# winter advise (mice & multis)



## dcap (Sep 3, 2011)

I keep my groups of breeding mice in an insulated garage
(it used to be a small drum studio, floor/walls/ceiling all insulated for sound!)
but its unheated

I am also considering getting two small groups multis, either soon or in the spring (don't need too many at the mo, so easier to buy, but next year I think I'll be breeding my own).

Does anyone have their mice/multi/rats in an unheated garage or shed? Do you provide heat over winter or do they just stop breeding? Or retire the feeders and start again in spring. 

Since I will be brumating almost all of my mice eating snakes I could retire my breeding groups of mice, which would be a shame because they are in mixed groups of about 10x different colours/patterns and I'm beginning to work out best/worst litter rates. I'm assuming they will at least stop breeding if kept over winter, which is okay, so I could keep my spring groups separate and then put together in Feb/Mar. 

what do you do?


----------



## koyotee3 (Aug 8, 2009)

for multis they breed better with heat in the winter...: victory:


----------



## LEXCORN (Feb 9, 2007)

Colonies of Mice / Rats / Multis all in shed.

As there are 3 Racks each with 20 tubs there are a substantial number of rodents, therefore, the heat generated from them is such that when winter induces door closure they are extremely warm without the necessity of extra heating.

Ventilation is provided by leaving the window fully open - closed over to a lesser area when high winds prevail.

This year I have reduced the numbers to the extent that one rack has been sold (over-production of supplies meant less breeding or another freezer). I shall see how thangs progress with respect to heat/ breeding.

Lex


----------



## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

Sadly even with my insulated shed, i always had deaths or respitory problems in the winter. Sadly I just couldnt get power to it so there was nothing I could do. Thats why i eventuallyu stopped.


----------



## dcap (Sep 3, 2011)

so, I could just keep an eye on them - any RI and I could get some heat in there or retire the lot. The garage has electrics. I'm guess litter rates and sizes will go down through autumn?

I don't need or even want them to breed over winter, I'll have plenty in the freezer and with my mice eaters brumating demand for mice is almost zero. I could just keep a bundle of weaners in same sex groups and then put them together in spring, or keep the breeding groups together (nature being nature I guess the females won't be breedable if it gets too chilly, but to be safer I'd keep them in same sex groups instead). 

I'm not talking loads, 5x cages of 1.3 plus 2x weaner cages. So I could rebuild in the spring but would need 5.15 at breedable age straight away.

Mice being more european, I'd expect to be able to over winter. Multis being African I'd guess would be a fair bit less tollerant of the cold. 

thanks so far ...


----------



## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

I have mine in a unisulated shed but im planning on insulatin it ready for rhe winter but times running out, Would be interesting to find out what everyone else does over the winter months!


----------



## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

The mice i had were ok with EXTRA bedding in their plastic cages. Those in glass cages died. Not only that but on one VERY cold eve, they were frozen. eek!!

I had two awful winters. Hated it so much so, i got rid of my 400 + mice, 30 odd cages, and my £2000 shed.


----------



## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

freekygeeky said:


> The mice i had were ok with EXTRA bedding in their plastic cages. Those in glass cages died. Not only that but on one VERY cold eve, they were frozen. eek!!
> 
> I had two awful winters. Hated it so much so, i got rid of my 400 + mice, 30 odd cages, and my £2000 shed.


Thats bad! I have a stone wall shed attached to the side of the house, Im thinking if i get some insulation then put plywood sheets against the wall it will keep the worst of the cold put and if it gets really bad I'll put a heater in there,


----------



## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

I asked the same question a few days ago, some said they don't insualte and are fine, some say they do insulate. Suppose it's down to cost and if you want to risk it without!


----------



## GOSS (Sep 5, 2013)

*Multis*

You may already know but, if you keep the Multis in same sex groups you won't be able to mix them again later. The females will kill the males. Better to keep them in mixed groups throughout.


----------



## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

I keep all mine together in an insulated but large brick built shed where I keep my boscs etc, they do fine over winter, I don't separate as if it goes too chilly in there for them, their breeding rate slows right down naturally, as ive found this year it did when it was very hot in there too.


----------



## dcap (Sep 3, 2011)

Trootle said:


> I asked the same question a few days ago, some said they don't insualte and are fine, some say they do insulate. Suppose it's down to cost and if you want to risk it without!


... luckily my garage is already insulated, but I'm thinking maybe a low powered heater on a stat to keep the temps 'comfortable'



GOSS said:


> You may already know but, if you keep the Multis in same sex groups you won't be able to mix them again later. The females will kill the males. Better to keep them in mixed groups throughout.


I didn't know that, if I have multis by then then I guess they'll be in their groups!



mitsi said:


> I keep all mine together in an insulated but large brick built shed where I keep my boscs etc, they do fine over winter, I don't separate as if it goes too chilly in there for them, their breeding rate slows right down naturally, as ive found this year it did when it was very hot in there too.


the good news is that the garage didn't get overly hot during that really hot period we had (so perhaps the insulation is doing well). There is very little, but some, natural light - so they'll know its winter. And the one half pane that offers day light is small and at the other end of the garage to the mice - so that might explain why it wasn't too hot in there. I think the max I saw was 26'C



so - looks like I might need a small heater in there (or have one ready) just in case we have a super cold winter again. If its mild everything should be okay.


----------



## dcap (Sep 3, 2011)

freekygeeky said:


> The mice i had were ok with EXTRA bedding in their plastic cages. Those in glass cages died. Not only that but on one VERY cold eve, they were frozen. eek!!
> 
> I had two awful winters. Hated it so much so, i got rid of my 400 + mice, 30 odd cages, and my £2000 shed.


woah! that must have been awful! I have mine all in plastic breeder cages (and a couple of very open plan pet shop hamster cages - which I'll not use for winter)




mooshu said:


> Thats bad! I have a stone wall shed attached to the side of the house, Im thinking if i get some insulation then put plywood sheets against the wall it will keep the worst of the cold put and if it gets really bad I'll put a heater in there,


I'm thinking LOTS of bedding around winter time. Be interesting to see how their behaviour differs. While I have them for food, I really enjoy looking after them :blush:


----------



## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

dcap said:


> ... luckily my garage is already insulated, but I'm thinking maybe a low powered heater on a stat to keep the temps 'comfortable'
> 
> 
> I didn't know that, if I have multis by then then I guess they'll be in their groups!
> ...


I'd use a small heater, just to make it a little bit warmer for them!


----------



## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

dcap said:


> woah! that must have been awful! I have mine all in plastic breeder cages (and a couple of very open plan pet shop hamster cages - which I'll not use for winter):


to be fair it was that insane cold weather a couple of winters ago. absolutely freezing. 

And my expensive shed, was insulated with insulation and material on top, with loads of bubble wrap eveywhere. 

Still far far to cold.


----------



## dcap (Sep 3, 2011)

yep ... small oil radiator I think, good job I have electrics in there already 

(of course, in an ideal world I'd have a sink and a radiator linked to the house heating - maybe one day!)


----------



## bampoisongirl (Mar 28, 2008)

We're attempting to move ours into the shed this weekend. There's carpet in there and it's had a new roof but I still aren't convinced. The OH says they'll be fine, I'm wondering if they'll need some kind of insulation.

Gonna sort it this weekend, stick a thermometer in there and monitor the temps. It's in the corner between the house wall and the shed so it's not very drafty.


----------



## dcap (Sep 3, 2011)

okay - mini update on this
We've not had particularly cold weather this winter (but _quite a lot of rain_!)

I have a thermometer in my snake room which has a probe outside the window and also inside the room. Outside temps have only dipped below freezing a couple of times, I think the minimum was about -3'C. My 'insulated for sound ex-drum studio garage' dropped to +8'C as a minimum. 

During this time I brought in some groups of multis (first time breeders and a large group of weaners) so had less cages of mice. So, litter rates did drop a little but that was pretty much due to having new groups and weaners and half my normal number of mice cages. Over Jan/Feb/Mar I've had litters from all my groups of multis and all the groups of mice.

My first two litters of mutlis were eaten by the parents/group from two of the cages, but they've all had a 2nd litter since and not eaten them. Plus the weaners I got have had their first litters and didn't eat them. I guess its possible that that was just a first timer thing, or a temperature thing? Mouse litter size looks to be about the same as normal with 8-16x in each litter.

Gonna have a clear out of the junk in the garage over the spring so that I can pop a few more rodent cages in and should then be self-sufficient on food with the exception of rats which I don't breed (yet!). That will also mean I'll be able to fit in a heater just in case next winter gets proper cold.

Saw someone's rats while dropping off a snake in Wales - they are amazing - think I need to have some of them on the go too. 

Also have a pair of Gerbils as pets - they've not produced yet but I'm expecting them to be slow anyway. Very different behaviour and need something pretty deep to burrow properly - very nice and clean and smell free they are too ... they are possibly moving into the house.


----------

