Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I seem have the same problem as ndolson: I have 4 BP's, and my collection it steadily growing. I'm tired of paying for overpriced mice when I can get them for way cheaper. Not a big selection here in KC.

Well I bought 4 adult mice at the beginning of the month. I have had them in a 15 gallon since then. They don't seem to be...doing anything. They're probably all boys, considering they all DO have a pair of round...things hangin' round their behind.

I've considered buying mice online, but I don't really have a place to put them (mommy won't let me keep them in the freezer in the kitchen )

Anyways, how often do mice reproduce? How many pinks do you usually get in a clutch? How long will it take for them to grow into adults?

Thanks guys, and hey ndolson, you've told me before that you live in Blue Springs, and thats like 20 minutes from where I am, and if I ever get this mice colony thing to work, I'd be glad to supply some feeders for ya.

Ryan

You need to set them up with one male to maybe four or five females.

An aquarium will work, but it's FAR FAR less work to maintain if you get real labratory rodent setups like the ones here: http://www.beanfarm.com/rodent/1.html and many other places. With these setups the water bottle and "rodent block" food sit on top of the cage and so NEVER get spilled or contaminated. Seriously, you can go away for a week or more with no problem whatsoever.

ask your mom if she would rather have some mice frozen in ziplocks in the freezer or a STINKING mouse colony in her house! That'll convince her!

plus you wont have to buy a co2 chamber to kill them in if you buy them pre-killed.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

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N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote
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Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
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Even if your Mom lets you get some mice, she's going to regret it, and she will think less of your snake hobby. Plain and simple: Mice STINK! One of the great things about keeping snakes is that, with proper care, they don't smell hardly at all.
Get a small tupperware container and tell your Mom that you just want "this much" freezer space. To keep a supply of rodents in your freezer is SO convenient and economical, and to not have that option would be such a pain. Duffy

>Anyways, how often do mice reproduce? How many pinks do you usually get in a clutch? How long will it take for them to grow into adults?

Once a colony (1 male to 2-5 females) gets established, it takes ~21 days between mating and birth and 19-21 days to weaning. Eight babies is a medium sized litter, but somewhere in the high teens is possible; it depends on the stock. Females usually mate within a few days after giving birth so that a second litter is born a few days after the first litter is weaned. Sexual maturity is in the 6-8 weeks range. Females are good for roughly six litters. Then litter size begins dropping, and the female should be replaced. Males should be replaced before they are a year old. An age of 18 months is possible. That's what you get if things go right.

If things go wrong, the mice fight and kill each other and any babies.

Paul Hollander

It really helps if you start with some females in the group. To me it sounds like you have a colony of all males. After that breeding them is easy as caring for them properly. They do the breeding while you do the caring.

Best regards,
Glenn B

Been awhile since I have seen a post from you. Maybe I've just been on the wrong forums. Duffy