Hello everyone. I currently care for a young pair of savannah monitors and a four foot red tail boa. I am looking to set up a breeding colony to cut down on costs.

I have over ten years experience caring for pet rats including raising litters from pregnant rescues. I've no questions regarding the care of mice, but more so about colony maintenance.

My boa needs two mice every one or two weeks. My savannah monitors would probably devour the entire colony, but probably only need (# of mouse/day): eight pinks, six fuzzies, four hoppers, or two weaners.

I was thinking of having a breeder bin (or multiple), a monitor feeding bin, and a boa feeding bin. Breeder bin would supply the monitor feeding bin, a few from the monitor bin would supply the boa bin, and a few from the boa bin would re-stock the breeder bin every few months. I probably wouldn't feed off young mice from the breeder bin because I know mice are a pain in the ass when they become stressed.

Questions:

1) Are there any issues with the above system?
2) How many mice would you estimate I need to start? 1.4? Two groups of 1.4?
3) If I had more than one group, should I establish them at different times so that their breeding cycles are different?
4) How do you keep the gene pool diverse enough to maintain a healthy colony?
5) If the bin remains clean, resources are adequate, and there is no overcrowding, what is the likelihood that a male will kill off a litter?


Thank you so much!

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