Reptile & Amphibian Forums

1- How long does it take for mice to mature? My snakes need adult mice - the bigger, the better.

2- If I go out today and get all the animals and such, how long will it be before I have adult mice?

3- If I get 1 male and, say, 3 females, will I have enough adults (before too long) to feed two large BPs (2-3 large adults per week) and a baby BP (1 small adult per week). How long will it take before I can consistantly feed then at that rate?

I'm only breeding mice because I have two snakes who will ONLY take live, and I won't feed them rats cause they're all dangerous and stuff.
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-Irish
My Snakes

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-audri
Webpage/Pics

>>1- How long does it take for mice to mature? My snakes need adult mice - the bigger, the better.

Couple of months.

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>>2- If I go out today and get all the animals and such, how long will it be before I have adult mice?
>>

Maybe Four months, maybe more.

>>3- If I get 1 male and, say, 3 females, will I have enough adults (before too long) to feed two large BPs (2-3 large adults per week) and a baby BP (1 small adult per week). How long will it take before I can consistantly feed then at that rate?

I personally would raise rats. Mice are just as dangerous as rats. The horrid pict at PE of the chewed BP was done by a mouse. PLUS...if they will take rats the rats will grow with them so that when they are adult you can feed one and not 2-3 or 4 or 5) For adult mouse size it is a 3 or possibly 4 week old rat. My mice are 35grams and my 4 wk old rats are 50grams....much easier and less dangerous. Rats are more social, don't smell anywhere near as much and get there faster.
Personally also you might find that dangling live, then whacking and dangling twitching, then whacking and dangling dead that you can wean them to F/T which would be so much even easier. Then you can raise them to size, kill and freeze.

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>>I'm only breeding mice because I have two snakes who will ONLY take live, and I won't feed them rats cause they're all dangerous and stuff.
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>>-Irish
>>My Snakes
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Sonya

Well, that was the plan. I just need to get then consistantly feeding on SOMETHING, y'know? And a mouse will do less damage to a 4' snake than a med rat will with a single bite.

I know how dangerous it is to feed live, trust me. My method is, put the snake in, put in a well-fed rodent, watch the carefully for about 1 minute, and if the snake doesn't look interested, IMMEDIATLY remove the rodent. I can watch for signs of interst, y'know? I know a rodent can inflict a nasty bite while being consticted, but I at least prevent the long-term damage. The only reason I'm doing live is that I've thus far converted 4 snakes easily to f/t, but as far as the others . . . eh. I've tried every trick so far, so now I want to try the Live -> stunned -> freshly killed -> f/t.

Plus, raising my own for 7 snakes will be cheaper, hehe. If I get too many, I can just kill and freeze.

But you make a good point with the rat sizes. Plus, rats are healthier. . . Hmm. I think I'll get rats instead.

So, how long from, er, today until I have mouse-adult-sized rats? (30-40g)
What's the gestation period?
How long will it take them to get to med sized? (90g ish?)
Can I keep a male and 2 or 3 females in a 20g aquarium? (I'm getting 2 aquariums - one for males, and one for females)
How big are their litters?
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-Irish
My Snakes

you breed mice for them for now. They definately can do less damage than rats, but at some point I would try to get them started on prekilled and then onto frozen/thawed. When feeding them live mice I would first stun the mouse on a rock, then dangle it in front of the snake. That way if the snake takes it there's less chance of the mouse fighting back. If he is not interested you can prekill the mouse and freeze it. If you don't like to stun the mouse just hold it by the tail in front of your snake, it's the safest way to feed live. I never let a live mouse run around freely in my snake tnak, even with supervision. They can do damage that way before you can stop them, and they can deficate everywhere in the tank and spread disease to your snake. Just my experience.

The only reason I'm doing live is that I've thus far converted 4 snakes easily to f/t, but as far as the others . . . eh. I've tried every trick so far, so now I want to try the Live -> stunned -> freshly killed -> f/t.

That is the way that works totally for me. I have been given snakes that 'only ate live' and had them eating in a couple three feedings max.

>>So, how long from, er, today until I have mouse-adult-sized rats? (30-40g)
>>What's the gestation period?
>>How long will it take them to get to med sized? (90g ish?)
>>Can I keep a male and 2 or 3 females in a 20g aquarium? (I'm getting 2 aquariums - one for males, and one for females)
>>How big are their litters?

Most all the info for mice is true for rats. Same 3 week gestation. Mine get to 50 grams in 4 weeks and I think it would take another couple three to get to 90. Haven't weighed mine that far. With rats you can either leave the male in or take him out to let the ladies raise babies without getting pregnant again immediately. The girls won't go ballistic like mice when you put him back in. The litter size is anything from 8 to 23 (I think that was the record for one of my old hairless girls...can't remember now. ) And I find that rats are less likely to kill babies.....though I have a pair right now fighting over their litters. So far no harm no foul. I would say a male and a couple of girls in a twenty long. If they are friendly and you keep it clean then you could go with three girls. Just don't let the ammonia build up at all.
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Sonya

Okay, thanks. Y'all have been a big help.

And I've never thought of dangling a live. Would I dangle it from the tail? I'd be using tongs, since I wouldn't want my hand to be mistaken for food.

So, if I, say, get 3 aquariums (20Long), put 3 females and a male in the first until they breed, then take out the male and put him in number two, wait for the babies to be weaned and put male babies in #2, females I don't want to breed in #3, should I have any problems with territoriality?
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-Irish
My Snakes

I sometimes feed live to my huge Gopher snakes for exercise! I just use my hand to grip the mouse by the tip of the tail. They have long tails and I never have to worry about getting struck. Also, my Gophers are real sharp and on target every time. They always snatch the mice by the head or neck, another advantage when you dangle the mouse in front of them, so even if I hold the mouse by the feet I don't worry about getting bit! Maybe it's because I handle my snakes a lot and have a high pain threshold! You can use tongues the same way. I would not get 20 gallon aquariums for the mice! It's too heavy to clean and too expensive. I house my mice and hamsters in clear plastic containers from The Container Store. I just drill holes in the sides and top, and drill holes for installing water bottles and wheels. When it's time to clean them I just take the mice or hamsters out, remove the water bottles and wheel, dump out the dirty bedding, run some water in there and dry clean. It's a lot less work, and money, than large glass terrariums. I think you should start out with two adult males and four or six adult females and pair them up 1:2 or 1:3. If you buy females that are pregnant already you are halfway there.

quote: . If you buy females that are pregnant already you are halfway there

Absolutely true. I bought some rats on 7 Jun 03 at the Maryland reptile show in Harvre de Grace.

One week later, they had babies. These babies are already one week old today. Almost eating size.

The other smart thing I did was I gave these rats to the neighbor's kid to raise This way, i get all the free rats (since they are mine to begin with), but I dont' have to house them or feed them here. It is a win win for all involved because the neighbor's kid has a burmese that also needs rats.

cheesr.

I've been keeping rats for several years and i used to introduce them by quarentining them, put them on neutral territory for several minutes a day and gradually working up. But now I find that its just as easy to put the new rat into the cage immediately. They are instantly accepted and i haven't had any fights at all. I can't say the same for mice or hampsters though.

Go with rats, they are much safer to feed to snakes anyways. I notice mice are skittish and will bite at the first opportunity they can live rats will simply back into a corner and poop, sitting there for hours if you let 'em. I breed both rats, and a few mice (problem feeders) and rats;

1. Don't smell AS NEAR as bad as mice.
2. Grow to adult (mouse) size in 2-2.5 weeks (35-50g)
3. Are not agressive and are easily handled.
4. Are kinda cute, where mice are just icky, icky rodents.
5. Will NOT eat their young (my mice constantly eat their
own babies.
6. Will, if need be, be pregnant a week after giving birth, so
the turn-around is a month-a month and week between litters.
7. Balls don't require 8 rats per feeding when they are 1500g
8. In 2.5-3 months you can get a male rat up to 500g.

Ditch the mice, breed rats.