Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Friends
Due to a change in my breeding efforts, I may need to breed a very low volume of live mice...
Now I am VERY VERY limited on space and don't want to breed mice in my snake room... do you think the mice could survive in my garage. I live in Iowa and the highs hear are up to 90 just wondering your thoughts and or experiences. Thanks

Chris Flowers

Make sure there's lots of air moving through the garage and give them LOTS of water and they should be ok... I kept some in my house last summer without air conditioning and it regularly got into the 90's in the house during the day... I just kept their water full and the ceiling fan on all the time and they were fine... it is normal to see mice veggin out on the cage floor panting while the suns up though...
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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings (Spot and Fry)
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Red Belly Piranha (Fluffy)
1.0 Australian Shepherd (Spooky)
1.0 Springer Spaniel/Beagle mix (Snoopy)
0.1 German Shep mix (Shadow)
0.1 Cat (Echo)

I tried breeding mice - in the hot weather in my non air conditioned room, the females would give birth and then promptly die.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

I just bought a 10,000 BTU air conditioner for my garage. We've been having a heat wave and I didn't want all my feeder mice to die. 90 degrees is about as hot as they can handle. If it's that hot they'll be stressed during the day time as the other poster said, but they'll probably be okay. If you can put an AC out there and keep the temp around 80 on the hot days they'll do a lot better. Mine are breeding like crazy regardless of the temperature, but the cooler the better for sure.

When it gets hot, my rodent production goes way down. I think you will be lucky if you can produce many in a 90 f garage, buy maybe you can. I just buy them now, and try to breed a lot in the Spring and freeze them. Good luck ,Vic H

I don't think they will breed when it's that hot. There's alot of information on the Feeder Food forum here at kingsnake, it's usually got alot of people checking in all the time about raising your own mice, rats, etc.

They will shut down breeding and/or fry without a slightly cooler environment, that's my experience.
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Todd Hughes

Well how do the mice survive in the wild then?
Chris Flowers

Dear Chris, they survive because they can find the best temps/shelters available. They go underground, within walls, use insulation etc. to keep warm or cool as they require. They are called House mice, because they have followed European man worldwide, living in peoples houses, barns,ships, man made shelters.
As FR and others have told us, we must give our kingsnakes options on microclimates, hot and cool, dark and light, etc. Let them choose, they will if he provide options. Similar to kingsnkes, The mice do this on their own, but when confined to a breeder cage in a 90 f garage, they don't have as many options as they would like. Hence, many of them do not thrive when it is hot, mine consistently quit breeding during the hot Summer. Commercial breeders often control temps with AC. vic h.

They go underground or find somewhere whee the temps are cooler. The mice in the wild are also used to being in the climate from living there for thousands of years. The lab grade mice that we feed are animals are much weaker and babied in the ac. Rats do a little better in the heat but I would put a window unit in there.
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don't marry the cow when the milk is free when the milk drys up it's time for a new cow

By finding cooler places to hang out, they are not restricted to our controlled environments, there are cooler places to hang out in the wild, you know,like by the pool with a cool beverage, lol! Seriously, like under some refuge (area cover) and down under the earth it is cool and moist(humid).
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Todd Hughes

mmmm a pool and cold drink sounds good!

n/p
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I decided my old sig was too big.