trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
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Post by trippyferret on Nov 23, 2008 15:39:45 GMT -5
Ok, for like, a couple months now, I have been trying to breed mice for my ferrets. And I keep having all these mishaps! My first female was injured by the other female and I had to let the ferrets have her. Then the male escaped his separate cage and was killed by the cats. Then the last female died of unknown causes, not even a week later. Tried again. These two both died of unknown causes. And I tried again, got just a male and a female, and I'd been planning on adding another female, but then the female passed away this morning. So now I'm stuck with just the male. I haven't got one single pup. It's so aggravating, that I want to quit breeding. I don't smoke in the house, I wash my hands frequently, I keep their bedding clean, they always have food and water, they've got a wheel they run on all day. What is the problem?! Why can't I breed mice?!
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Nov 23, 2008 16:31:52 GMT -5
You are probably cursed! Don't come near my mice! Haha, just kidding.
I haven't started BREEDING yet, but I will throw out some ideas... What do you have them housed in? Maybe they don't have enough ventilation? What do you cover the bottom of the cage with? Some bedding is too dusty for their respiratory systems. What do you feed them? Maybe they aren't getting the proper nutrients?
Hopefully a more experienced rodent keeper has ideas for you.
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trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
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Post by trippyferret on Nov 23, 2008 16:47:46 GMT -5
They're in a 10g aquarium with one of those vented lids and I use Carefresh bedding. They eat LM Animal Farms Classic Mouse and Rat Food. I picked it as it was the only mouse food available that offered soybeans in the first ingredient. I also give them a teeny bit of Chicken Soup kitten formula for some added protein. The strange thing is, they all act healthy until they're just dead. I haven't noticed them sick or anything. I just find them dead. Man, I probably AM cursed.
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Nov 23, 2008 17:52:55 GMT -5
Don't worry, you aren't cursed! Maybe just a bad luck spell with mice. I see nothing wrong with what you are doing. A seasoned breeder should be by soon to assist you. I'm sorry for your many mice!
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Post by suds on Nov 23, 2008 18:21:14 GMT -5
sounds like you are having a bit of bad luck did you get the females from the same place ? maybe the breeder mice have unknown health problems ? are the ferrets and cats able to go near there cage ? maybe too much stress for them ? could be just a string of badluck but with 2 dieing at the same time I would look into how well the tank is ventelating and compleetly sterilize the cage and area befor I tried again .
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trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
|
Post by trippyferret on Nov 24, 2008 2:02:58 GMT -5
I've been considering that perhaps they picked up something at the pet store. Their bedding looks to be some sort of woodchips there, and it is always completely soiled with urine and feces. But that's the only place I can get live mice around here. Plus, my cats do tend to watch the mice like it's tv. They're glued to it. The mice don't seem to care/notice, and just continue running on their wheel and doing other mousey things. So I wasn't really concerned that that was the problem. It could be ventilation, but I don't really know where else I could move the tank, as space is limited. I dunno, I'm thinking about just giving up and buying mice instead of breeding. It's totally frustrating. I keep rats as well as pets, and have never had issues like this. Well, at least even if I do give up, the ferts have still got the male to enjoy as a treat.
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trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
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Post by trippyferret on Nov 24, 2008 2:06:00 GMT -5
Or... I may try another cage. I'll take a look at what the pet store's got next time I'm there.
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Post by suds on Nov 25, 2008 19:46:47 GMT -5
try putting a add on criags list or look for a private breeder to get some breeder mice from instead of the pet store's .You mite find better quality that way. I would love to breed mice but its impossible for me it took me 3 months just to be allowed to have frozen mice in the freezer and my Mom and cousin still screams when they open the container I have the mice in to thaw in the fridge lol.
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trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
|
Post by trippyferret on Nov 25, 2008 21:04:05 GMT -5
I think I'll give craig's list a try. I did end up giving my last male to the ferrets yesterday. Man they LOVE mice. So now just gonna get a different cage and look for mice breeders, and I can start anew!
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trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
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Post by trippyferret on Nov 25, 2008 21:11:59 GMT -5
I'm trying to make an account at craig'slist and I can't get it to work. Their captcha thing is not working right. Sometimes I can't even read the words, so I refresh it to something else, and type it just like I see it, and it won't work. >.< I've tried like 15 times now.
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Post by tsslilsis on Nov 26, 2008 17:04:13 GMT -5
You don't need an account to post on Craigs list.. To the left of the page there is a thing that says "Post to classified".. It is near the top left corner. Just use that.
Please keep us updated.. I'm interested in knowing what is going on with the mice. My first mouse ever, named Moose died within a few minutes of getting him home.. But he either had a heart attack or it was because he chewed on some wood chips that were in the cage (We do wood working and he was an impulse buy so we just threw some shavings from the shop in there, which had some plywood that had glue in it).. That was years ago, though.
-~Ketlin
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trippyferret
Gnawing on bones
The Weasels of Warcraft be goin' natural!
Posts: 78
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Post by trippyferret on Dec 5, 2008 0:17:23 GMT -5
I haven't started up again, but I'll let you know when I do. Mice are just darn.... fragile. I haven't been contacted by any breeders.
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