Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I have a ball python who I am trying to breed mice for. The mice around here are $2.00 apiece, unless I drive about three hours away to a reptile show and then they're about $0.75. I have two albino female lab mice that I've been told are of a strain that produces large litters. I did have a male of the same but, after not getting any babies, bought a brown and white male at a pet store and fed the male off. I bought the females as medium sized mice in the beginning of March, and haven't gotten even a dead litter. I have tried three different males and I expect at least one of the female should have had babies by now. I fed them lab food at first but now have switched to guinea pig food, because I also raise guinea pigs for the pet trade. Do you all have any ideas why they haven't produced yet? I am considering feeding them off and starting over.

Thanks in advance,
Taylor

Mice are notoriously hard to get started. You should have just left the colony as it was and not changed males. But that aside.. if there's no fighting.. give them time. Patience is the big key to breeding anything. Personally breed rats instead of mice. The pups are small enough unless you're feeding a hatchling ball python... and rats are much much easier than mice.

Ginea pigs are herbavores (I think) and mice are omnivores. A diet of ginea pig pellets would be severely lacking in the protien and iron breeding mice or rats would require.

And the other poster has it dead on, it;s best to leave the colony alone once started, and rats are easeir than mice (they stink less).

Good luck!