# Hello :)



## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

Alright, here goes, My name is Tristan. I have kept a number of exotic animals though the years, i'm only 15. I have 3 leopard geckos. 1 Bearded Dragon. 1 Emerald Swift. 1 Pastel Ball Python. 1 Blue Rat. 1 Fancy Rat. 2 Hamsters. And a wild caught shrew. The ones in blue are all deceased from one cause or another. The python escaped and when we found it my mother made me get rid of it . The emerald swift died due to my lack of knowledge on living conditions. The Blue rat lived for 4 years, his name was Rasta. The fancy rat was about 8 years ago i dont remember much about him i didnt take care of him. The 2 hamsters were both males, the pet store told us they were both females, they got in a fight and one died, the other went to the vet and didnt make it. So thats all the animals ive had. I love animals. I want to go into a field of animal genetics.

So as for my breeding experience I have bred 2 store bought leo's. Both phenotypes showed mac snow traits but i never knew the true genetics. The baby was also mac snow. The mother layed 6 eggs, only one of them hatched. "again i think because of my lack of knowledge" I researched hard on those and bought an incubator but it was super time consuming and they took forever to hatch haha. It was so rewarding though. So those are my 3 leo's.

Now, i currently dont have any mice and i would LOVE to get some and see what types there are and how to breed them and what not. Im here for knowledge and im most likely not going to purchase more than 1 mouse in the next 2-3 months. I have a job and i wont be feeding these mice to anything haha. I have so many questions and i dont really know were to ask them. (Do certain smells bother them? )

Anyways i would love to know were to ask questions thanks


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi, pleased to meet you
:welcome1


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## ripleysmice (Nov 5, 2011)

im 15 to ^^ im lauren. nice to meet you


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Hi, I'm right over in Wisconsin, nice to meet you. Welcome to the forum!


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

Nice to meet you also... do you know of anywhere other than petco's to buy mice with breeding genetics/desirable traits


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

no offence but, I would think about taking more time and care over the pet's you have?! you've pointed out twice that because you didn't research your care was incorrect and you've had no end of problems with your reptiles -if you can't take the time to research; breeding and care for them, why not leave other pets until you find time for the pets you have? especially if your really busy with a job?


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

No offence taken... there was other factors than just my lack of knowledge... A female leopard geckos first clutch is usually like that. There was probably 3 fertile eggs in the whole clutch and 2 didn't hatch. I candled them checked temp and humidity, its just one of those experience makes you better things. The emerald swift was touchy and I in all honesty think it was something with the Pet Store I purchased him from. I'm not one to make excuses so I take it on myself that he passed away. As for no end of problems with my reptiles that's incorrect. I take excellent care of all my animals the best I know how. I still to this day don't stop researching Leopard Geckos and Beardies to see if theres any update to new findings with materials/foods that can help them, basic care, and genetics. Lizards aren't cheap. Neither is the research you do on them. Sorry you took my post the wrong way but I do in fact know what I'm doing. I was misinformed and made mistakes. I work at mcdonalds... not too busy with my job


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

sadly lots of pet-stores can give you the wrong care information on a lot of reptiles, they just work there and don't care less (I've had to deal with a few bad pet stores -(though there are some good too) )

The important thing is too learn from the problems you had really. I was just saying you might want to take your time before getting more pets. but if you want to learn about mice and their care etc you have come to the right place.

also a forum you might like if you want to talk about reptile care is: 
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/

most of the long term members of the forum know everything there is about reptiles, from home-made treatments to the cheepest places to buy equipment etc


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

Haha thanks, I'm a member of some geckoforums so I have that info but the reptile one would be great for my beardie. Yea that's why I came here is to learn... If I didn't care I woulda just went out and bought a mouse...


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Rasta said:


> Nice to meet you also... do you know of anywhere other than petco's to buy mice with breeding genetics/desirable traits


I've actually been getting mine at the local petco, if you ask when they get their rodent shipments, you get first pick because you can be there on those days. Mine gets them every other Thursday, so I usually go to look through on Friday mornings. The ones I've gotten from petco have actually all been really healthy and out of the 7 starter stock, I didn't have any pass away. One did become snake food, and another I returned because he was a tad aggressive. I've gotten a banded, dove tan, black tan, black piebald, coffee, and maybe what was a yellow recessive piebald (the one that got returned) besides the oodles of albino's they always carry. It did take a while to get these colors, as i find there is only ever one or two pretty ones, and are more often males. Mine are not show quality, they are just a hobby animals that I am using to learn more about genetics and get small mammal experience, so maybe you would be better getting your mice another way, it really all depends on what you're looking for.

You could try looking for local petstores, check the yellow pages, craigs list, etc... There is a nice map here http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=207243776884467186145.00049a1c3c7fd95405fc7 with people from the forum who raise mice. I also have had luck with http://www.hoobly.com/ for contacting a local breeder, unfortunately it fell through... Not to say you won't have luck with it.


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

Alright, sounds good.... if i do ever breed my mice though i would like to know 100% what theyre het for and things so i can look for certian things when theyre bred. I think its fun to start with said morph and get next morph. All the while keeping track of each mouse's genes. I most likely will get a petco mouse as my first one to get the feel for caring for them. Definately not my breeding project mouse though.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

I see you keep referencing getting one mouse, and while males should be kept single, females are pretty social, and you would do better with a pair or a trio.


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

What would you say the total monthly price would be of a trio? Food, Water, Start up Acc. I have heatmats, light bulbs, I assume they can be kept at room temperature and eat dog kibble. Also, i see a bunch of people referring to RUB for cages, can anyone explain what that is?


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Start up: $10 for a ten gal during the dollar gallon sales, or else about $13 regular. about $10 for a lid. $5+ for a waterbottle, $2+ for a feed dish, feed and bedding are variable depending on the brand/bulk, and then any accessories like wheels or houses would be extra. A cardboard box can also substitute for a house. Temp, you want it to stay in the 65-80 F range, getting a thermometer that stores the daily high and low in your house is good for tracking this. Also the cost of the mice, which is I think around $4 a piece. The dog kibble is for supplementing the diet with protein, you don't want to feed them a diet only of this. Try reading in the health and behavior part of the forum, you'll get a lot of basic questions answered there.


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

Sounds reasonable I skimmed through a lot of info and haven't really looked into the housing and general management. I'm stuffing my brain with genetics and types of mice... tedious task but very interesting. Tonight I am going to get in the developmental stage for my plan, draw something up, and plan for the future. So far my favorite colored mice are Himalayan and Silver Fox, I would love to see what those would look like bred. If purebred would the colors mix, or would they show the same?

Edit: Forgot, have to look up caging requirements and get a budget too...


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

I really only know about the stuff I have, but in general, things don't mix so much as either being on or off. Yes, you can get coats to lighten or darken with selective breeding, but that's a bit different I think then what you're asking.


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## Rasta (Dec 8, 2011)

Yes, lightening and darkening is what I meant by mixing haha, sorry bout that. Anyways I am off to watch some Ren & Stimpy, I appreciate all the help i will make sure to post my plan tomorrow and get some advice.


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