breeding vs. buying mice/rats

mommanessy247 · 04-11-10, 11:35 AM

does anyone here breed their own snake food?...the mice/rats.
i am thinking of doing this because it seems more cost affective.
the mice & rats at my pet store are expensive- $40 for mice for 1 month & $60 for rats for 1 month. ( i would buy 4-5 mice/rats at a time instead of going out every single week for 1 mouse/rat since my pet store is not very close to me.)

infernalis · 04-11-10, 11:47 AM

I breed a lot of mice, Buying bulk frozen is cheaper.

I order $120 worth of mice at a time, and it is a lot cheaper than the ones I breed.

mommanessy247 · 04-11-10, 12:42 PM

do you know how long mice nurse for?
how long is the weaning process?

**Aaron_S** · 04-12-10, 03:41 PM

You're getting a ball python. I would skip the mouse breeding and go to rat breeding. if anything, find a way to sell off the surplus animals to fund your feeders.

infernalis · 04-13-10, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommanessy247

do you know how long mice nurse for?
how long is the weaning process?

around 2-3 weeks average.

Aaron's rat suggestion makes more sense. The pinks are double to triple the mass of a mouse pink, hoppers and juveniles make great BP food as the snake is growing.

Rats smell better than mice, they are less likely to kill pinks, they are less messy and easier to feed.

shaunyboy · 04-13-10, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

I breed a lot of mice, Buying bulk frozen is cheaper.

I order $120 worth of mice at a time, and it is a lot cheaper than the ones I breed.

how many months food do you buy in advance ? i buy 2 months at a time as ive been told 3 months is about the longest you should keep frozen food for.if i'm being honest i was lazy and took it at face value instead of doing a bit of research.i am being equally lazy in asking what do you all think.does keeping frozen food over a certain amount of time cause any type of deterioration ?
cheers shaun

Will0W783 · 04-13-10, 09:43 AM

I buy enough to last me about a month and a half to two months. I am usually at shows every month and different food items get used up at different rates depending on who is eating what. I don't think I have any particular item that ever sits in my freezer for longer than two months though. I had a bag of mouse pinks I forgot about since it was in the back of the shelf for about 4 months- it was sealed up but in a Ziploc-type baggie and was all freezer-burned when I found it, so I tend to try to make food items get used up within 2 months.

Will0W783 · 04-13-10, 09:44 AM

And if anything is looking freezer-burned at all, I just toss it. I'd rather not take the chance, but I rarely have that problem due to my many hungry mouths to feed. I do love feeding time. It's so gratifying to watch them come to the front for food and they seem to enjoy eating so much. It's a fun time for any keeper for sure!

infernalis · 04-13-10, 09:46 AM

I go through 700 or so frozen mice every 2 months...

I never have enough on hand to last past 2 months, Heck this last order I could only get 500 mice, so I'll have to order again sooner.

I keep the bags sealed up tight so they never freezer burn, but if they did, Chomper don't care.

mommanessy247 · 04-14-10, 03:57 AM

well see i would do that, but i cant for 2 reasons...
1) i wont keep frozen mice in our freezer with our family's meat...theres an ick factor there.i know they're packaged well but...[shudders]
2) the snake im going to be buying will already be established on live prey & i cant find tongs long enough to feed the snake a dead mouse/rat.

shaunyboy · 04-14-10, 06:05 AM

you should be able to get feeding tongs on the internet delivered to your door for a decent price.i feed using 12 inch tongs and thats ample to keep my hands away from striking carpets.i had a giggle at your ick factor,haha i have the bottom drawer in our big stand up freezer for food items.above that is the where our frozen chips get kept (in bags).then another 3 drawers of human food items are above that.ive had a few laughs when my mum or dad go to our freezer for a chock ice ice cream.there for all to see,is pinkies all the way up to small rats.they are well bagged and imo pose no threat to my family (unless you folks can tell me different ? ). on the live feeding front,as infernalis has pointed out frozen food cant bite your snake.ive seen pictures of some horrible damage done to snakes by food items biting them.
cheers shaun

mommanessy247 · 04-14-10, 06:22 AM

honestly i think people get those horrible mouse/rat bites to snakes when they dont supervise the feeding process. i know someone who puts the tongs near the mouse/rats mouth so that it bites the tongs instead of the snake.

shaunyboy · 04-14-10, 06:52 AM

imo even carefull feeding theres risks of snakes getting bitten.ive heard of snakes getting bit then becoming scared of food items and then its really hard to get them feeding again.this is just me but i feel its less icky to have them in the freezer than hearing little food items squeal when a carpet grabs them by the head.i'm too soft at times.

cheers shaun

snakemaster1 · 04-14-10, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommanessy247

well see i would do that, but i cant for 2 reasons...
1) i wont keep frozen mice in our freezer with our family's meat...theres an ick factor there.i know they're packaged well but...[shudders]
2) the snake im going to be buying will already be established on live prey & i cant find tongs long enough to feed the snake a dead mouse/rat.

The best tongs i have used that are nice and long and real cheap are barbeque tongs i get at dollar stores.
I raise all my own feeders as there is no where that i can order from that can supply me . I have a large collection and my feeder cost would cost way too much if i ordered in. I spend about $300.00 a month on rat food to raise my feeders to maintain my 200 snakes.