1 - whats the best bedding to use? I am currently using tasmainian oak wood shavings. I use breeders choice kitty litter, available from Woolies Big W and leading pet stores. I use a handful of hysorb woodshavings, shredded paper and toilet rolls (the cardboard bits) in winter for them to use as bedding
2 - what is the best food to offer them. I mix Equestrian mix with small parrot seed and a good quality dog biscuit like eukanuba or Iams. I also feed fresh fruit and vegies. Mine like sweet potato, carrots, cucumbers, pumpkin and apples the best.
3 - Can i leave the male with the females after they give birth. Or is it best to seperate. I currently seperate the females into a different tub when preg. Depending on the males. In an established colony you can. If I find any mutulation or killing of babies I keep an extra eye on the colony to establish the culprit and kill them once found. It takes a long time to establish a good colony. I hate mice, they are destructive and disgusting. A dominant female can cause more damage than a male, killing all young that arent her own. I have come out to a tub full of body parts only to have to clean it up and start again. Be very cautious of new blood lines, they are sometimes like buying somebody elses problems. If you have mutulation of young, I seperate the pregnant ones by themselves to try to establish the problem mouse.
4 - Whats the best sized tub to house them in.
Good question! A lot of people modify and find what works for them. I have a wild mouse problem. The wild males love to come and pick fights which can lead to wounds and possible disease in your captive mice. I don't use cages. I can't afford a rodent rack. I buy the plastic storage tubs you use for clothes from crazy clarks etc. 55L up to 120L. I buy them on sale or if they have damage to their lids or tops. I make lids out of pine wood frame and screw on mouse wire. These sit snug around the top and the wire sits flush with the rim of the tub. The cannot climb out. I hang the bottles from the sides of the tub with wire. I also use to use this for my pedigree guineapigs when giving birth. Very easy to sterilize. They aren't UV resistant so don't store them near the sun when not in use. They are easy to stack and Big ones come with wheels so you don't have to carry the heavy ones. Size of tubs determine how many are housed. For my 55L I go one male to 3 females. Larger tubs (100L to 120L) I will have a small colony up to 7 animals. Remember tho when they breed you can have up to 30+ mice in one tub! I mainly keep the larger tubs for growing out the weiners. One tub for boys and one for girls.
It takes a while but once you get a good colony going you can start selling cause you'll be over run!
Hope this helps