Omg I Feel So Bad. Reminder To Anyone Keeping Mice!

CHRISANDBOIDS14 · 04-13-04, 11:32 PM

Hello fellow herpers,

Last night, i put a brand new cage together for my new females(that i am keeping for breeding purposes). New rubbermaid, water bottle, shavings, food. Anyways, i put them all in there at around 10:30 last night. I went to bed and went to school this morning. When i got back from school, i went into my garage to get my key and check on the mice as i do every afternoon. I just take a peek to see movement in all the cages. Well, i look into my big bin, and only bin, with female mice, soon to be breeders in it. They looked fine all cuddled up together, so i went to open the door and brought the key back. While going by again, something did not look right. I open the top and look at all the mice barely moving and picked one up, it died when i put it back down. I brought it into the house and had an attack as there were 29 females in there and they were my only ones that i had that i was keeping. I freaked and called my mom to rush home to take me to the vet. I called the vet, spoke to an animal health technician(also a member of the site) and she asked me all these questions and finnally says, "did you have holes drilled into the cage?" and im like OMFG! i didnt have ANY AIR HOLES except for the water bottle hole that the water bottle was in. I was soooooooo mad at myself. I brought them all into the house, cage and all, gave them air and was holding and rubbing them to warm them up and stimulate breating. I put most of them on the container top on the floor and held the ones in worst contdition. Anyways, there was one casualty when i had gotten home and the other that died after i held it, so i saved 27! and they are all doing great!

Anyways, the message is, ALWAYS remember to put ventilation on the cage.BTW i did put 1/4" wire mesh on the top.

I Feel soooooo bad for the mice but i did everything i could to save them. Also, i was doing like pumping on a couple of the mice's chests and those two seemed to "revive".

Anyways, lesson learned, and i hope this never happens again to me or anyone! I really feel bad about it.

Chris

jparker1167 · 04-13-04, 11:48 PM

well at least you save most of them at least you will remember to put ventilation next time i use to breed mice and had of 60 at one time good thing i had tops that had ventilation

good post

CHRISANDBOIDS14 · 04-13-04, 11:57 PM

Thanks, i felt sooooo bad for them, i was in total hatred of myself, i was looking at the mice, sitting there, shiverring, ready to die, and i was just hoping and hoping. Well i have about 100-110, so i feel real happy and glad i could save them.

Chris

Cruciform · 04-14-04, 12:10 AM

Try making a container like this:

There's been examples posted before. I copied the idea for mine and it works great. The bin is 5 bucks at Canadian Tire or Walmart. Nuts and bolts can be bought cheaply in the hardware aisle at CT as well.

You can get the hardware cloth (the wire) at a hardware store.

The mice don't chew on the tub at all, and the cover is low enough that if they're feeling ambitious they climb up from their nest and run around on the ceiling upside down

(if the mice do that, don't leave them where a cat can get at them. it could kill them through the mesh with one good swipe)

CHRISANDBOIDS14 · 04-14-04, 12:16 AM

Lol, thanks, thats actually exactly what i do but i use clear rubbermaids. i just put a few screws through the top to hold the mesh on. And also they are always upside down and i have no cats. lol. And i get the hardware cloth the same size. lol. Thanks for the example, i just feel so stupid for having forgotten to put the hardware cloth on!

varanus69 · 04-20-04, 07:51 PM

ok my wife ( who is NOT a herp loving person) asked about the mice chewing through the rubbermaid containers.It may sound dumb but i don't breed my own rodents (she won't let me) so can anyone answer her question. don't they chew through them?
p.s well chris now every one who knows you knows where your keys are.maybe its the best ideato post that little detail on the net

sapphire_moon · 04-20-04, 08:10 PM

All you have to do is find a rubbermaid with completely smooth insides. and you will be fine, no chew throughs.

Auskan · 04-21-04, 08:01 AM

I've never had any of my mice or rats try to chew through the rubbermaid.

Cruciform · 04-21-04, 08:09 AM

As long as there's some seeds for them to play with, or a small block of wood, the mice in my rubbermaid have no interest in chewing on anything else.

When I first put in the margarine container for them to build a nest in they chewed on that for a little bit. But they lost interest in it quickly. It's replacement hasn't been touched.

If you have chew-crazy mice, try out the little rawhide sticks you can get for your dog. The rats and mice love them. I break one stick into several pieces and the mice practically dance around the floor of the bin when I give each of them a piece

sapphire_moon · 04-21-04, 09:10 AM

Or if you have ONE specific chewer, get rid of it. It will only make the rest of them (rats or mice) also interested in chewing. Sometimes I swear they plot things like that.

nicola_boulton · 04-21-04, 10:17 AM

of the subject here and everything but even if the mice didnt die, they would be killed eventually for snakes right? lol, it would have been sad 2 see them suffure but it wouldnt have been a lost cause.................. sorry to hear about the accident anyways, good luck in the future.

nicola

Auskan · 04-21-04, 10:28 AM

If they were breeders, they weren't necessarily just food for the snakes - he probably wanted to get litters out of them first.

Lisa · 04-21-04, 06:13 PM

I prefer using aquariums with metal lids, they get plenty of ventilation and not chew their way out.

YummyCdnMale · 05-02-04, 05:48 PM

what was your credit card number again Chris?...LOL

annieb_mice · 05-02-04, 09:39 PM

I found that cutting the lid and attaching a wire screen to it works great! <Though I've switched over to the "rack" system with the sliding bins> I've never had any problems with mice chewing out of them. I use the clear plastic tubs and they seem to prefer them as they get some daylight and don't live in "darkness" all the time. Tanks are good if you aren't breeding a lot of mice. I put the water bottles in the top of the bins, that way there isn't ANYTHING along the sides for them to even think about chewing on.

Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~