Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I have been thinking it would be more cost efficient if I start up my own breeding colony of mice. Now mind you I only currently Have 2 hatchlings and 2 argentina horned frogs that need to be fed. I have a 40g acrylic tank sitting around not being used, and was wondering if this would make a good breeding tank? Do I have to worry about the mice/rats chewing through the acrylic? Now a couple of questions on breeding and etc:

1) In my 40g I was thinking of one male to maybe 5-6 females? Would a 40g be big enough for that?

2) What do you all feed your feeders? I have heard dog food, corn flakes, mice pellets etc.

3) whats the gestation time for mice? rats?

4) the 40g does not currently have a lid, do you think a mous or rat could escape such as climbing up the sides etc?

Thanks for any help.

Can you give us the dimensions of the 40-gal tank?

Without looking it up, I believe the average gestation period for rat/mice is aprox. 28 days. I'll look it up and will post back if I'm very far off the mark.

As for a lid, you'll definitley want to make or buy one. They can jump pretty high.

Have a great day!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

It is 3ft long by 18ft wide and 16 ft tall. So you think they might be able to jumb or climb out of it with out a lid?

HAs anyone bought mice from like petco or petsmart and had any luck with breeding them?

Mouse gestation is 21 days, not 28.

I've tried Petco mice several times, and only had one female that ever reproduced. I've had the best luck with mice from a reptile show.

Yes you will need a lid or that tank, as well as a water bottle that hangs on the side. You could use 1/4" hardware mesh for the lid.

In a 40 gal tank you could probably do like 1.8 or more. Just make sure you keep it to 1 male.

For food, lab blocks are best, They have all the nutrition needed for mice or rats. Check a feed store.

I've had a bit of luck with petco mice. I bought a trio a while back, and one female repeatedly has 12-15 in every litter. The other had like 6, so i fed her off, to make room for more productive animals. It's a crapshoot. Petco mice come from random people who breed them. Sometimes you get good blood, sometimes you get bad. It's different month to month, and it's different depending on where you are. We went a while at our closest Petco where I kept getting really good breeders, like that first one that surprised me. Now, I quit buying them from there.

Yeah, I would put some kind of cover on it. Even if it's just a strip of weighted down hardware cloth (1/2" squares).

Thanks "Rflagg" & "rainbows-r-us" for keeping me straight on the gestation period. I'm always a week late.

Have a great day!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I read through the other posts and agreed (except the 28 day gestation)

One other thought, if you will be breeding as a colony, do you have a way to get rid of surplus? Once they get going, each female will produce one litter per month using 10 per litter (can be much higher) and 4 females, that's 40 babies a month for two snakes and two frogs?

I know....once you et the mouse production going, you can buy more herps!!!! That'll fix the surplus rodent problem.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
12.24 BRB
11.13 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Well I ran to the local pet store and picked up some mice, I decided to get 3 females and one male. I currently have them in a 10g. Think I might use the 40g to raise some of the babies etc. Have a quick question, What do you all feed your mice? Also does it matter if they are the albino white or colored? I picked up 2 white females and a white male and then a gray female. That shouldn't matter I would assume.....Thats a good ideal about the more herps thing, just do not tell the wife! lol

Color doesn't matter. I already answered about the food. Mazuri or Harlan lab blocks. DOn't waste your money on Kaytee lab blocks.

I have a simple small set up to feed my snakes. I always have about six litters going at once, a tub of weaned growing out and my breeding tubs. I can pick out pinkies, fuzzys, hoppers and big ones just about always and keep the colony going. The idea is to be able to add more snakes, as was mentioned.
Breeding cage. I put two or three females in at the same time with the male, who stays in here. I use a layer of kitty litter and some aspen bedding. After a couple of weeks, I know they are all pregos.

El Cheapo birthing tub- Sterilite from Big Lots @ .99 each. Fashion a lid and a food hopper and two wire straps hold it down. Easy! I put one or two females in at the same time when they look like they are prego (you will know when you see it) They stay in here until the babies are crawling all over, then they go into a cage like the breeding tub. I feed off males and raise up the females. Some make it to go into the males cage to start another cycle. Moms go right back into the breeding cage (always a new group together).

Close up of litter in El Cheapo cage- note simple wire strap to hold lid down.

I am bad at breeding- I don’t write anything down, I don’t keep records, I never know how old they are. I totally wing it at every step of the way. Somehow, they breed and make lots of babies anyhow. I started out feeding a mix they sell at my local pet shop that I think they mix themselves or buy in bulk. It is infested with some larva and they become moths. The mice don’t seem to mind, but they scatter the grains and seed all over the cage so it looks like they are eating a lot but they are just flinging it all over. I just started using some lab blocks, I thing Kay Tee brand or something, but they really stink. Now I know why some set ups really smell- it’s the chow. Smells like corn mash from some whiskey brewing operation. I’d rather have the moths, but I see there is a lot less waste with the chow. It is quite a hobby itself breeding the mice. It can be sort of enjoyable. They are very productive, very easy to care for, and if you don’t count your labor, I guess they are cheaper in the long run than buying them. It does provide a dependable supply, which to me is the real value of the whole thing. Just my 2 cents for ya...

Kaytee lab blocks are the worst. They are full of filler and ash and other worthless products. Try Mazuri or Harlan lab blocks if you can find them. They're cheap in bulk from feed stores or reptile show breeders.

I just want to repeat the part about getting it from a feed store or someplace similar. I pay something like $18 per 50# bag, which is around 1/10 what they cost at the locak pet shop. That makes them cheaper than the cheapest generic dog food I've found. No reason to waste time or money on anything creative.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.