# Mouse breeding....



## My Serpentine Mind (Apr 9, 2010)

Okay, so my Royal python absouletely REFUSES frozen, so he feeds live, and he loves them. We have a friend (snake expert/breeder) who breeds his own mice, and we get them from there. However, that means 20 trips to pick up hopper mice.

1) Would it be easier to breed mice by myself, as oppose to just running to his house the rest of Zeus' (my snake) life?

2) What kind of mouse is easiest to breed? I WILL NOT FEED RATS. Not that he needs them. When the time comes I will feed multiple mice, but rats are too dangerous.

3) If it gets out of control, would it be possible to sell them and make a business of it?

4) How could I pursaude my parents to let me do this?

Thanks a million you guys!!


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

My Serpentine Mind said:


> Okay, so my Royal python absouletely REFUSES frozen, so he feeds live, and he loves them. We have a friend (snake expert/breeder) who breeds his own mice, and we get them from there. However, that means 20 trips to pick up hopper mice.
> 
> 1) Would it be easier to breed mice by myself, as oppose to just running to his house the rest of Zeus' (my snake) life?
> 
> ...


How long have you had the snake, and how much effort have you gone to in order to switch him to defrost? I think I saw your other thread where you said you couldn't kill the mouse yourself in order to feed fresh-kill (which would be a good way of switching him over). So if you don't freeze them, you are usually going to have either a) no mice of the right size or b) too many mice of the right size eating you out of house and home

1. Mouse breeding is pretty easy but needs some planning if you are not to become overrun with mice. I breed mice for my snakes, but I don't feed live. I cull the mice when they get to the correct size, and freeze them.

2. just normal pet store mice

3. there's no money in small scale mouse breeding, especially when you bear in mind you have to feed the mice, clean them out and buy wood shavings and bedding for them, as well as cages or tubs to house them. i sell a few as pets but it just covers the cost of their food, I certainly don't make a profit. 

4. ask them? you need somewhere like a garden shed. Mice in any quantity stink, however often you clean them out.


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## alan1 (Nov 11, 2008)

why not buy 10-20 at a time, and keep until needed?
less time consuming than breeding...

btw... rats are not dangerous if stunned first


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## My Serpentine Mind (Apr 9, 2010)

alan1 said:


> why not buy 10-20 at a time, and keep until needed?
> less time consuming than breeding...
> 
> btw... rats are not dangerous if stunned first


I won't be hurting any animal in any way besides C02, I've had rats before as pets, sweetest little things ever, I could never do that.


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

Maybe buying a dozen or so mice from your friend and keeping them at your house is the best idea for you, then.
How big is your royal? Even a young royal of 150g or so could eat an adult mouse.


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## rachel132002 (Dec 4, 2006)

What a bizarre statement about rats...i breed rats and have dealt with mice, i've found mice FAR more chewy and bitey and bouncy than any rat i've ever come across and as for my live feeding snakes i've NEVER had one get injured by a rat.


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## My Serpentine Mind (Apr 9, 2010)

rachel132002 said:


> What a bizarre statement about rats...i breed rats and have dealt with mice, i've found mice FAR more chewy and bitey and bouncy than any rat i've ever come across and as for my live feeding snakes i've NEVER had one get injured by a rat.


 Rats are bigger and if they DID bite it would be much more damaging than a little mouse bite...

also Zeus's age we are unaware of but he is young--not a neonate--but young, under a year old. Yes it does look like he could eat an adult, but I'd rather stick with fuzzies.


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

He'll be pretty hungry then!

Also, I have heard that a snake's having to stretch its mouth around larger prey helps its skull develop properly, although I have no idea if this is true.


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## alan1 (Nov 11, 2008)

garlicpickle said:


> Also, I have heard that a snake's having to stretch its mouth around larger prey helps its skull develop properly, although I have no idea if this is true.


 just asked some of mine, am waiting for an answer...

i could be a while! :whistling2:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

alan1 said:


> just asked some of mine, am waiting for an answer...
> 
> i could be a while! :whistling2:


hope they know it's rude to talk with your mouth full!


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## PrettyxPerfection (Sep 9, 2008)

We had the same thing with our male Royal, and he finally eats frozen but prefers freshly culled, what we did was cull a small mouse and feed it him, let him get a taste, and then we placed a warm defrosted large mouse in his viv and he took it because he was still hungry from the small mouse :2thumb:

I have never heard of rats biting as when the snake grabs them they can't do anything anyway, and if the rat is bright it will stay away from the snake to TRY and stay alive anyway.


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## Luxy (Mar 31, 2010)

PrettyxPerfection said:


> We had the same thing with our male Royal, and he finally eats frozen but prefers freshly culled, what we did was cull a small mouse and feed it him, let him get a taste, and then we placed a warm defrosted large mouse in his viv and he took it because he was still hungry from the small mouse :2thumb:


That's some very nice advice there! Best alternative to live feeding I've ever heard.
:notworthy:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

PrettyxPerfection said:


> and if the rat is bright it will stay away from the snake to TRY and stay alive anyway.


It's actually "brighter" from the rat's point of view - particularly as it's likely never to have seen a snake before and it's in a confined space where there ARE no escape routes - to investigate what, exactly, that thing over there IS... and get a good chomp on it if it's a threat.

MySerpentineMind: A fuzzy rat is more appropriately sized for your snake, most likely - and is less likely to hurt your snake than an adult mouse.

You do realise your snake will eventually need to be eating around 100-120 grams of food (at 1200g of snake - for growth you're usually looking at 7-10% of body weight weekly)... and that could be twenty fuzzy mice or 10 hoppers *at one sitting* ?


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> MySerpentineMind: A fuzzy rat is more appropriately sized for your snake, most likely - and is less likely to hurt your snake than an adult mouse.
> 
> You do realise your snake will eventually need to be eating around 100-120 grams of food (at 1200g of snake - for growth you're usually looking at 7-10% of body weight weekly)... and that could be twenty fuzzy mice or 10 hoppers *at one sitting* ?


That's if it even will eat 20 hoppers at one sitting :lol2:. My royal won't eat multiple small prey items, she will only eat the first thing I offer her, whatever size it is.

My Serpentine Mind - your solution is working all the while your snake is small. But it will not work for a big royal. Hopper mice won't be enough. Spending a bit of time while he's small working to get him onto defrost food will save you a lot of problems later on. there are many methods you can try but some of them are icky, messy and involve killing mice/rats yourself. But that's all part of snake keeping, I'm afraid.


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## My Serpentine Mind (Apr 9, 2010)

garlicpickle said:


> That's if it even will eat 20 hoppers at one sitting :lol2:. My royal won't eat multiple small prey items, she will only eat the first thing I offer her, whatever size it is.
> 
> My Serpentine Mind - your solution is working all the while your snake is small. But it will not work for a big royal. Hopper mice won't be enough. Spending a bit of time while he's small working to get him onto defrost food will save you a lot of problems later on. there are many methods you can try but some of them are icky, messy and involve killing mice/rats yourself. But that's all part of snake keeping, I'm afraid.


Lol, not hoppers forever  Just mice. Big ones. And possibly small rats...wells that's all he'd eat. As long as they can't seriously injure him OH WAIT...nah, I'll always be watching with the sledgehammer >joke, I watch with a pencil<


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