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 #1310760


Zyph
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 To breed, or not to breed.

My sister just got a ball python, and I was wondering of what the advantages and disadvantages of breeding mice were.

Would it be cheaper to just by them from the store?

I would be the one breeding the mice, since I have more room. And if breeding does make sense, how would I go about disposing the pinkies? I believe it’s "illegal" to feed live here... So do I just toss them in a bag and put them in the freezer? (That’s what we did when I worked at a pet store).

I was going to start out with a 1.2 ratio (I think that’s correct, am I backwards?) to get started, and just work from there.

Any advice, please let me know.



06/08/07  02:36pm

 #1314724


Chelle41179
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   Message To: Zyph   In reference to Message Id: 1310760


 To breed, or not to breed.

If she had more than one snake, which I suspect that she WILL have, once she falls in love with the one she has...I would totally recommend you raise them....

With only one snake at the moment, Its not really cost effecient that you raise them yourself.

If she does get more snakes...It’s really cheap and they are really self-reliant, care-wise.

Just buy a small shoebox sized container, cut two squares out of the sides, put wire screens on the insides of the squares (to prevent them from chewing thru the holes holding the wire in place). Give them a small scoop of a mix of cracked corn, and sweet feed (hit the feed stores, less then 20 bucks for 50 pounds, usually- and it will last them for months and months) Give them a water bottle and your good to go, long as their is a male and a female (or two.. or three) in there...

~~Chelle~~
06/11/07  08:49pm

 #1315732


Brimstone
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   Message To: Chelle41179   In reference to Message Id: 1314724


 To breed, or not to breed.

As chell said not reall cost efficent if you are feeding LIVE!!!!!! but as it is illigale to feed live there then it would be rather simple and cheaper for you to get a trio and freeze all the young when they are the approprate size. breed for about 6 months get you a nice good collection in the freezer then kill off the parents and put them in the freezer as well b/c the snake will get bigger and will need bigger food so you can always us them. and when you start geting low in numbers in the freezer then get you a new trio and start all over again!!!
also so you know yes you have you ratio set up right it would 1:2 (one male and 2 females.) also a 50 lb bag of food would be way over kill for you working on such a small scale. maybe if you had a friend that already has these mixes then you can maybe buy a couple of pounds off them if not then buy a mix at a walmart or something like that.
hope this helps you out alot.. and good luck with the new ball, it will more then likey turn out to be way more then one. i started with 1 2 yrs ago and now i have 16 ball pythons, and a boa. anyway good luck
Danielle
06/12/07  03:13pm

 #1317005


Zyph
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   Message To: Brimstone   In reference to Message Id: 1315732


 To breed, or not to breed.

Getting mousey food won’t be a problem, my dad owns quite a few horses, so I could just bum some sweet feed, alfalfa pellets and hay from him.

I don’t particularly know much about snakes and the feeding sizes, so should I just kill ’em at different stages? I guess I could just ask the sis and see what she wants to do...Meh.

I have a 20 gallon long tank I was planning on keeping them in, is this adequate? I also have home-made dividers for when I need to separate, and I have two extra 10 gallon tanks.

Thanks so much for the replies. I have everything set up already, now I just need to go get the little buggers.

BTW, I’m going to keep them separated until I’m absolutely sure about this. ’Cause I don’t really want to do this for no reason, ya know?
06/13/07  02:25pm

 #1319209


Chelle41179
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   Message To: Zyph   In reference to Message Id: 1317005


 To breed, or not to breed.

yea, 20 gall is MORE than adequete for one colony. Use the tens to seperate out the babies at weaning time!! Freeze whatever size as needed then as the snake gets ready to move up in feeds, start freezing the next up!

~~Chelle~
06/15/07  12:28am

 #1390490


NJP
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   Message To: Chelle41179   In reference to Message Id: 1319209


 To breed, or not to breed.

haha how would u kill off the parents
08/06/07  01:15am

 #1397454


Hummi
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   Message To: NJP   In reference to Message Id: 1390490


 To breed, or not to breed.

First off, you would be wasting time raising mice as feeders for ball pythons. You would have to let the baby mice grow until they become hoppers at the least. You would be better off to breed rats. You can start hatchling balls on rat pinks.

As for it being cheaper in the long run, not if you are feeding just one snake. But, if you have a few snakes, it is much cheaper and much more convient to raise your own feeders.
08/10/07  01:02pm

 #1408228


Frankykeno
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   Message To: Hummi   In reference to Message Id: 1397454


 To breed, or not to breed.

To feed only one snake, it’s really just not worth your time and effort to raise mice or rats. You have to control their reproduction or you’ll get overrun quickly, they require daily feeding/watering and weekly cleaning. Mice take awhile to grow big enough and rats can quickly outgrow the feeding sizes you need. It would likely be a lot easier and cost effective to just purchase feeder rodents for one snake’s needs.
08/18/07  08:26am

 #1454003


NICKNAME
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   Message To: Frankykeno   In reference to Message Id: 1408228


 To breed, or not to breed.

JUST JUMPING IN HERE .
I`M CONSIDERING THIS ALSO
MY SON HAS 2 RETICS , AND AN ALBINO BRUM-THEY`RE JUST PASSING THE JUMBO RATS STAGE
ALSO WE HAVE A SMALL RETIC , AND A CARPET PYTHON EATING MEDIUM RATS
WOULD RAISING RATS BE A PAIN? I`D SET IT UP OUTSIDE . I`M CONCERNED ABOUT THE ODOR.
HOW MANY BREEDERS SHOULD I START WITH ?
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A NEW-BORN RAT TO GET JUMBO SIZE?

IT`S COSTING ME ABOUT $40 A WEEK NOW TO FEED THESE GUYS .
SHOULD I DO THIS , OR SHOULD I JUST BUY BULK FROZEN?
09/23/07  12:16pm


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