# help starting a mouse colony!!



## bekki789 (Aug 23, 2009)

ok guys, i need to know EVERYTHING:lol2:

im not doing it on a massive scale, and i know it wont be any cheaper, i just want to know what my snakes are eating and want the experiance

i heard you can use rubs? how many can i put into a 64L? what male to female ratio is best? is more than 1 male in a rub ok or will fights happen?

what substrate can you use? aspen?

whats best to feed them? i dont think ive seen commercially available mouse food

any extra info would be great too:2thumb:


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## connor 1213 (Apr 6, 2009)

Just off of knolage I think the 1:2 ratio is best

so that's I male and 2 female



As for substrate...woodshavings

hope I helped!


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## connor 1213 (Apr 6, 2009)

Just off of knolage I think the 1:2 ratio is best

so that's I male and 2 female
some people do 1:3

As for substrate...woodshavings

hope I helped!


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## bekki789 (Aug 23, 2009)

cheers connor thats great:2thumb:

i know you ca fit a fair few into a 64L rub, does anyone know how many and if more than one male is ok?


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## Paul Chase (Mar 7, 2007)

bekki789 said:


> cheers connor thats great:2thumb:
> 
> i know you ca fit a fair few into a 64L rub, does anyone know how many and if more than one male is ok?


64 litre is excessively high for mice, i think you would go more for a 50 litre.
Fit a 1/4 mesh lid to a wooden frame to fit box
Drill a hole to take nozzle of water bottle, being very exact with the size. do not alow any gap between nozzle and plastic box or you will have a chew out.
My mice boxes have feed hoppers built into the lids, but in a small scale set up a bowl will do for food.
I use sow rolls (for lactating sows) as food, they contain every thing needed for mice feeding younge.
I have my mice in groups of 1:5 in my boxes that i use for producing medium mice. and 1:6 for breeding or fuzzies.


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## Erinaceinae (Mar 26, 2007)

50L and 64L RUBS will give exactly the same floor space. I'd personally use a 64L as it will allow you to give them things to climb on - which they love. Also if you then put a wood/mesh lid on, they won't be able to reach it to chew/climb on it - whereas they could easily in a 50L.


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## bekki789 (Aug 23, 2009)

thats great!

were can i get the sow rolls?

cheers:notworthy:


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## Paul Chase (Mar 7, 2007)

ermm sow rolls i get from a feed firm a tonne at a time :blush:. I do have quite a few mice though, only last me about 2 1/2 weeks.


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## Paul Chase (Mar 7, 2007)

Years ago i used to only breed a few mice and used a mix of dog food and rabbit food.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

you go to the local feed suppliers for horsy stuff and see they will get you a 25kg bag of sow/pig breeder pellets.
i pay about 6 squid for mine.

mine go mental for bruised oats too.

which part of staffs are you?
is farm/sandiacre feeds far?

only one male to a rub, or they will fight!


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

If you grow males up together you can have more than one in bigger groups and they get on fine in our experience.


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## nocturnalchunk (Oct 23, 2010)

64l is the same as me. i have a 4 to 1 ratio and the girls never fail to get preggers. 

each female dropping between 8 and 12 every 3-4 weeks. your on to a winner. 

feed them dry dog food and it will cost you peanuts. (literally i am only spending about 6quid per month) 
and i have 3 tubs each with a male and 4 females,


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