Post by ferretfreke on Oct 15, 2009 21:58:11 GMT -5
So I got my first breeding colony. I'm going to slowly keep adding more colonies as I can afford to. Right now I'm trying out a cage that I made from a plastic container.
First I cut out a section of the lid using a box cutter and a saudering iron for the corners.
Then I glued aluminum screen to the underside so that the mice can't chew through the plastic
It doesn't look like they will be able to chew this, but time will tell. If they can I will screw some strips of sheet metal over the glued edges.
Then I drilled a hole for the water bottle and two small holes through the lid lip for the wire holder
Finished product. The glue isn't the prettiest, but I think it will be functional.
I'm using baked topsoil like someone on here suggested in another thread to minimize odor. They seem to really like it and it works. I give them a handful of carefresh and some newspaper to make bedding/nests with. They seem to prefer to nest in the top soil.
They have tubes and running wheels for enrichment. It's very important to me that they have good lives.
Right now I am feeding a mixture of crimped oats, some Zupreem ferret kibble (leftover), Alfalfa pellets, Harrison's Bird pellets (I got a huge bag for free from work and it is excellent nutrition and cert. organic), some nutriberries, and super worms. I'll be adding some other ingredients to the mix later.
In my first harem I have one lucky male and four females. If it seems to crowded once they start having babies I will only do three females per harem.
First I cut out a section of the lid using a box cutter and a saudering iron for the corners.
Then I glued aluminum screen to the underside so that the mice can't chew through the plastic
It doesn't look like they will be able to chew this, but time will tell. If they can I will screw some strips of sheet metal over the glued edges.
Then I drilled a hole for the water bottle and two small holes through the lid lip for the wire holder
Finished product. The glue isn't the prettiest, but I think it will be functional.
I'm using baked topsoil like someone on here suggested in another thread to minimize odor. They seem to really like it and it works. I give them a handful of carefresh and some newspaper to make bedding/nests with. They seem to prefer to nest in the top soil.
They have tubes and running wheels for enrichment. It's very important to me that they have good lives.
Right now I am feeding a mixture of crimped oats, some Zupreem ferret kibble (leftover), Alfalfa pellets, Harrison's Bird pellets (I got a huge bag for free from work and it is excellent nutrition and cert. organic), some nutriberries, and super worms. I'll be adding some other ingredients to the mix later.
In my first harem I have one lucky male and four females. If it seems to crowded once they start having babies I will only do three females per harem.