Mouse breeding question.

[Derrick]

Well I got some mice so I so I can try and feed my pain in the a$$ JCP some live prey and my LPS only has live pinkies or large adults. I have a 1/3 colony for a week now. I have one pregnant female and one maybe. Do you seperate them before birth?? I've read some artiles that say yes and some that say it doesnt matter.

Does anyone know where to gat small quantities of lab grade mice in alberta?

On a funny note I was wondering how my daughter would handle the new snake food. so we decided just the babies would be snake food until one bit her yesterday now she doesnt care any more

[vanderkm]

No need to separate females before they pup but don't introduce any new mice once a colony is established. Mice are finicky breeders unless they are from a line that has been selected to be good mothers there is a chance that no matter what you do, the females will kill their first or each other's litters. They usually get it figured out by the second time around and if they don't, they need to be snake food. Even if the females are separated from each other and the male there is still a chance of them cannibalizing the first litter. If you keep the females with the male they will be bred within 24 hours of delivering their litter and you will have a continual cycle of pups every three weeks or so. Three females should give you lots of production once they settle down as a colony. Sorry, I don't know any sources of lab strain mice in Alberta.

Just a suggestion on feeding live - before resorting to that, if you have your own supply of mice, it may be worth trying stunned - the kicking reflex after they are stunned is often very stimulating to snakes like JCP that are attracted to movement. We found our JCP and Irian Jaya youngsters were very willing to take stunned or fresh killed mice.

good luck with the breeding - too bad rats are illegal here - they are so much easier to work with than mice,

mary v.

[Derrick]

thx Will a good mack on the head stun them???

The problem is this JCP is 7 month old and she was eating for the breeder she almost ate a rat once but I startled her. Shes only eaten one hopper that i had used for scenting which I figured I'ld give a shot after she had rejected another meal. She was in shed for a bit but in the last 2 months all she's eaten was that hopper. my other one is eating rats like a champ

[vanderkm]

If she was eating dead rats for the breeder I wouldn't feed her mice - ours never got another mouse after they took a rat cuz they get so fixated on the mice. If she is in pretty good body shape I don't think a fast of several months will be a problem, especially since they slow down with winter anyway. Our jungles converted to mice (edit - meant to say to rats) easier than the jayas but in either case, if they get fixed on mice it can be really, really hard to get them to change as they get older.

To stun or kill mice either a whack on the head or breaking their neck will kill them and there will be quite a bit of kicking right after they are hit - that is when to offer them.

mary v.

[Derrick]

ok well I guess I'll hold off I can always use the mice for my corns. Thx for the encouragement. Whats the longest I should leave it for?

[vanderkm]

I would continue to try with rats for at least another couple months - especially if she doesn't seem to be losing condition. If you have one that eats rats and you can offer first to the one that doesn't - then if it refuses you can feed to the one that eats. If the first one eats, you just feed the good feeder the next day. I hate to have to throw prey away especially since rats cost so much! There are quite a few posts in the carpet python forum on tips for getting them to take rats and some people there may have a better idea of maximum time to let them starve at this age before giving up.

mary v.

[Mystic__69]

watch out when your mice start to breed, they will the babies when they start to get big, it happened to mine.

[Derrick]

hehe ya I've flushed quite a few rats mary. My worst experience was when I left one over night on the warm spot. Nothing like ripe rat to clear your nostrils in the morning.

Mystic__69 I dont quite folow what you mean.