>>When you introduce a new mouse to a breeding colony, have any of you put them in a separate cage within the original cage.
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>>I am trying to introduce a new male into my breeding colony and this is the first time I have done this.
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>>I have read that you want to clean the cage and make sure it dose not smell like the old male, and then introduce them in neutral ground. I did clean the cage, but I am putting his cage within the females cage.
Hi there -- most often, when introducing males into a colony the best way is to actually introduce the females to HIM. You are right that you want a clean cage, not smelling of an old male. But then it's a good idea to let the new male live in that cage alone, for a day or even more. That allows him to put his scent everywhere, and also lets the females know that they are on his territory. Females can be very aggressive (or worse) and if a male is placed directly into what they consider "their" territory you can have a badly damaged or dead male.
I am curious about the method you mentioned below, it may work. But I suspect that even with the male within the cage (inside the wire) the females may still consider that entire cage to be "their" territory and it may cause problems. Personally, I would remove the females, allow the male to stay in that cage for a day (or two is even better) and then put the females in with him.
As for PetSmart, it's my understanding that they have a chain-wide policy of a) selling only males or only females at each store and b) that they will not sell any mice for feeders. I've always had better luck getting good, healthy mice at smaller, privately owned pet stores, at least within the area I currently live. But everyone has different experiences of course.
Hope this helps....
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Rebecca
TSBabe66@hotmail.com
Honored to moderate at snakefeeders, a great place to buy/sell/trade feeder animals. Come check us out! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snakefeeders/
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>>I bought a large wire sifter (not sure what is really called) that fits within the original cage and put the male in there with his own food and water. The mice can smell and see each other but there is no real physical contact possible. I am wondering if anyone else has tried this and if it works. I am also wondering how long I should keep him there.
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>>If any of you think this will not work, please explain why you think so.
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>>Also does anyone know why pest smart does not sell feeder mice, I am kind of curious about that?
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>>Thanks
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>>MrBfrog
>>-----
>>0.0.1 Common Columbian Boa (Damian)
>>0.0.1 Amel Cornsnake (Kernal)
>>0.0.1 Okeetee Cornsnake (Guido)
>>1.1.0 Lhasa Apso's (Monkey, Tiffany)
>>1.0.0 Rat Terrier (Ricky)
>>1.3.0 Mice (nameless)
>>0.0.4 Goldfish (nameless)
>>0.1.0 Beta Fish (nameless)
>>0.0.1 Snail (Gary)"Meoow"
>>
>>Also Canibal the Musical is just about the the most funny movie ever!!!
