[salemouse]

I just started my own mousery! its called Salemouse: Dark Mousey the website is -Removed- I plan to put up posters around my area for my new hobby, but im not sure how else to get myself known. any experts out there? how did you get started/how are you doing now? im not in it for the money and i can afford to keep some of my mice but obvuisley i would like to find my mice good homes. i spend alot of time with them and i want people to be just as happy as I am. Also, what do P.E.W bucks and Agouti mice make in color? im just curuis. THANKS!

Mod note - website removed as no link back provided.

 

[bethmccallister]

You can always try Craigslist.org...you just have to post in community under pets and state that you are rehoming your extra mice. I haven't done this personally but I've seen the ads before. I only have a few mice each litter that I would consider parting with and I allow select local pet shops that I frequent often to sell them for me. Since I visit the shops weekly the owners all know me and talk to me about my hobby and I can visit and make sure they are all doing ok. I also distribute literature that goes with my mice that do get adopted explaining care instructions and health remedies.

 

[Jack Garcia]

You will find that if you're excellent at what you do, people will come to you. I get five or six website messages per month from people asking for mice, and I never advertise explicitly (other than in my signature on forums). This is true not only in mouse breeding but in anything, really. Word gets around on the quality of your "product," no matter what you're producing. Even with all the advertising in the world, if your "product" is less-than, it will fail at being desired. This is basic economics. It's weird to think of it applied to mice, but it works the same way.

It never occurred to me to make a poster.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't use Craigslist or freecycle-style sites because of the danger that people can lie. I've heard rumors of people picking up kittens on "free to good home with adoption fee" ads and feeding them to their snakes. Whether that's true or not, the possibility scares me. I know that snakes have to eat, too, but with the years and thousands of dollars we spend on our mice, I can't imagine a potential BIS becoming dinner.

If you have surplus babies, often the most humane thing to do with them is actually to euthanize them, especially considering the treatment mice get in pet stores. Mice are loss leaders, anyway, so there is no real or substantial profit to be had, even on show mice.

Agoutis and PEWs usually produce more agoutis and PEWs (and blacks). These are the most common colors in petstores around the world and are even harder to find pet-homes for than other kinds of mice.

P.S. Your website does not work. Did you mis-type the URL, perhaps?

 

[bethmccallister]

I agree with Jack, you can't make money from mice. The amount of money I spend on my spoiled babies is crazy. I'll add too that the 2 small pet stores I have taken a few mice to have feeders available and charge a lot less for them then my hand tamed Fancies. I was in the stores once a week for about 6 months before I agreed to bring in some of my stock. The owners were quiet familiar with my face at that point and I was being stalked in the store with questions.

 

[Jack Garcia]

There are always a few petstores who know what they're doing, but, in general, I wouldn't be surprised if 90 out of 100 petstores treat their mice poorly either out of ignorance or because of the fact that they, like other feeder animals such as goldfish and guppies, are sold as loss leaders. I don't blame them, really. They're a business and they're trying to make money. Besides, the majority of people who buy mice from them (their customers) don't seem to care.

There was a newly-opened petstore in Richmond, Kentucky a couple years ago who had "golden shiny" mice for sale. They were recessive yellow satins of varying quality, all very small, poorly-conditioned, and flighty, kept on pine and fed low-quality hamster food. Yet they were selling them for $8 each! I suspect that if they weren't sold as loss leaders, all mice would be closer to this price rather than the more common "feeder" price of a couple dollars or less.

 

[bethmccallister]

I've definately seen the ignorance of pet stores especially the chains. I distinctly remember a store that I haven't been back to that had all their mice in one big glass tank and the males where fighting and had chewed off each others tails and ears. I dropped all my purchase items and left immediately. Even in the stores that I do go to didn't have a clue about 80 percent of basic mousery knowledge but did impress me with trying to "inform" me about cedar bedding, lol. I've successfully earned their respect now though and they've even started carrying a few products just from my advice.

 

[salemouse]

well i dont expect to earn alot of money lol just need to be able to home my little guys. i only sell them because you cant have ten thousand babies lol. i wish. not to mention i really want people to have good quality pets. I also have one other question, are any of you near MA? I would really like to have some other breeds of mice, especially champagne or angora. and heres my website again sorry. -removed-

Mod note - website removed as no link back provided.

 

[salemouse]

the only petstores near me are things like petcos!

 

[Megzilla]

You will find that if you're excellent at what you do, people will come to you.

I agree, word of mouth is the best thing. You'll also get more noticed if you have something different. Like Jack said about the Agoutis, PEWs and Blacks, you'll find that some people won't bother to travel the distance and may rather just go down to the local petshop. I'd recommend improving the size and type of a less common variation I hope it goes well. It's still early days, and what I gather from the website you only have 3 mice, wait untill you get bigger and more people know about you. I'm only just getting people comming to me, asking me questions about their husbandry and if I have any for sale, and it's taken me years.

 

[salemouse]

how many mice do you think i should keep?

 

[webzdebs]

hello! we meton the mini chat last night but thought I would come on here and give you a proper welcome

 

[Erica08]

how many mice do you think i should keep?

It really depends on you. How many do you have room for? How many can you afford to keep? Why are you breeding are they pets or feeders? How many litters can you handle? What are your goals better type, show potentials? To an extent what variety are you working with? If for example you want to end up with show potential brokens you usually need many more mice to get even 1 well marked.As you answer these questions you'll be able to get a little better idea.

For me my main purpose was to provide feeders for some of my exotics. I've tried a few different numbers and set ups but have finally found that colony breeding that started with 14 mice (not all one colony) has provided me with enough young for feeders, breeding stock to improving on my type and size and a few extra to sell for pets.

 

[salemouse]

Thanks Webz Debz and thank all you guys for your help. i think im gettin the hang of it, but I still need some mice of different breeds...anyone know a breeder even remotley close to MA?

 

[bethmccallister]

I'm not sure which mouse club you should join for your area but it would be a huge benefit to you if you would like to find a reputable breeder. I'm also having difficulty locating a breeder near me as the closest I've had contact with is 5 hours away. I started this venture as a hobby but the more I learn the more I want to get serious and do this right!

 

[Jack Garcia]

Mike Chiodo is in NYC and Stina is in PA. That's as close as I know.

 

[salemouse]

oh dang. thanks tho jack, maybe ill talk to mike as i have family in connecticut who may be willing to have me for a few days and i could see what i can do you guys are all very helpfull fanks!