When keeping and breeding snakes, it is a very good idea to locate a source of feeder mice as some freshly hatched snakes will refuse to feed on frozen/thawed rodents. If a local mouse breeder or shop maintains a constant stock of pinkie to hopper mice, you may not need to produce your own mice. However, having at least a small quantity bred yourself will likely save money and increase availability.
Many of the articles on breeding mice are aimed at producing them on a larger scale. These may include large rack systems often with automatic watering systems. This may exceed the needs or space available to very small scale snake breeders. Personal experience has taught me that keeping larger quantities of mice together usually results in babies being eaten. What I now recommend is purchasing two trios of young adult mice and keeping each trio in a lab cage. When kept in long established trios, I have rarely had issues with babies being eaten. This is just enough mice to produce a slow trickle of babies to supply to holdout snakes that refuse to feed on frozen/thawed mice. From those original animals, you can hold back as many as needed to meet your production goals.
The general setup of the lab cages is fairly simple. Aspen or pine shavings for a bedding will help curtail the smell but only until moisture accumulates in the cage. As soon as the cage begins to smell, it is a clear indicator that moisture has built up in the bedding, normally at the bottom and the cage will need to be cleaned out and the bedding replaced. The water bottles to use with the lab cages are rubber stopper bottles that leak less than the hanging kind sold at most pet stores for rodents. The hopper built into the top of the cages will hold enough food for a week or so (I've never counted how often I refill them), so being away for a few days is not an issue. Some people like to put a small amount of Sweet PDZ in the bottom of the tubs. This is a stall freshener sold at Tractor Supply Company and other feed stores that helps lock up ammonia. You will also want to vent the air outside to remove smells or use a carbon scrubber. If you're using a carbon scrubber do not use one of the small 4" models. They don't have enough carbon and move enough air through them to remove the smell of rodents. For a few cages, this 6" model works well. That is the exact unit that I am using.
For feed the best and safest feeds to use are lab blocks intended for breeding mice. There are several brands available such as Mazuri and Kent. Depending on which rodent breeder you ask, one brand may be greatly preferred over others. In the absence of any statistical analysis, my assumption is they should all work reasonably well. Some people use dog food but you must avoid brands with red dyes. Doggie bag from Tractor Supply is a popular choice. My rodents seemed to have greasier coats when feeding on it, so I prefer to pay the extra for the rodent lab blocks. Check with any local feed supply shops or team up with another rodent breeder to get on their regular deliveries. You can also get small quantities of rodent food (20 or 40lbs, I believe) delivered from Reptile Basics. It will cost more than sourcing it locally because of the shipping but if you only use small quantities it may not pose much of a cost. I store the feed in 5 gallon buckets with a food safe lid. Each bucket will hold more than 30 lbs of food.
Many of the articles on breeding mice are aimed at producing them on a larger scale. These may include large rack systems often with automatic watering systems. This may exceed the needs or space available to very small scale snake breeders. Personal experience has taught me that keeping larger quantities of mice together usually results in babies being eaten. What I now recommend is purchasing two trios of young adult mice and keeping each trio in a lab cage. When kept in long established trios, I have rarely had issues with babies being eaten. This is just enough mice to produce a slow trickle of babies to supply to holdout snakes that refuse to feed on frozen/thawed mice. From those original animals, you can hold back as many as needed to meet your production goals.
The general setup of the lab cages is fairly simple. Aspen or pine shavings for a bedding will help curtail the smell but only until moisture accumulates in the cage. As soon as the cage begins to smell, it is a clear indicator that moisture has built up in the bedding, normally at the bottom and the cage will need to be cleaned out and the bedding replaced. The water bottles to use with the lab cages are rubber stopper bottles that leak less than the hanging kind sold at most pet stores for rodents. The hopper built into the top of the cages will hold enough food for a week or so (I've never counted how often I refill them), so being away for a few days is not an issue. Some people like to put a small amount of Sweet PDZ in the bottom of the tubs. This is a stall freshener sold at Tractor Supply Company and other feed stores that helps lock up ammonia. You will also want to vent the air outside to remove smells or use a carbon scrubber. If you're using a carbon scrubber do not use one of the small 4" models. They don't have enough carbon and move enough air through them to remove the smell of rodents. For a few cages, this 6" model works well. That is the exact unit that I am using.
For feed the best and safest feeds to use are lab blocks intended for breeding mice. There are several brands available such as Mazuri and Kent. Depending on which rodent breeder you ask, one brand may be greatly preferred over others. In the absence of any statistical analysis, my assumption is they should all work reasonably well. Some people use dog food but you must avoid brands with red dyes. Doggie bag from Tractor Supply is a popular choice. My rodents seemed to have greasier coats when feeding on it, so I prefer to pay the extra for the rodent lab blocks. Check with any local feed supply shops or team up with another rodent breeder to get on their regular deliveries. You can also get small quantities of rodent food (20 or 40lbs, I believe) delivered from Reptile Basics. It will cost more than sourcing it locally because of the shipping but if you only use small quantities it may not pose much of a cost. I store the feed in 5 gallon buckets with a food safe lid. Each bucket will hold more than 30 lbs of food.
