gonna breed mice..good idea?

[AlexCrazy]

hi.. im planing on getting a snake [don't know what but maybe a king or garter-(black one with blue stripes)] and my country dosent have any snake breeders or sellers (I called all the pet stores and aquariums in the freaking country).. An aquarium guy whas the best i found but never gave me much hope. soo im gonna travel to Brazil the 21 and if i don't find one there ill import from USA. So.. getting to the point.. i not sure if to start breeding the white mice now all ready.. or not.. :S and it would be nice if someone who does can give me hands on advice. also i want to live feed my snake.. [ i think its cooler and more natural(plus my mom wont want mice in the freezer)] please.. any opinion will be appreciated.. harsh or not!:D:o:(

[Minkness]

For 1 snake, breeding your iwn mice would get overwhelming. Also, live is dangerous for the snake.

[trailblazer295]

Personally I feed live, just follow the rules of live if that's what you wish. Don't leave it alone with the snake period. If after 20-30 minutes the snake hasn't taken interest and killed it then remove the prey and try again another day. Most of the gory images of snakes killed by prey is due to keepers leaving live prey in a tank with a snake that isn't interested. In the wild the prey would simply keep moving but can't in a box.

As for breeding mice for 1 snake I couldn't say but I inquired for 2 snakes at my local store and the guy said it wasn't worth it. The growth rate of them etc in relation to the size of the snake without a "garbage disposal" IE snake that will eat anything you'll have more mice then snakes to feed. I'd try seeing who might sell feeders in your area. Or ask your mom if you can buy a separate small freezer and use that.

[AlexCrazy]

the problem is that people don't sell mice here.. only in the capital but not even so much there. problem with thaned.. my mom wont have mice in the frezer... ever.
for the danger part i read that if (i don't love cruelty but..) i put it in a bag and give it a nice WAk on a table it will solve the problem..he will be ALMOST unconscious.. ha ha

[trailblazer295]

the problem is that people don't sell mice here.. only in the capital but not even so much there. problem with thaned.. my mom wont have mice in the frezer... ever.
for the danger part i read that if (i don't love cruelty but..) i put it in a bag and give it a nice WAk on a table it will solve the problem..he will be ALMOST unconscious.. ha ha

Could you have a separate small freezer only for dead mice? I'm thinking like a mini fridge idea. Maybe they don't have them in your country but I'd try looking into that. It is cheaper to order bulk frozen then live. The cost personally doesn't bother me as it costs me more to feed my cat each week then feeding 2 adult snakes will be, probably because I don't buy cheap garbage cat food either but still.

[AlexCrazy]

yeah.. i think ill do the timing :D @trailblazer285 and the separate fridge.. but maybe if i just like breed sufficient for like 2 month and the separate went my supply is inuf.. or something like that... cos they like have babies every 2 weeks or something like that.. i don't remember well

[trailblazer295]

Sorry I'm not sure what you mean

[AlexCrazy]

i read that mice have there babies in 2 weeks about.. so wen i have the litter.. (with 6-8 pups about) i can just separate the parents so they don't make more.. until i need more for the next month again..

[trailblazer295]

i read that mice have there babies in 2 weeks about.. so wen i have the litter.. (with 6-8 pups about) i can just separate the parents so they don't make more.. until i need more for the next month again..

The other factor to take into account is the growth rate. Which I only just learned they can very quickly outgrow your snakes food size. I thought about buying 2-3 at a time from the store and the guy showed me in that time how fast they will grow. Not trying to discourage you just trying to pass the knowledge recently given to me. Even buying 2-3 items housing cost aside they will grow bigger then my snake can handle before I get to them.


You obviously need many snakes ;) I'm only joking as a member wisely told me, don't buy too many to fast or you might tire of them etc.

[Minkness]

Sunce I have recently got my first breeding trio of mice, I have been looking into this myself.

Now, I have 3 snakes of varying sizes. Even then, I know I will have more than I need. I will be euthanizing then freezing but also offering live and frozen to locals. I don't NEED to breed them I just want to. So, I got pet quality weanling mice and treat them like pets, not breeding machines. That way if I choose that breeding becomes too much of a hassle, I still have cute pets. =)

[AlexCrazy]

thanks soo much... ayayayy im so lost. i don't know what im going to do.
i do love rodents so i also would sort of have them as pets.. i have a hamster called Thomas.:p
i think im going to have to manege this with my dad and see what i can do. but what worries me most is what do i do to start. if the snake is small.. i might be in trouble.. and might be forced to breed. cos i have even leees chances of finding pinky's never mind normal mice.. :sad: kinda wish my country were more develop and more in to snakes :(

[Minkness]

Tough call. Usually ordering online is best, but since you can't keep them in the freezer....can't help ya. =/

[trailblazer295]

thanks soo much... ayayayy im so lost. i don't know what im going to do.
i do love rodents so i also would sort of have them as pets.. i have a hamster called Thomas.:p
i think im going to have to manege this with my dad and see what i can do. but what worries me most is what do i do to start. if the snake is small.. i might be in trouble.. and might be forced to breed. cos i have even leees chances of finding pinky's never mind normal mice.. :sad: kinda wish my country were more develop and more in to snakes :(

Maybe try any reptile store. Even lizards eat rodents etc so there might be other stores that sell what you need. I'd just call every pet store you can and just ask.

[AlexCrazy]

Maybe try any reptile store. Even lizards eat rodents etc so there might be other stores that sell what you need. I'd just call every pet store you can and just ask.
the funny thing is that i did call every one.. about snakes.. {and this country only keeps cats and dogs mostly :'( not exotic pets} but i could try for mice.. i had a good talk with my mom and she seas there's a place in the freezer for me to keep my mice wen the time comes.. im happier now.. i guess ill breed.. and wen they are at the right size.. freeze..

[trailblazer295]

the funny thing is that i did call every one.. about snakes.. {and this country only keeps cats and dogs mostly :'( not exotic pets} but i could try for mice.. i had a good talk with my mom and she seas there's a place in the freezer for me to keep my mice wen the time comes.. im happier now.. i guess ill breed.. and wen they are at the right size.. freeze..

Congrats man, ask any questions you have about snakes. This is a great forum for information.

[AlexCrazy]

Congrats man, ask any questions you have about snakes. This is a great forum for information.
I am a girl.. ha ha ha:p my name is ALEXandra and my friends call me crazy cos i like snakes.. ATVs and other things (ATVs and motocross in Paraguay are more a men thing! And snakes.. no one ha ha):D
thanks for the help! and sorry for the annoyance of being a novice ha ha:p

[toddnbecka]

We have 16 snakes now, feeding on everything from pinkies to adult mice, and still have more mice than we need/use. I feed several hoppers at a time to snakes that are large enough to take adult mice just to reduce their numbers. Not really sure how many breeding age females are producing, but typically there are always pregnant ones and several new litters each week. They're kept in several large plastic totes, no lids, just an exercise wheel, water bottle, and large food bowl in each. Typically costs about $10-15 week for rodent food, partly because we buy small packages rather than getting it in bulk.

[AlexCrazy]

thanks.. ill take that in account! :)

[trailblazer295]

Sorry, I like ATVs to, I don't have the nerves for motocross to likely to get hurt which means no work for. Guy at work broke his arm on a dirt bike that went wild wheeled and he held on the something happened and snap.

[rafasani]

Have you tried calling local zoos or universities?? Zoos probably breed them to feed their animals and some universities breed them for research. Maybe they could spare a few so you can start your own breeding.

[Sasha2]

I feed frozen and live to mine, our pet store is inconsistent and I need them to eat anything.
I bred mice before I moved and its super easy, except I kept mine either in the attic or basement, because my hubby is allergic to mice.
At one point I had way too many and gave some to friends.I hate mice, they stink and bite.
But maybe you could become the one that sells your mice to local snake owners and make more money for snakes.

Also if you get a garter snake you could just breed fish and small lizards and never touch mice.

[prairiepanda]

the funny thing is that i did call every one.. about snakes.. {and this country only keeps cats and dogs mostly :'( not exotic pets} but i could try for mice.. i had a good talk with my mom and she seas there's a place in the freezer for me to keep my mice wen the time comes.. im happier now.. i guess ill breed.. and wen they are at the right size.. freeze..

The fact that no pet store in the entire country deals with snakes makes me wonder...have you looked into your country's laws to find anything about pets, exotic animals, "invasive species", wildlife, etc.? It's possible that it is illegal to import snakes, which would explain why no pet stores are able to get any for you.

This is just speculation, but it's a possibility you should look into just in case.

[AlexCrazy]

The fact that no pet store in the entire country deals with snakes makes me wonder...have you looked into your country's laws to find anything about pets, exotic animals, "invasive species", wildlife, etc.? It's possible that it is illegal to import snakes, which would explain why no pet stores are able to get any for you.

This is just speculation, but it's a possibility you should look into just in case.
i did.. there were people here who had snakes.. but they moved.. my contact is an A..hole and cos he is to lazy he dosent get me my snake! :$
the thing that is forbiden is to have indigenus snakes.. another thing is that.. (im so disgraced to say but..) if you pay money.. you can get wat you want around here.. and even so.. the control is super poor.. there new tipes of snakes still beeing thiscoverd here! jajaja :( :)
so i might bring one from brazil.. im going this weakend.. theres just not many options for me :( its not that i want to do it like this :(

[prairiepanda]

Okay, I just wanted to make sure that you had looked into the legal situation first. Have you looked into what will be available in Brazil?

[AlexCrazy]

i have great news! im getting a BP from Argentina! on wedsday :D im so happy!

[pet_snake_78]

Have to start somewhere! Hope you can get more people interested in snakes and then you can sell any excess mice to them. Your region has some great native snakes, too bad they think banning pet ownership is a good way to protect species.

[AlexCrazy]

Yes.. im working on that.. not necesarly to make them buy my mice.. but to get this wonderfull hobbie alive again here! It would be nice not to be the only person en this country almlst with a snake.. ha ha ha
YES.. IT DOES NOT WORK.. and pluss.. it makes people more scared.. so they just kill them on sight. Making it easier for people to have them would let them see that there not evil..