Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am getting to the point I need to start using tubs dont have the money at the moment for a rack how do i keep the lids on the tubs? sorry if this is a stupid question, i have only kept geckos in shoeboxs and they cant get out lol and do you guys think breeding rats and mice is worth the effort or should i just tell my wife to get used to a big pile of mice cicles?

I've successfully used tape, but not Scotch tape. I've used edging tape that is used when painting walls -- I usually see it in blue and can be found in any Home Depot or local Benjamin Moore dealer. I like it because you can take it off and on over and over and it keeps it's adhesive quality. And besides, it's a nice blue and it should suffice until it's time for that rack!

Jerry K.

even with the boxes in my adult racks i use binder clips... prob overkill but i feel it's a bit safer...

~ Mike

I dealt with the same issues as you last year. Here's what's working for me:
For my hatchlings/yearlings I used 6 qt. Sterilite shoe boxes with the lids secured by rubber bands. I attached 4x5 Zoo Med heat pads to the backs with velcro for two reasons: the adhesive doesn't stick to the plastic well and it's easy to pull them off for cleaning. I stacked my boxes two high and weighted the tops just to be sure. I used two rubber bands on each lid. Before I started using bands I lost a nice Don Shores tangerine. Haven't lost anything since.
For my adults I used 32 and 41 qt. Sterilite boxes, stacked, with encyclopedias on top. It may look a little ghetto, but it worked for several months until I could afford the materials to build a nice three level rack.
I also built a hatchling rack as soon as I was able. I just can't afford the manufactured racks. Here are some pics of my three level adult rack with 41 qt. tubs. If you want to build something like it, I have more info in my reply to another guy's post in the milksnake forum from a few days ago.
As for mice, I've been working on breeding them for about six months and it sucks! I'm still spending a fortune at Rodentpro. What I've learned is that mice arfe good if you have the time to devote to them. The only reason I'm keeping my colony going is for hatchlings that will only accept live food...which I won't have until next year anyway. My mice eat more than they are worth and get really fat and if I cut back their food at all they eat each other. I also discovered I have an allergic reaction to their urine when I try to clean their cages, but no reaction to the mice themselves. I'm working on a new system that I will post if it works out.
I keep a total of 13 snakes ranging from 20" honduran yearlings to a 4' Ball python. Some are pets and others are breeders/future breeders. How many are you working with right now?
Let me know if you have any other questions; I just started my breeding projects last year, so I've been dealing with all the various issues and learning as I go.
Good luck!

Here's a link to the other thread I was referring to. He had some questions about racks/cages. I gave him some info about the rack setup I built. If you want to build your own you may find it useful. I think I only used a miter saw and a drill for the whole thing.

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1355192,1355192

ben,how are the brooks kings doing?

great i have been meaning to ask what strain is the axanthic? and the hypo if you know beautiful animals none the less try to post picks of all my brooks soon I went crazy caught the bug full time lol just ordered some triple hets and working on getting some pnutt butters too lmao! ya1

that's great! i only had the hypo and anery for a few months before you got them from me and the person i got them from didn't give me any info on them so i can't really answer your question i'm sorry. the t- and t hets that you got is from rainer aka bluerosy. he is often on this forums. good luck on your peanut butter projects! and nice snake by the way.

do you guys think breeding rats and mice is worth the effort or should i just tell my wife to get used to a big pile of mice cicles?

I don't breed mice and rats anymore, but I have done so in the past. I actually enjoy breeding rodents for some peculiar reason and when you have a colony at a good level of production you can certainly produce an adequate rodent supply. However, I still ended up freezing a lot of mice to get me through periods when production was slow or I needed extra pinks, etc. So it doesn't free up freezer space really.

Furthermore, it really stinks! If you have some sort of outbuilding or climate controlled area outside of your house, you might be able to do it. But breeding mice in your house is a very smelly proposition. It is also labor intensive. You do have to clean their cages every 3-5 days. And then you have to make sure they have clean food and water. In order to breed rodents successfully, you really need a lab cage type setup, whether you buy one or build one. By the time you shell out the money for that, you will find frozen rodents arent' that expensive.

A few better answer would be to go out and buy a small chest freezer and keep your frozen mice in there. You get points from the spouse for not having rodents in the food freezer and you don't stink up the house with mouse/rat urine.

All that said, if you like breeding rodents, and you have a suitable facility, it is kind of fun and you can even earn a few extra bucks selling mice to pet stores or other herpers.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas