Reptile & Amphibian Forums

where do i get deer mice? a friend told me that ball pythons like them more than lab rats or lab mice, but im not sure, is this true? thanx for lookin

Peromyscus leucopus......

SOME balls like them.some like them more than anything.some will not eat them.some like hamsters....some prefer live mice......some babies prefer live hoppers that are brown or black.yet other people only have luck with white mice....some balls eat only rats...

do you think after this that all balls are different and balls can suck bigtime>/?.......

..........white footeds are available from labs or people that breed them.........depends on what state you live in......

.they can run you from $ .50 to $5.00 each.......average is $3............................each......

........I use them and Chinese hamsters alot.......
-----
.................

No offense, but HOLY KA KA!!! These are a domesticated breed yes?No? I haven't bothered to look up the latin name for deer mice, but if they're what I think of when I think deer mouse they grow wild here in Michigan. No I'm not suggesting we all go out and catch wild mice, but fer three bucks a piece I'd be tempted. Sorry, my insanity got the best of me for a minute there.

Quig

I paid five each when I started them.
-----
RicK @ BbI

Ball Boutique,Inc.
Proud sponsor of this forum

EGADS!!!

Sad part I needed to buy 50 of them.....
-----
RicK @ BbI

Ball Boutique,Inc.
Proud sponsor of this forum

n/p
-----
.................

I have to read the rst of these links......

yes mine were gotten from a LAB in Ca. by Rick @ ball boutique in 1992 or '93.been breeding them here ever since as well as Rick breeding his own too........

Kathy Love now breeds them...your welcome Kathy..as does alot of others.........

Larry Keller at Prarieland herps was getting $5 each....

I charge about $2 usually but give away more than I sell......actually I just feed them off to corns and balls......

yes they are domestic and come in all shades of brown from fawn to dark brown ,tan,chocolate,white ,off white...black,grey,etc etc..they all have white bellies and feet........

now.

WILD deer and white footed (both genus Peromyscus).......carry Hanta-virus and Lyme disease...........do NOT capture them,keep them,or even breath their urine ot fecal matter or probably dander........

people with hunting cabins should clean alot....wear a mask when sweeping their cabins or homes out with an active mouse population.........please......

I have seen cabins waaaay out in the "boonies" with mice walking over you while you slept.....sucks bigtime.clean,set traps,and poison often...!

yes.........they carry worms and other diseases too.....

do not feed wild.........

............thanx.......
-----
.................

I agree that wild rodents of any kind can, and often do, harbor all kinds of baddies that can be extremely detrimental to the health of your reptiles. I'm also certain they don't ALL harbor these, but it's not worth the risk. I'm curious though as to what might be the initial, one time, cost to get a few wild caught tested for whatever they might harbor and start your own colony of clean deer mice. I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap, but it might be worth it in the long run if you know you can use them. Just ramblin'.

Quig

domesticated Peromyscus leucopus are crazy enough.wild deer or white footed would be REALLY too much of a hasstle to deal with......they jump like 2 foot.....fortunately not "usually" straight upwards..so they bump the side and come back down in the tank.........I use 10 gallon tanks for white foots.....lab cages or racks wouldn't work.they would all just jump out at one point or another...........

I will breed wild field mice *(aka voles or meadow mice)...as soon as I gtet a pair or more.but after 10 years of not actually getting a pair at any given time I guess I may never breed them.........I will breed them but NOT feed them to my snakes..........except maybe if I had a wild species from the area..........then I would still have to treat them at one time or another.........I would also treat .well.try to.treat the voles for worms and all.....but they may not actually eat or drink the meds......

........
-----
.................

LOL yup, deer mice are a little active ain't they? As for medicating voles and such, if you ever do try raisin' a pair, I would think liquids could be put in the drinking water and pills could be crushed and sprinkled on some greens maybe. Just a thought.

Quig

yea.I figured if you would keep water from them just long enough ..they would drink almost anything when given it........

they might surprise you though and not drink med flavored water/........

.........gotta catch a batch first.......I have had one here and one there...can't find a whole nest of them ......other people find them and don't call me.....

....anyways..like I need more stuff to care for.........
-----
.................

LOL, ya find em in the same kinda places you find snakes, under things. If I run across some ya want em?

Quig

yea I'll take them.........voles.........you live near me it would work.you live anywhere else it wouldn't be worth it......

Thanx .......

.......I bet they bite like hell too........
-----
.................

>>
>>I will breed wild field mice *(aka voles or meadow mice)...as soon as I gtet a pair or more.but after 10 years of not actually getting a pair at any given time I guess I may never breed them.........I will breed them but NOT feed them to my snakes..........except maybe if I had a wild species from the area..........then I would still have to treat them at one time or another.........I would also treat .well.try to.treat the voles for worms and all.....but they may not actually eat or drink the meds......

meadow voles/mice are a lot more spazzy and faster than deer mice and they jump so *much* higher. I've bred them a time or two for fun, but then gave up. They almost always ended up jumping out of (or running up the arm and leaping to freedom) a 30gal. high tank at some point or another. I also had problems of stress probably causing health/immune failure.. would find some whose health would sudeenly deteriorate and die for no obvious reason other than stress from their actual confinement.

I'd prefer deer/white-foot mice to meadows any day...less trouble and much cuter too.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

Neat critters! I have a colony of them with genetic curly tails...not corkscrew, just hold them all curled up all the time, like a chameleon. Cute little personalities, too. Fun to breed, but I never feed them off - just cross them into color mutations in some of my domestic mice.

JY - have you tried crossing the Chinese hamsters with Russian hamsters? We did & got Communist hamsters across the board.

K~

>>Peromyscus leucopus......
>>
>>SOME balls like them.some like them more than anything.some will not eat them.some like hamsters....some prefer live mice......some babies prefer live hoppers that are brown or black.yet other people only have luck with white mice....some balls eat only rats...
>>
>>do you think after this that all balls are different and balls can suck bigtime>/?.......
>>
>>..........white footeds are available from labs or people that breed them.........depends on what state you live in......
>>
>>.they can run you from $ .50 to $5.00 each.......average is $3............................each......
>>
>>........I use them and Chinese hamsters alot.......
>>-----
>>.................
-----
Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean

I only read half the responses, but unless you have a wild-caught ball that is not adjusting to the white rodent diet (patience is a keeper's biggest virtue) then I wouldn't recommend switching from a readily available prey to something that may be on-and-off in availability.

sometimes just a color change (from the white to a dark color) will be enough to trigger a feeding response.

Quig