# breeding mice help



## turbo1869 (Dec 15, 2009)

I am looking at breeding mice again for snake food.

But when i done it about 2 years ago i remember them smelling really bad and i used to clean them out every 3 days.

How can i stop them from smelling so much (eg change sawdust to something else? Or can you only use sawdust?) 

Also with killing them whats the best method?

Thanks
Ash


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## turbo1869 (Dec 15, 2009)

Could you use dry ice in a bottle & warm water with a pipe going from the bottle to the tub with mice in it?


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## leemancity (Sep 19, 2010)

To be honest i use to breed mice they will always smell the best advise i can give you is that the smell is from the males not the females i use to keep the males in a different room once i had a pregnant female its also a good idea to seperate a female when she is peggy to lower the stress levels but your main smell problem stems from the males.
females do smell as well of course but no where as bad (as in real life my sister reackons ohhharrr)


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

turbo1869 said:


> Could you use dry ice in a bottle & warm water with a pipe going from the bottle to the tub with mice in it?


You can, but it is not as reliable as using bottled CO2 gas and a regulator - you can't control how fast the gas enters the chamber with the mice, and therefore you might not get the *anaesthetic*-then-euthanasia effect, you might just asphyxiate them.


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## turbo1869 (Dec 15, 2009)

leemancity said:


> To be honest i use to breed mice they will always smell the best advise i can give you is that the smell is from the males not the females i use to keep the males in a different room once i had a pregnant female its also a good idea to seperate a female when she is peggy to lower the stress levels but your main smell problem stems from the males.
> females do smell as well of course but no where as bad (as in real life my sister reackons ohhharrr)


Lol thanks mate



Ssthisto said:


> You can, but it is not as reliable as using bottled CO2 gas and a regulator - you can't control how fast the gas enters the chamber with the mice, and therefore you might not get the *anaesthetic*-then-euthanasia effect, you might just asphyxiate them.


so best way to do it is with co2 gas in a bottle (co2 fire extinguisher) would that work? If not wheres the best place i could i get a bottle of co2 please. 

How fast do you want it to entre the tub/box with mice in it? Slowly or fast?


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

turbo1869 said:


> so best way to do it is with co2 gas in a bottle (co2 fire extinguisher) would that work? If not wheres the best place i could i get a bottle of co2 please.


A CO2 fire extinguisher doesn't have a regulator - it'd also flood the chamber far too fast. You should get bottled CO2 from somewhere like a welding supply shop.



> How fast do you want it to entre the tub/box with mice in it? Slowly or fast?


You want to aim to replace 20% of the volume of the container every minute, so if you have a five-litre container you should replace one litre of air the first minute, one litre of air and CO2 the next...


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## mrfang (Apr 10, 2009)

best bottle to use is a co2 pub bottle if you can find one or know of anybody in the trade.you can get a regulator from a welding supplier or from ebay.if i have to cull any mice i usually fill the chamber for 30 seconds prior to placing the mouse in,then add more co2 at a slow rate.you dont want to blast them out of the tub with a fire extinguisher....
leave them in the tub for a further 5 minutes before removing..
i breed all my own food and have found this way very sucessful.


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## nocturnalchunk (Oct 23, 2010)

i was once told by a large scale breeder that if you put a few drops of vanilla esscence in the water it will mask the smell. 

i tried it on my little dudes and it does seem to have done the trick.  give it a pop.


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## Repidge (Jun 17, 2010)

turbo1869 said:


> I am looking at breeding mice again for snake food.
> 
> But when i done it about 2 years ago i remember them smelling really bad and i used to clean them out every 3 days.
> 
> ...


I just breed all my rodents in an outdoor shed, their happy as larry and i dnt have to worry about any smells at all. :thumb:


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## nocturnalchunk (Oct 23, 2010)

yeah or just put them in the shed.... jobs a goodun :iamwithstupid:


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## james11 (Jul 5, 2010)

i have just got my Co2 and the regulator from halfords job done...


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