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Coal
Hatchling
449 Posts |
 Posted - 03/07/2013 : 12:35:49
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Hi all, first of all I apologise if this is in the wrong place... Wasn't really sure where it ought to go...
Anyway, first a little context: I live with three housemates, all animal lovers to greater and lesser extents, and one of them is thinking of starting up a small mouse colony, partly to breed for specific traits as a hobby and partly to give me a free supply of mice for Lovecraft's dinners. Naturally this raises a lot of questions and requires a lot of research, and rest assured that my housemate, who will be their primary keeper, is doing it, but there are a few things on the snake end of things that I would like to ask some advice on.
First of all, if anyone could give me some information about what constitutes a 'small', 'medium' or 'large' in terms of size and weight I'd be very grateful; at the moment I kinda' rely on the shop just giving me the right size when I ask for a smalls but in the future I will have to tell my housemate when a litter needs to be killed and I don't want to end up with a freezer-full of mice that are too small or worse, too big.
And that brings me on to my second question, which is a much more delicate one. Does anyone on here have any experience with culling mice and would they be able to advise the quickest, most humane method of doing so? At the moment my housemate plans to use carbon dioxide as we have heard it's relatively quick and is fairly guaranteed to kill them (the risk of attempting to break their neck and getting it wrong, and hence causing a lot of pain, is really not a pleasant one), but if anyone can suggest alternative methods, I'd be grateful.
Obviously I know this is a sensitive topic. I understand that some people may have strong opinions about raising mammals to feed to snakes and I welcome discussion on this point, but please rest assured that these mice will be treated with the utmost kindness, all of their needs being met, will be given spacious enclosures and will not be over-bred. |
'Lovecraft' - CB12 male amel
'Sarnath' - CB13 male KSB (anery, het. albino) |
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ScalySituation
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
5292 Posts |
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Coal
Hatchling
449 Posts |
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ScalySituation
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
5292 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2013 : 14:15:32
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| No worries :) its what we're here for :D |
1.0.0 Butter motley corn (Sheldon)
0.1.0 Caramel Corn (Maggie)
0.1.0 Caramel motley corn (Echo)
1.0.0 Cat (Angus)
1 mealworm colony
RIP Skye x
Sleep well Sonny, Mummy loves you xx
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Lee
Yearling
United Kingdom
522 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2013 : 15:07:10
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| I think the CO2 chamber is the best option and easily made, I would think any other way would involve more distress to the mouse. |
1.2.4 Corn Snakes - Carolina, 2 x Bloodred het Lavender, Amel, Snow, Anery and Carolina.
0.0.1 Cali King - Ziggy - escaped!!
RIP Princess x |
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Donnie
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3215 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2013 : 19:54:39
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| cervical dislocation is probably the most humane method if done correctly and ideal for smaller quantities of rodents |
1.1 Corns (Anery Stripe, Amel) 1.0 Rootbeer 0.2 Jungle Carpet Python 1.0 Zebra Jungle Carpet Python 1.0 50% Diamond Zebra Carpet Python |
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2013 : 20:06:17
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As far as mice weights go I've found the table in the Very rough guide to feeding is fairly accurate, although it does differ depending on where you get your mice. It may be worthwhile checking the online suppliers as well, see what weights they classify different mice as.
This has been discussed before on here and this thread on Breeding and humane dispatch will hopefully help with your research.
Xxx
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ScaryVonHayleystine
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1773 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2013 : 21:30:47
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| I personally never thought of breeding my own mice for food (probably due to the fact i owned pet rats and couldnt think of killing them). But it would be interesting to see what you find, and how you get on doing it. keep me informed :) |
Albino Addiction ... <3
0.1.0 - Creamsicle Cornsnake (Mo)
1.0.0 - Bubblegum Snow Corn (Gabriel)
1.0.0 - Lavendar 100% Het Hypo Corn (Ezra)
1.0.0 - Bairds Rat Snake (Lazarus)
0.0.1 - Crested Gecko (Pan) |
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Breeding Mice for Snake Consumption
