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Post by fuzzywozzie on Mar 24, 2011 19:09:19 GMT -5
How much space would you recommend for a pair of breeder mice?
How much space would you recommend for a trio of breeder mice?
How much space would a single male need to live in (while not being a stud)?
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Post by katt on Mar 24, 2011 19:26:57 GMT -5
Ten Gallons. I used a 10 gallon tank for breeding trios, and a Kritter Keeper for my males when they are being kept away from the others. Now I have larger groups and have upgraded to large Sterlites.
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Post by fuzzywozzie on Mar 24, 2011 19:58:34 GMT -5
Thanks for that! Can you house two males together? If they were introduced on mutual ground and of course seperated if they show any signs of fighting After reading fancymice.info they say not to once they have been bred from but i thought i'd ask just to see for the compainionship.
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Post by goingpostal on Mar 25, 2011 8:46:49 GMT -5
Do not put breeding males together, they will fight, possibly to the point of death. I one time made a mistake and put a male in to breed some females, but apparently I'd already put in a male earlier and one injured the other to the point where I had to put him down. I keep 2 females per 10 gallon and rotate males in and out and they live in 5.5 gallons by themselves.
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Post by fuzzywozzie on Mar 26, 2011 16:52:25 GMT -5
Ok cool i'll make sure they are kept seperated, i don't want them killing each other off. I know not to put two males in with females but was wondering about when they are not breeding because i don't want to breed back to back, so my males will have to live as singles between breeding cycles.
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Post by katt on Mar 26, 2011 17:08:57 GMT -5
Yeah males tend to do okay on their own when taking a break from the females IME. What you can do is have 1 male per 2-3 breeding groups, and just rotate him through the females. This give the females a break, and he gets company.
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Post by fuzzywozzie on Mar 28, 2011 15:49:54 GMT -5
To start with i was going to have one male per group of females, but i do agree that rotating the male round would be the best idea. Thanks again!
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Post by katt on Mar 29, 2011 17:17:05 GMT -5
Typically a really good set up is a 10G with 1M:2F. You can breed back to back by leavin the male in there. This reduces the social strain of reintroducing the male again, and provides one more mouse to babysit and relieve momma mouse's stress. BUT backto back litters is vey stressful on Momma mouse both physically and mentally and thenfemales will get tired out sooner and need a longer break. Otherwise, rotating the male in/out or between 2-3 cages will gve momma mouse a nice break between litters.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2011 20:40:41 GMT -5
After dealing with escapees chewing through the sterlite containers, I quit breeding for awhile and have recently started again.
THe fuzz butts know it too! Its a stampede whenever I open the bathroom door then they all sit and look wistfully up at the dresser top to where they just know the new meals await!
I've graduated to glass and currently starting with a 10 gallon tank, two females and a male. The females are white, male is grey and white. Original breeding purchase consisted of 10 mice.
I culled the smaller, timid males and then a few females that developed "crunchy" backsides - looked like scratches, felt dry, rough and crackly. I was NOT impressed with the stock they came from - all appeared stressed, rough coated and underweight. But they were all I could find.
Anyway, last time I bred I rotated males among bins of three females. This time I think I'll try leaving them to their individual social groups. The females both had litters within hours of each other, but the first female killed the second female's litter. Fed the carcasses (4)to the baby snake.
Both females went to rearing the first litter. So far the male has been rather mannerly and even takes his turn cleaning the pups and doing house keeping.
Just did the 10 day sex check and culled the only male pup. Fed him to a baby snake. In 10 days with 2 moms feeding them these fuzzies are quite large!At least an inch long and almost 1/2 inch diameter! Fat little fuzzies! About three times the size of the fuzzies I paid 6 bucks for from Gourmet Rodent at Petco!
I'll slowly add another tank as the litters grow. I should be able to house six tanks in the bathroom. And the air cleaner should easily keep up with that space. Have to keep the landlord happy.
But it seems that 10 gallons for three mice (plus babies) offers them plenty of room to stay happy.
Cheers, Kim
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Post by Sherry on Aug 2, 2011 8:36:01 GMT -5
That sounds really good, Kim! Please let us know how it progresses
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Post by katt on Aug 2, 2011 13:00:17 GMT -5
I am also switching back to glass after using the sterlites. I just could not find a decent sized shelving unit that fit in the closet, and I am sick of having to unstack everything to clean it up. It's a royal pain in the butt. Also, the screen tops will allow for better ventilation. They are heavier to clean, but small enough (10 gallons) that it won't be too much of a pain. I will be keeping 1-2 sterlites for the growing feeders, and have 2-3 10 gallon tanks for the breeding groups, each with 2 females and one male.
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