what number of snake does it become cheaper to breed food

[cadwallader]

what number of snakes before breeding your own food mice/ rats become cheaper then buying and which of the to is cheaper to keep and breed.
tell us what number you started breeding your own?
and cheapest NICE way to prepare...

 

[chickensnake]

I starrted breeding my own at 2 snakes.
It is cheap ans does save you money, no matter what others say lol(you have pets and they give you free snake food, how is that expensive?)
I had a pair of rats already, but i got a few tubs(8 bucks each from bunnings) fitted them out ect..
all up cost me 10-15 bucks a tub. then got food for them (you can get bags of rat feed, not sure what its called , but its like 25 bucks a bag i think, and will last ages with a few breeders and small amount of growers(depending on how big your growing them)
cheap bedding is ripped up newspaper/shredded paper.(but i use saw shavings)

 

[hornet]

i'm breeding mice for 3 juvies and i believe its cheaper then buying. IMO its cheaper to maintain a single breeding group of mice then to buy a single fuzzy mouse per week

 

[cadwallader]

well i have one more on the way so 3 adults how do you put them to sleep:/

 

[TigerCoastal]

i have 4 snakes and breed my own food, + alot more than i need, but i sell the excess which feed my rats, but i figure 4 adult rats a week a the local store cost me 35, it costs me less to feed the rats for the week..... and i run a colony of up to 60 females + males

 

[Luohanfan]

I have 3 snakes, just started breeding rats (havnt had babies yet)
cheap to set up, the water bottle is the most expensive item..
food is cheap for rats/mice if you buy bulk bags

 

[Snakeman97404]

how do you put them to sleep:/

With a sharp blow to the head.

 

[hornet]

With a sharp blow to the head.

2nd that, when i need them i smack their head against a brick, as long as you get the aiming right (not hard) death is instantaneous

 

[TigerCoastal]

i found whacking to be a bit messy occasionally, i prefer to use the sodastream co2 method

 

[cadwallader]

tiger coastal
how would i set up a sodastream co2 method
it sounds expensive but i couldn't wack them

 

[Jay84]

tiger coastal
how would i set up a sodastream co2 method
it sounds expensive but i couldn't wack them

Buy a sodastream from Kmart, attach a tube from the nozzle to a tupperware container (you will need to drill or solder a hole in the side of the tupperware contaciner). Put mice or rats in container, put lid on container.... pump on the sodastream and hey presto..... dead rats!

 

[scottyo998]

i completely agree with what has been said. It is very cost efficient, and only becomes better with more snakes. At the moment i've got 7 females for breeding (i plan on adding 3 or 4 more so i get a bit of excess) and have built a rack and everything. and even taking into account the initial materials cost and the first bunch of rats, that gets recuperated in a fortnight, and food is probably weekly (considering i would be buying $70+ of food every feed if i bought them from a store) so if you feel like you have the time to do it, i say go for it mate

oh and yeah, i use the sodastream method too, it works great and isnt that dear (of course dearer than a knock to the head) but is a bit better if you have an issue with that/

 

[Dannyboi]

What about hopping mice anyone breed them as food? Rabbits? what else is the option (other that mice)

 

[hornet]

i completely agree with what has been said. It is very cost efficient, and only becomes better with more snakes. At the moment i've got 7 females for breeding (i plan on adding 3 or 4 more so i get a bit of excess) and have built a rack and everything. and even taking into account the initial materials cost and the first bunch of rats, that gets recuperated in a fortnight, and food is probably weekly (considering i would be buying $70+ of food every feed if i bought them from a store) so if you feel like you have the time to do it, i say go for it mate

oh and yeah, i use the sodastream method too, it works great and isnt that dear (of course dearer than a knock to the head) but is a bit better if you have an issue with that/

any chance you could put up pics on your rack and info on how you built it? I have 1 colony of mice (1 male 2 fems) currently, just regular mice and am soon to set up a supermice colony (1 male 5 fems) so along with grow out tubs i would probably be best off making myself a small rack

 

[Jen]

I have 1 snake and breed mice, but I didn't have to buy tubs - they are in lab boxes - and I have enough lab feed and proper lab bedding to last me a few years from where I used to work. You may be able to pick up feed/bedding rejects from labs in your area. I also don't 'knock them on the head' as it were, I use what I consider a much more humane method - and unlike CO2 its free with no set up. Google cervical dislocation or pm me for details if you are interested.

 

[FusionMorelia]

my petshop sells bags of 5-10 and 15-30 and the most expensive is the rats (not jumbo or large just rats)
30 rats for 39, is this expensive?

 

[Jen]

any chance you could put up pics on your rack and info on how you built it? I have 1 colony of mice (1 male 2 fems) currently, just regular mice and am soon to set up a supermice colony (1 male 5 fems) so along with grow out tubs i would probably be best off making myself a small rack

Hi hornet, not to hijack but you would be better off having 2 tubs with 1 male to 2 or 3 females rather than 1:5. The most we ever put at the vivarium was 1:3 and even then we were getting much better pregnancy and littler sizes from 1:2. 'Supermice' would also be much better off at 1:1, or even having 1 male who is a stud for the singly housed females. From professional experience (not just personal) if there are too many babies or multiple litters at different stages of development, both the females and the litters suffer. I have 2 large lab boxes with 1 male to 2 females of what could be considered 'supermice' and am getting up to 30 pups from the 2 females - they are going into estrus at the same time and littering together.

 

[Waterrat]

I have 1 snake and breed mice, but I didn't have to buy tubs - they are in lab boxes - and I have enough lab feed and proper lab bedding to last me a few years from where I used to work. You may be able to pick up feed/bedding rejects from labs in your area. I also don't 'knock them on the head' as it were, I use what I consider a much more humane method - and unlike CO2 its free with no set up. Google cervical dislocation or pm me for details if you are interested.

Jen, the restraining method of the animal (as described) causes much more stress than a clean, sharp whack on the neck. I don't like that system at all.

 

[Jen]

Er, no. My job was basically culling mice for 18 months. With the correct technique, you go from picking up the mouse to a humanely culled mouse in a less than 5 seconds, and there is no blood or smashed out brains to deal with.

 

[FusionMorelia]

Jen, the restraining method of the animal (as described) causes much more stress than a clean, sharp whack on the neck. I don't like that system at all.

how do you do this? with a tool or a sharp swing onto a bench?