Things You'll Need
- 2 Mouse housing units
- White mice, 4 females to every 1 male
- Hamster or gerbil food
- Lab blocks
- Water dropper feeder with Velcro strips
- Pine shavings
- Bleach
- Mild cleanser
Instructions
Preparation
Purchase the first group of white breeding mice from an online mice breeder or at a pet store. Begin with four females and one male. The female mice will need to be replaced after a year, and the male will need to be replaced after a year and a half.
Place the mice into one of the housing units. One housing unit will be for the first breeding family, and the second one will be for separating the female from the group after she has copulated with the male.
Purchase proper feeding trays and water bottles for the housing units. If you use cage-type housing units, water bottles that have Velcro strips work best.
Line the bottom of the housing unit with pine shavings. Old newspaper can also be used, but it will need to be changed more often. Pine shavings work best for handling the odors associated with the mice.
Keeping and Feeding
Feed the mice hamster or gerbil feed and lab blocks (nutritional supplements). Keeping mice well fed but not overfed will help them to breed more appropriately. Food can be purchased online or at pet stores.
Clean the cage at least twice a week by dumping the pine shavings and washing out the housing unit with a mild detergent and bleach mixture and rinsing completely. Dry the unit thoroughly before placing new shavings into the bottom and returning the mice to the container.
Keep the water bottle full with clean, fresh water at all times.
Breeding
Separate each female from the others as soon as she copulates with the male by placing her in the second housing unit. She will need to be separated for 21 days until she gives birth to up to about 15 to 20 "pinkies," or baby mice. After another 21 days, the young should be weaned and eating without her help. The mother can then be returned to the original unit.
Separate the babies into their own housing units after 45 days, keeping the four-females-to-one-male ratio. Purchase new cages and supplies as necessary as the mice mature. With correct cycling of the mice and housing units, you can expect to set up a new group of cages, or at least one new cage, each month.
Cycle the mice at their peak breeding ages, which is about 3 to 9 months old. The easiest way to cycle the mice is to place a sticker label or tape an index card on each cage, dating the cage according to when you placed the mice into the housing unit. Keep only mice of the same age in each cage. This will help you to have the fastest production.
Feeding
Feed live mice to the reptile by simply dropping the mouse into the reptile's cage at feeding time. Feeding frequency varies depending upon the reptile. Consider the adult size of the mouse to determine which mouse to feed the reptile. Choose mice that are about the same size as the thickest part of the snake for live feeding.
Kill the mouse before feeding time if you feel that it is more humane to feed the reptile dead prey rather than live prey. Some mice breeders struggle with watching the mouse go through the trauma of the kill. There are two main ways of killing the prey. One is by breaking the neck of the mouse; some breeders use a spoon at the base of the neck. However, if you are inexperienced at doing this, do not try this method. You could simply injure the prey and cause it unnecessary suffering.
Another method to pre-kill prey is by gassing them in a bucket, aquarium or container. Place the prey inside of the mini-gas chamber and charge the inside of it with carbon dioxide. This can be inexpensively purchased at welder's shops in gas form. It only takes a couple of minutes for the mouse to die. (Be sure to keep your head away from the gas.) Some pet stores will also euthanize the prey mice for you.
Insert the gassed mice into a zippered freezer bag and write the date on the bag with a permanent marker. Prey that have been euthanized with gas need to be frozen for five weeks before being fed to your reptile. This will kill any parasites on the rodent and will dissipate any gas tissues within the rodent.