Who all breeds rodents?

[pet_snake_78]

I don't find they stink as much as people claim but I only have a small quantity of breeders. I'm sure there must be many small scale rodent breeders on here.

[Albert Clark]

Yeah, I just started breeding mice on a small scale to help out with my ball python hatchlings. I am breeding mainly to produce hopper mice. Also, one of my adult ball pythons is a mouser. My l.p.pyromelana loves live pink mice but will take f/t. So, just testing the waters on a small scale for now. I find that changing the litter frequently helps with the odor as does your choice of litter.

[Jim Smith]

I'm actually considering getting one or two pairs of mice to breed as one of my Hondo's only wants to eat FK mice. Also, I will eventually need newborn pinkies when I start successfully breeding them. I am very concerned about the stink though.

[Albert Clark]

I'm actually considering getting one or two pairs of mice to breed as one of my Hondo's only wants to eat FK mice. Also, I will eventually need newborn pinkies when I start successfully breeding them. I am very concerned about the stink though.

There is a product called "NATURES MIRACLE" that is sold in Petco and Petsmart that is for urine and feces odors and stains. This product kills the odors on the enzyme level thus not masking them but biologically removing them. I keep a bottle or two on hand to spray and wipe out the mouse enclosure. It is very effective.

[Jim Smith]

Albert Clark,

Thank You! I have two mice in my man cave/snake room now that will be next weeks dinner for my fussy hondo. I will make sure I pick some "Nature's Miracle" tomorrow.

[jpsteele80]

I breed rats, i probably go through more aspen than anything, i change it more than i probably should but i don't have a problem with smell either. Only do it for breeding season when babies arrive, having lots of little mouths to feed gets expensive at the pet store, Also stepping into smaller snakes that will not graduate into rabbits so it will come in handy.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I have bred rats and currently breed mice, I'm mostly aiming to raise small adult/weaned mice atm. I've got so many mice in the freezer I'm not really worried about productivity levels, I just wanted to get a small colony going so maybe I won't have to buy more mice next time I run out of the bulk-ordered ones.

If you can, I'd avoid any sort of wood bedding, it severely irritates their lungs and can easily cause an RI. Aspen, cedar, pine, all of this is true. I'd be sure to also be careful with any paper bedding like Carefresh as it can be rather dusty, too. Shredded newspaper is best for high-volume breeding if you can do it.

They produce almost no smell, so long as you regularly change their bedding. I keep them in my trailer and they don't really smell. My rats were kept outside in a car port, but I never really noticed a smell with them either even with my head in their cage.

[macandchz]

nature's miracle is great also if you have a dog. cleans up accidents without a trace.

[Albert Clark]

nature's miracle is great also if you have a dog. cleans up accidents without a trace.
True mac, and cats and dogs are whom the product is directed at. There is actually a more specific formula for just cats which would probably be more specific in controlling mouse and rat excremental odors.

[SerpentineDream]

I have 3 pet rats that I keep on aspen snake bedding and don't notice much of an odor as long as I keep it clean.

Albert, I wonder if the aspen snake bedding is making one of my rats sneeze her head off. I might try using fleece in the cage and just tossing it in the washer at cage cleaning time. There's a fabric store going out of business in our area and I could probably pick up a ton of it and cut it to fit for just pennies per cage liner.

So... is it weird to have pet rats and also rat-eating snakes? I do feed exclusively F/T, though sometimes I have the ladies help me out with scenting a dead rodent for a picky eater. I collect some of their bedding and shake-n-bake the dead rodent in a Ziploc bag to make it smell tasty. The pet rats are kept in a separate room and never come in contact with the snakes or their dead fellow rats, which I'm sure would upset them.

I seem to recall that Nature's Miracle sold their original formula years ago and that formula is now sold under the brand name Simple Solution. I've found the latter to work better than the former--might be worth a try.

[Albert Clark]

I have 3 pet rats that I keep on aspen snake bedding and don't notice much of an odor as long as I keep it clean.

Albert, I wonder if the aspen snake bedding is making one of my rats sneeze her head off. I might try using fleece in the cage and just tossing it in the washer at cage cleaning time. There's a fabric store going out of business in our area and I could probably pick up a ton of it and cut it to fit for just pennies per cage liner.

So... is it weird to have pet rats and also rat-eating snakes? I do feed exclusively F/T, though sometimes I have the ladies help me out with scenting a dead rodent for a picky eater. I collect some of their bedding and shake-n-bake the dead rodent in a Ziploc bag to make it smell tasty. The pet rats are kept in a separate room and never come in contact with the snakes or their dead fellow rats, which I'm sure would upset them.

I seem to recall that Nature's Miracle sold their original formula years ago and that formula is now sold under the brand name Simple Solution. I've found the latter to work better than the former--might be worth a try.
Hey SD, I am not sure but I remember bsg saying Aspen wasn't the best thing for rats or mice bc the dust is irritating to their lungs. Even Carefresh, which is marketed as a comfortable dust free bedding, was also cited as respiratory irritant. One of the best beddings safety wise is shredded newspaper/ recycled newspaper. I have started using it but it doesn't have the greatest odor control. As far as the Natures Miracle, I still see it on the shelves at Petco and Petsmart.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Hey SD, I am not sure but I remember bsg saying Aspen wasn't the best thing for rats or mice bc the dust is irritating to their lungs. Even Carefresh, which is marketed as a comfortable dust free bedding, was also cited as respiratory irritant. One of the best beddings safety wise is shredded newspaper/ recycled newspaper. I have started using it but it doesn't have the greatest odor control. As far as the Natures Miracle, I still see it on the shelves at Petco and Petsmart.

Yup aspen is bad. Carefresh and similar brands can work so long as you make sure to get the least dusty you can find and offer plenty of ventilation. Shaking it out can help, too. I've found the off-brand ones are less irritating to my mice's lungs than the actual Carefresh brand, and it's cheaper! I had to shake out the Carefresh but the other brand I used was good. I think it was Critter Care.

[Magdalen]

I was going to add I use Walmart's brand of Carefresh... I wanna say Critter Care ... for my rabbit's litter boxes and there's little to no dust.

[pet_snake_78]

The rodent suppliers in my area are a nightmere to deal with. I wish there were a reliable place to buy the sizes I need, but I've not found that to be the case. Pet stores usually don't have enough and god only knows what parasites and disease are floating around those places. Next house, I think I will try to locate myself stones through away from a rodent factory.

[Humble308]

I enjoyed breeding mice. They're pretty simple and if you stay on top of cleaning then the smell isn't that bad but it's noticeable. My mice were so much cleaner than the ones I've got online and locally which have been a bit ripe.

I tried breeding rats but failed dismally from the great rat escape chronicles to outright colony cannibalism. I did however get one small litter of 3 that seemed to be discarded by the mother. They seem to be pretty social and smart but mine were very nervous and skittish. The odor isn't the same but they poop alot more so it's mostly that. Rats were tough for me but most folks seem to have no trouble with them.

I gotta ask what is that caging your using? I've seen them before but don't know what that screen lid does?

[SerpentineDream]

The rodent suppliers in my area are a nightmere to deal with. I wish there were a reliable place to buy the sizes I need, but I've not found that to be the case. Pet stores usually don't have enough and god only knows what parasites and disease are floating around those places. Next house, I think I will try to locate myself stones through away from a rodent factory.

If your snakes will take F/T, I have never gotten a spoiled or unclean rodent from Big Cheese Rodent Factory. They will ship feeders packed in insulated boxes with dry ice so they stay frozen. I've also heard the same said of Perfect Prey, though I haven't used them myself.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I enjoyed breeding mice. They're pretty simple and if you stay on top of cleaning then the smell isn't that bad but it's noticeable. My mice were so much cleaner than the ones I've got online and locally which have been a bit ripe.

I tried breeding rats but failed dismally from the great rat escape chronicles to outright colony cannibalism. I did however get one small litter of 3 that seemed to be discarded by the mother. They seem to be pretty social and smart but mine were very nervous and skittish. The odor isn't the same but they poop alot more so it's mostly that. Rats were tough for me but most folks seem to have no trouble with them.

I gotta ask what is that caging your using? I've seen them before but don't know what that screen lid does?

Yeah, I just ordered a shipment from Perfect Prey and all the rats smell heavily of urine. All my Big Cheese purchases are odorless (until thawed out and then it's a mild smell but not of urine). The shipment was free of freezer burn or broken limbs, though, so I'll probably order from them again whenever Big Cheese is out of the sizes I need, like when I bought from them this time.

Perfect prey does vacuum pack their feeders as well, anything shipped frozen has to have dry ice (to my knowledge).

Rats definitely weren't hard for me. lol I think it has to do with what sort of stock you get. People generally cull rats that cannibalize, and keep the ones that don't. Although my original male ended up killing my original female, all their offspring were docile and I didn't have another incident like that. My females were good breeders, too, I got an average of 12 babies per female, with my smallest litter being 9 and my biggest something like 17 or 19 from one girl.

[pet_snake_78]

Ya that's odd because most I've talked to said rats were easier than mice. I haven't had any issues with mice though so I don't see how it could get much easier lol The cages are the lab cages, I bought them from reptilebasics or LLLreptile, I forgot which, I like them because they aren't tall, hold the water and several days worth of food. Definitely not as economical as homemmade racks, I would have went that way if I were using more rodents but 95% of what I use are frozen I get from perfectprey. My orders have all been extremely clean there.

[valkea]

I had planned on breeding mice but have found it impossible to find living mice here. The pet store that used to have a decent supply of living rodents has shut down and now the other only place in town that carries mice only has male. Tried looking on classifieds and the closest living mice I've found are over an hour and a half drive each way.

I gave up (for now) and bought online. My first online feeder order and I wasn't super thrilled but oh well. They were partially thawed when I received 'em.

http://i.imgur.com/n7sB0ne.jpg

Dunno if that much blood is normal but the people I asked said no. I'll try a different supplier next time.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Yeah definitely not normal, looks like they were just tossed in a freezer bag like you'd buy from Wal-Mart. :/ Definitely try Big Cheese or Perfect Prey. Layne Labs is also good, but when I was buying from them they didn't vacuum pack, not sure if anything has changed (their website has a bit).

[valkea]

Most american places won't ship to Canada it seems :( I'll check those ones out though!

[Humble308]

Ya that's odd because most I've talked to said rats were easier than mice. I haven't had any issues with mice though so I don't see how it could get much easier lol The cages are the lab cages, I bought them from reptilebasics or LLLreptile, I forgot which, I like them because they aren't tall, hold the water and several days worth of food. Definitely not as economical as homemmade racks, I would have went that way if I were using more rodents but 95% of what I use are frozen I get from perfectprey. My orders have all been extremely clean there.

Awesome those look pretty cool. Now that I see those, it looks like alot less of a pain than my DIY caging made with a drill, some tubs and a whole lot of thinking I was clever haha. I'll give those a shot.

Maybe it was a fluke but I recently got some mice and rat fuzzies from Big Cheese on a pick up order that were just quite musky and smelly. I was excited that they were only 10 miles down the road and saving money on shipping, but they were even worse than rodent pro. I'll give them another shot when they go up a size...hopefully the next batch isn't quite as ripe as I've normally heard stellar reviews about them.

[pet_snake_78]

Big Cheese is usually pretty good, I've ordered from them before no issues. If they are up the street, that's probably a good thing for you esp if they will also sell you live!