David Boggs
David Boggs Reptiles
How ofthen to clean?
Danni, thanks for the compliments. Monday saw the delivery of my Biggers and Callaham mouse complete. Impressive. 7+ feet tall, monster food hoppers, and a 5 gallon water bucket. I transfered all my mice into it. 1.6 is the max I would recommend per tub. The mice do not have to jump and hang to eat. The tubs are only 3.5" deep. I won't be keeping hoppers in it for this very reason. Anyway I will be monitoring the progress of my colonies to see if THEY are happy with the new rack. I don't skimp when it comes to my mice. Mazuri 9F costs me $25 for 50lbs from a local farm and feed store. My aspen pellets cost me $15 for 40lbs. It takes about 50-55 lbs to change all the substrate in the rack. The mice consume about 50 lbs per week of food. So you can see it is close to $50 per week just to maintain my mice. I don't care what it costs. I sell my mice locally for 1/4 the price of a snake shop, Petco or any other retail shop. .45 for a pink or fuzzy. Beat that except for a huge internet order shipped in. So if I sell my mice so cheap then does that make them worthless? Not at all. I like playing with them, watching their behavior, and having something to do other than my day job. I have met some fantastic folks through selling mice. Long winded? Yes I am but all to say, I like my mice and drive an extra 20 miles 5 times a week to check on and maintain them. If you are thinking of breeding mice or rats consider the quality of an environment you are willing to provide them. Dirty substrate, cheap food and lack of care will ultimately result in a net loss for you when your animals become sick, dying, non breeders. Do your homework. Read the university lab standards for the ethical treatment of rodents. Be aware of population density, quality of substrate, nutritious food, cleaning schedules, and temperature requirements. Know which strains produce the litters you are looking for. Don't start your colony from feeder mice. They are probably inbred and won't do well. Paying the high feeder price sucks. That is why I breed my own. Just take care of the rodents as good as you care for your herps. If you breed your own rodents YOU control the entire process from birth to feeding to your herp. How long have the mice been frozen that are being sold by the big rodent companies? Do they date their bags? Do they vacuum pack? How often do they clean their cages? What do they feed? Are you buying mice from someone who buys huge lots and breaks them down into smaller bags and then resells to you? Alot of questions but what are the answers? I invite any customer of mine to come see my rodent breeding set up. I am proud of what I do and how I do it. That is the feeling any breeder should have. Thank you for your time and support. If I can be of assistance, please ask. David
Danni, thanks for the compliments. Monday saw the delivery of my Biggers and Callaham mouse complete. Impressive. 7+ feet tall, monster food hoppers, and a 5 gallon water bucket. I transfered all my mice into it. 1.6 is the max I would recommend per tub. The mice do not have to jump and hang to eat. The tubs are only 3.5" deep. I won't be keeping hoppers in it for this very reason. Anyway I will be monitoring the progress of my colonies to see if THEY are happy with the new rack. I don't skimp when it comes to my mice. Mazuri 9F costs me $25 for 50lbs from a local farm and feed store. My aspen pellets cost me $15 for 40lbs. It takes about 50-55 lbs to change all the substrate in the rack. The mice consume about 50 lbs per week of food. So you can see it is close to $50 per week just to maintain my mice. I don't care what it costs. I sell my mice locally for 1/4 the price of a snake shop, Petco or any other retail shop. .45 for a pink or fuzzy. Beat that except for a huge internet order shipped in. So if I sell my mice so cheap then does that make them worthless? Not at all. I like playing with them, watching their behavior, and having something to do other than my day job. I have met some fantastic folks through selling mice. Long winded? Yes I am but all to say, I like my mice and drive an extra 20 miles 5 times a week to check on and maintain them. If you are thinking of breeding mice or rats consider the quality of an environment you are willing to provide them. Dirty substrate, cheap food and lack of care will ultimately result in a net loss for you when your animals become sick, dying, non breeders. Do your homework. Read the university lab standards for the ethical treatment of rodents. Be aware of population density, quality of substrate, nutritious food, cleaning schedules, and temperature requirements. Know which strains produce the litters you are looking for. Don't start your colony from feeder mice. They are probably inbred and won't do well. Paying the high feeder price sucks. That is why I breed my own. Just take care of the rodents as good as you care for your herps. If you breed your own rodents YOU control the entire process from birth to feeding to your herp. How long have the mice been frozen that are being sold by the big rodent companies? Do they date their bags? Do they vacuum pack? How often do they clean their cages? What do they feed? Are you buying mice from someone who buys huge lots and breaks them down into smaller bags and then resells to you? Alot of questions but what are the answers? I invite any customer of mine to come see my rodent breeding set up. I am proud of what I do and how I do it. That is the feeling any breeder should have. Thank you for your time and support. If I can be of assistance, please ask. David