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I am startig my mouse colony. the containers I am using are 34.6x17.7x9.4. What ration of male to female should I use.

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Miller
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Miller
0.1 Florida King

>>I am startig my mouse colony. the containers I am using are 34.6x17.7x9.4. What ration of male to female should I use.
>>
>>Thanks in advance for any replies,
>>Miller
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>>Miller
>>0.1 Florida King

To me that is an impractically large tub for mice. More than one male per group and you wind up with fighting and death and that size container can, in my opinion, hold more females than is practical for one male to breed. I have containers half that nearly (about 20X15)with 1.6-1.10 right now. To me you could do better with smaller and use the big thing for raising weanlings or rats.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

Thanks again Sonya! I will probably switch to rats after awhile. I can't seem to get my Florida King to eat rats. I am going to try again this week, If I succeed them I will switch to rats and just feed off the mice.

Thanks again,
Miller
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Miller
0.1 Florida King

>>Thanks again Sonya! I will probably switch to rats after awhile. I can't seem to get my Florida King to eat rats. I am going to try again this week, If I succeed them I will switch to rats and just feed off the mice.
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>>Thanks again,
>>Miller
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>>Miller
>>0.1 Florida King

I don't know about kings but my corns and ratsnakes all seem to make the switch when they hit the large mouse sized prey. Some will start taking anything starting with rat newborns but if they hold out they switch when they reach size. The Cal Kings I know were all garbage can snakes and ate anything. Maybe scent with mice for a bit?
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

Yea, I thought of that. I will try that with the rat I plan to buy today. Also, about the containers being large. I just feel bad about them being feed animail so I want to make their time with me as comfy as possible . I have a 1.5 ratio for now so they have plenty room. Sonyja, you are my feeder Guru!

Miller
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Miller
0.1 Florida King

I use a container that large for all my weaned mice to grow up in. For my breeding mice I use cages that are about 20" long but 14" wide and 14" high for breeding groups of 1:4 or 1:5. Since I typically had 10 sized litters of mice, once they were weaned, needed a larger container for them to grow up in.

Now I have fed off and sold all my mice and going to work with rats, more cost effective that way as it doesn't take me 2-3 months to raise up mice to adulthood, I can get equal sized rats in 4-6 weeks.

I just like to give them room to move even if they are feeder animals. Last night me and a friend ( he has his own side carpentry business) built two rack systems for my containers. I think I am going to change the specs on one to hold larger containers so I can breed rats as well. If I can get my Florida to take them I know it would be more cost effective.

Thanks!
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Miller
0.1 Florida King