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Does anyone have experience making a large tub to raise pinks up to adults in? I would love to hear what people have done.

I currently am producing pinks that I would like to raise to adults but I am concerned that adult mice might chew through rubbermaid containers. I was going to try and mimic lab style tubs but just ramp up the scale. What tubs work? I was thinking large like 41qt tubs with chicken wire tops with a food hopper. Do I need a special model or type of tub to prevent chewing out?

Also is it a problem to raise large numbers of mice all in one large container? I was going to use a 41qt and put 50-60 weaned mice in each unless I can put more in. What do people think about 50-60, is it too many or can I put even more in?

>>Does anyone have experience making a large tub to raise pinks up to adults in? I would love to hear what people have done.
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>>I currently am producing pinks that I would like to raise to adults but I am concerned that adult mice might chew through rubbermaid containers. I was going to try and mimic lab style tubs but just ramp up the scale. What tubs work? I was thinking large like 41qt tubs with chicken wire tops with a food hopper. Do I need a special model or type of tub to prevent chewing out?
>>
>>Also is it a problem to raise large numbers of mice all in one large container? I was going to use a 41qt and put 50-60 weaned mice in each unless I can put more in. What do people think about 50-60, is it too many or can I put even more in?

If you are gonna put 50 mice anywhere you are gonna want some floor space preferably with some hide boxes to break up the area. I have 1.7 breeding groups in a 56qt. I don't know if your 41qt has what for area. My tubs are about 15 X 20 or so and deep so no jumping out. For 50 mice I would think two or three times that area. 20 mice in a 10X20 is about a max if they are there any length of time and if there are many dominant males trying to kill each other.

Any tubs will work IF they do not have chewable ridges. I use sterlites and the rare chew out is usually around a air hole in the lid if they climb the water bottle. Which is one good reason for boxes....something else to distract chewers.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

things.

My 41qt tubs are 36x16x6 I am hoping that this size will adequately raise at least 40 mice. I planned on just littering the whole tub with paper towel and toilet paper rolls for some cover. But I still think this will be kind of cramped for them but it is hopefully only a temporary thing because mice only take about 6 weeks to get to almost full size. I think please correct me if I am wrong.

I will only be raising them up to adult size or they will be immediately fed off or frozen for later once they are about 6 weeks. My plan is to hopefully feed off the male pinks to hatchlings and raise the females to adult size for the rest of my snake collection. As I hear males are smellier and they also fight with each other.

Can you determine the sex of pinks or do they have to be more mature?
Do young males still fight with each other?
How old do males have to get before they begin fighting each other?

Thanks Sonya for chiming in on my recent posts.

go to Exotics By Nature website and make racks like they show plans for there....might be snake rack even,,,all plans about the same....

...mine...4 wide 7 levels...each level made seperately....
each lever screwed into legs....7 levels ....

anyways....a guy made them for me....1/2 inch wire mesh top.....and kitty litter pans for tubs....buy all you need and buy extra...they will ruin a few a year....in 3 years I only lost 6?....more or less...but I bought like 40 extra...they change sizes of stuff alot....and you need extra to clean with....

....kitty litter pans....I use 2 racks....that's 56 mouse tubs....each with 1.15 in them...I get hundreds of mice a week ,maybe a thousand .........

for weaned mice....I prefer to use 3 20 gallon tanks....one for keeper future females one has all males that I use first, they grow faster....and one for the fresh pulled small stuff...always rotating stuff...at times I also have 2 10 gallon tansk with mcie in them also , fresh pulled....in a 20 long tank...100 mice, I have done more but it gets old fast....10 gallon can hold 100 small mice, they like it warm anyways...as they grow you need to drop it to like 50 in a week or two....

...get the ideas....?....

...oh...and with 1.15 in each tub...I still only let like 21 to 30 pinks /fuzz in each tub...freezer has the rest/overflow...

you cannot let 30 pinks ,30 fuzz and 30 hops all in the same tub...the pinks will be eaten the fuzz will be runted really badly and the hops will crawl out and be stunted too...

...with 1/2 inch mesh the food is put on top...but the hops can get through it if they are not happy and fat....

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It is possible to sex pinks. Males will have a greater space between anus and penis than females (between anus and whatever the pee thing is called in female mice...definitely know its not a virgina, urethra maybe). Peach fuzz/fuzzies are easier, as you can clearly see the nipples on the females, males won't have nipples.

You can keep males and female babies together till they are about 4-5 weeks old...after that the males become sexually mature and can start fighting or mating or both. And this is also around the time their urine becomes more musky.
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PHLdyPayne