers.
The African Short Haired Rats on the other hand are great. I do not fool with raising domestic mice and rats anymore at all. However, there are some issues with those critters also. It is likely that they will chew a hole in the plastic container you mentioned, and excape. I raise mine in 20 gallon long aquariums. I build a wooden frame that has a inside dimension that is about a 1/8 inch larger than the plastic top of the tank. Then I attach hardward cloth with a 1/4 to 3/8 inch mesh size to the frame. That makes a good top. Then I use a glass water bottle that has a metal nozzle on it. They will chew through a plastic water bottle in about 30 seconds. I got the water bottles at petco, and use a metal hanger that they sell to suspend the bottle into the cage. You can feed the little boogers lab chow, or dog food, and all kinds of vegatable scrapps. They are prolific. A large female will often produce 20 pinks in a litter. They grow fast. They dont stink like mice and rats do. They seem to be a more natural food animal for snakes. Many problem feeder snakes readily take a soft or short furred rat, when they wont touch a domestic mouse or rat. If they are handled some as they grow up, the remain tame and do not bite much.
I would start with one male, and two females in a 20 gallon tank. Once they start breeding, you will quickly have lots of weaned mice size young. I take the young and put them in a seperate 20 gallon tank and raise them. The ones that are solid brown become feeders, and the ones that have the cute white markings on the faces, and the blond ones, are saved to sell to pet stores and at reptile shows.
These guys eat more than domestic mice and rats, and they empty water bottles quickly. I usually hang two water bottles in a 20 long tank.
They also will use one corner of the cage as a bathroom, which can sometimes be scooped out and replaced with new shavings. This tends to make the cage cleaning less often. If these animals run out of food or water, they don't mind eating a cage mate at all. Also, they like to bite off other cage mates tails and eat the tail.
If they get loose in your house, they will quickly chew through a wall, and set up house keeping inside of the insulation.
Eventually, I will drill some holes in the glass aquariums, and set up a watering nipple in each of the cages, that feeds from a 5 gallon bucket. That will eliminate the daily re-filling of the water bottles.
Most likely, three 20 long tanks, will set you up well. Start with two tanks for the breeders, and one tank to raise the teenagers in. You could get by with 10 gallon tanks, and 3 breeders, but the tanks will have to be changed a lot more often.
I like to put half coconut shells in the aquariums, which the females will use to build a nest and have their young. When you see a pregnant female, put a few sheets of paper towells into the cage, and the female will shred that and build a nest for her young. A small cardboard box would also work, but they will chew it up a bit.
Try to get your breeders at a reptile show, or from a herper. Pet shops often charge a huge markup on the critters. At reptile shows, I usually sell teen age young adult breeder size rats for $5.00 each.
Anyway, that is African Soft / Short Furred Rat raising 101. EMail me if you have more questions.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by LadyBloodRose on October 6, 2008
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i used tobreed my own rats when i had like 3 snakes.... had alota rats... got outa it for a while now that i got nearly 20 snakes an expecting more, i am wnatin to breed my own.. my probelm comes from the idiot stores here selling SICK mice an rats -_-. Nothing stays alive passed a day or a week by the time its home. An if it does its my males that die first -_-. I got a new breedig group in, investing in pet mice stead of feeders to see what hapens there.
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by theemojohnm on October 6, 2008
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Yes, I used to buy i bulk at the herpshows, but even still I would like to start producing my own. Thanks for the info John. It is much appreciated.
Take Care.
~John.
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by yoyoing on October 6, 2008
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I raise my own rats, but the African short haired's sound interesting. Some questions:
Their chewing abilities sound forboding, are they just faster or are they more capable for this destruction.
Will snakes eating these switch back (or forward)to rats or mice?
I do see the potential for hard to start animals like w/c EDB's.
Thanks,
Jim
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RE: The basics of breeding rodents....
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by Cro on October 6, 2008
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Jim, I think the African Rats work better for many snakes because they probably smell / look more like animals the snakes are used to eating, like cotton rats, and chipmunks.
They simply do not have that charistic rodent smell you get with domestic mice and rats.
The large litters and fast growth make them even more attractive.
If you put domestic rats and mice in plastic tubs, they will stay put. But an African Rat will enlarge the hole in the plastic where the water nipple comes into the cage, and make an excape.
I think that the front Incisor Teeth must project forward some, which would explain how they can gain purchase to chew through a flat surface. That is also why I use the glass aquariums for them. So far they have not chewed out of a glass tank or through a glass water bottle ! But they have neatly trimmed the plastic rim inside of the glass tank all the way down to the glass, in an effort to get out. They do not seem to eat the plastic they chew on, they just try to go through it.
They are highly social animals, and even if they get out, you will often find them on top of the cage visiting with their friends, LOL.
As far as if you will be able to go back to mice and rats after feeding these animals, well, probably, however, some snakes do have strong food preferences.
Best Regards John Z
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