Breeding mice

[jaybox_reptiles]

Hi all i just bought 6 mice 1 male 5 femalel most of the females are already preggo but the last time i tryed breeding the mice kept eating there babys any suggestions on how to stop that? can i throw a tall over there cage for a few days before bothering them ? thx

Jay
Box

[t-dot]

did u take out the male cus if u didn't they will eat them if u really need more info pm snakemann87

[jaybox_reptiles]

Yes i would seperate the males but my sister always kept bothering themi think that is the reason but ill talk Don Aka ( snakeman87) and see what he say ill c him on msn later thx

Jay

[Linds]

DON'T remove the male. The male will only eat the babies if they aren't his (and he doesn't know they aren't his unless you add them after they were born... mice aren't smart, if they have babies while he is in the tank he will think they are his, even if they aren't). By removing the male your colony will be counterproductive. The femaes are ready to breed once they have given birth, if you remove the male you cannot reintroduce him to the female until she has raised her babies and they have been weaned, at which point she could already be close to dropping another litter if the male had been left in. Also mice aresensitive, if you keep jumpling them around they will stop breeding and get stressed out. You would need to house all the mice individually if you chose to do it that way. You cannot introduce ANY new members to the colony if their are babies, their will be fights as well as babies may be eaten.

Some of the main causes of cannabilism in colonies are 1) females first litter 2) sick babies 3) too many disturbances 4) not enough food and/or water 5) new members added to the colony. You may also get the occassional repeat offender thats just a bad mom. Easy enough to fix ;)

[jaybox_reptiles]

ok kool thx just out of curiosity how long have you been breeding ? and did you start with feeder mice or pet mice? thx

Jay

[Linds]

I have going on 9 years of experience breeding rats, 4 years experience breeding spiny mice, and 2 years experience breeding lab and fancy mice. I would never, ever, ever have a mouse as a pet. They stink, they bite, and they are filthy animals. All my fancy/lab mice were aquired with the intention to breed feeders.

[tai_pan1]

I agree with Linds on everything she posted. I rarely have a litter eaten, and when it does happen it's usually becuase I cleaned the cage just before or just after they were born.
Never take the male out!
They do stink!

[vanderkm]

Linds is right on - excellent post. My personal opinion after breeding feeders for many years is that, if you consider the cost of your time to care for them - it is far cheaper to buy frozen. You have that much more time to deal with your snakes - which are the reason you have the feeders. The only reason I would breed feeders now is to have control over the nutrition that my reptiles get -

mary v.

[jaybox_reptiles]

well that is the reason i breed feeders and it is easery and gives me somthin to do lol