breeding mice in low temps?

[Tony Paxton]

if you have any suggestions please email me

[CamHanna]

I breed my rats in my basement with no problems. Temperatures are 50F-60F. Before that I tried breeding in my bedroom where the temp is 80F. I had very low productivity in the warmer temperatures, in the basement my average litter is 14.5 which I'm happy with.

[mykee]

No e-mails. This is what the site is for. No need for secrets. How low? Mice will breed in the mid 50's, as high as the low 80's. If you have another question, just e-mail it to me. Just kidding, I won't respond to an e-mail, post it here.

[Mark]

how low is low. you can only breed them so cold before they stop breeding and are more concerned with staying warm them breeding. Where are you breeding them.
More info always helps in getting an answer you want. Also keep question on the board so other people with simialr questions can find out the answers.

Mark

[Tony Paxton]

i want to breed them in my base ment, im not to sure of the temp.. but its quite cold
i wouldnt think it would be beloe 50f tho

[CamHanna]

To clarify, 50F-60F is the temperature in the snake brumating part of my basement. Rats seem to pump out heat pretty well and have probably raised the ambient temp in the ratrack. I've never measured the rack temp though.

The 80F in my bedroom was also not the rack temp. The rack temp was likely a fair bit warmer. The average litter in my bedroom, though I didn't keep records, was probably about 6-8. Breedings didn't take every time either.

[Tony Paxton]

how often were you getting a litter from each female in the basement?

[CamHanna]

Right now I get a litter from each female about every 5-6 weeks. Most of my colubrids are brumating at the moment so I'm taking it a little easy on the breeders. Once I crank up production again I'll expect a litter every 4 weeks or so.

[Mark]

I also breed rats in my basement and I leave the window open year round to let the heat out of the room. I'm not sure what I'm at right now but I have the window open about 1-2" and it can get cold by my rat racks but my production rate is great and I'm going to keep the tamps down if I can. Basicly as long as your basement is around the temp of most basements you'll be fine. If you notice that you mice are breeding age and eating piles of food they may like it a bit warmer. What woeks for one person may not work for the next.

Mark

[Tony Paxton]

do u know any were i can get a groupr of proven breeder mice near brantford ontario?

[CamHanna]

I wouldn't bother getting proven mice, any adult mice should be able to breed. I'm not sure where you could get live adult mice. A pet store would be the easiest place if you're only getting a few but the price might be too high. I got my rat stock from Mice4You. I'm sure any local breeder would be willing to sex and sell you some live adults if you asked them to, though they may charge more than for FT.

I just checked the temperature of my rack. 63F. Basement temp is 56F.

[Tony Paxton]

kk,, i'll look around and see what i can.. thanks alot
and would you have ny idea what a single adult pigmy cham id worth?

[CamHanna]

I can't help you there... I'm more of a snake guy.

[Mark]

If you can make it near kitchener I have some extra mice. I'm building up my own mice colonies. Most breeder do not sell off live stock for breeding purpose (more comp sometimes). CamHanna did you buy sexed females or did you buy a bunch of random live rats and just kept the females back?

Thanks

Mark

[Mark]

Also tony for the cham pricing asking on the cham forum will get you answers quicker and usually more accurate.


Mark

[Jeff_Favelle]

That's going to stink up your house something fierce.

[CamHanna]

I bought sexed males and females. They weren't Mice4You breeding stock, just decent sized live rats. They were very good about the whole thing, helped me with rack plans and the whole nine yards. They charged a little more than for FT but that's to be expected.

Edit: I also bought some frozen rodents in that same order.

[mykee]

Mark; I've heard nothing but good things about your mouse stock. The breeder is a great person to deal with too, stand up guy, salt of the earth....

[Mark]

Of course my mouse stocks great....now I wonder where I got it ;).

Mark

[Linds]

Originally posted by CamHanna
I breed my rats in my basement with no problems. Temperatures are 50F-60F. Before that I tried breeding in my bedroom where the temp is 80F. I had very low productivity in the warmer temperatures, in the basement my average litter is 14.5 which I'm happy with.

I also breed my rodents in my basment which experiences that same temperatures. I've found rats to tolerate cooler temperatures much better than mice. My mice seem to really slow production below 60 degrees, whereas my rats still thrive. I've had to move my mice to a different location during the winter to keep them breeding.