I'f I'm only keeping does I'll cull to between four and six, depending on the amount of does in the litter and the size/condition of the mother. If I'm keeping bucks I'll keep only three as bucks are very milk greedy.
Sarah xxx
Sarah xxx
How to determine how many pinks to cull
My doe had 12 pinks i was told i should cull some so they could grow better.
I culled 3 last night so now i have 9 i can see little tiny milk areas now where i couldnt before but im sure they could be larger.
HOW MANY PINKS IS A GOOD SIZED LITTER FOR A MOMMA MOUSE?
i dont want to cull too many or too few.
please give your input on this as i have zero experience on baby mices
I culled 3 last night so now i have 9 i can see little tiny milk areas now where i couldnt before but im sure they could be larger.
HOW MANY PINKS IS A GOOD SIZED LITTER FOR A MOMMA MOUSE?
i dont want to cull too many or too few.
please give your input on this as i have zero experience on baby mices
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you can tell that young what they are!?!
I just picked a random 3.... i did notice i have 3 with light eye circles and the other 6 have dark eye circles
I just picked a random 3.... i did notice i have 3 with light eye circles and the other 6 have dark eye circles
Yep, mice are easy to sex as pinkies. It's important to try, otherwise you could end up with a litter full of bucks. Girls have a small bump and their anus is right behind it, boys have a larger bump and a gap of about 2mm before their anus. Just keep comparing them until you find two that definitely look different, then you can sort out the rest from there.
Sarah xxx
Sarah xxx
well i looked last night i think i have 9 of one sex they all looked the same lol. so i hope i have all girls or maybe 1 or 2 boys
Obviously as Sarah said, learned to sex from day 1 is essentail if you are wanting to cull for gender. Otherwise, cull for size.
My most recent litter I culled from 11 to 7... which honestly is a big litter for me, usually I cull down to 4 or 5. These babies of mine are healthy, but not really as fat as I would want.
My most recent litter I culled from 11 to 7... which honestly is a big litter for me, usually I cull down to 4 or 5. These babies of mine are healthy, but not really as fat as I would want.
wow you culled it down that much. i did cull the 3 smallest ones that looked as though they hadnt eaten because they didnt have any milk in them the remaining 9 are all doing good. I am sure once they start to get thier fur i can tell more because i look for the teats.
How do you cull? Because you can't use the freezer method once they have fur.
snake food. They would get culled one by one unless they are smaller.
And just out of curiousity why cant you freeze furred mice - not that i would have the heart to freeze the little mices
And just out of curiousity why cant you freeze furred mice - not that i would have the heart to freeze the little mices
Well you could freeze them, but it would tale too long to be humane in my opinion.
I'm guessing you live feed then?
I'm guessing you live feed then?
oh ok so the fur kinda insulates them then. hm i didnt know that. but makes sense when you think about it.
yes.
yes.
Is live feeding actually nutritionally better, or is it just to preserve the reptiles 'hunting' instinct?
Ive been told and read its nutritionally better. He was feeding live when i got him and ive just kept him on it. Plus since he was started on live he doesnt accept anything but.
Feeding live is really only nutritionally better if you keep the mice in the freezer for ever and ever to where the nutrients begin to break down. Its really a personal choice. UNLESS you have a snake that would rather starve than eat FT. I do not know what kind of snake(s) the op has but I have corns and they will gladly eat either. It is highly dangerous to feed live and I refuse to do it once the eyes are open and even before its only if I have no frozen. I don't like to feed freshly gassed, them being still warm freaks me out lol. Its different when I had to defrost and warm them. In general captive snakes have a lower risk of injury or illness from their food if fed FT. In captivity a snake can not get away if not interested in eating at that time, and a mouse can not escape and may do a great deal of harm to the snake if it feels threatened.
As I said though its mostly a personal choice thing. Except when the snake removes the right of the owner to choose. As long as GREAT care is given and a largen enough feed bin is used, I suppose its ok, but man. . .what a horrid way to die. Another reason I try very hard to never ever feed live, I was out of ft pinks but had a fresh litter so I gave one from the litter. I could hear its final squeaks inside the snake and see it pressing on the sides of the throat from the inside. I threw up. I don't know how anyone could do that regularly. Any time I get a snake from someone who has asked me to take it because they can not care for it that eats live if I can't switch it to FT in two months I find it a new home that is ok feeding live. I just can not do it. I don't care how natural it is.
As I said though its mostly a personal choice thing. Except when the snake removes the right of the owner to choose. As long as GREAT care is given and a largen enough feed bin is used, I suppose its ok, but man. . .what a horrid way to die. Another reason I try very hard to never ever feed live, I was out of ft pinks but had a fresh litter so I gave one from the litter. I could hear its final squeaks inside the snake and see it pressing on the sides of the throat from the inside. I threw up. I don't know how anyone could do that regularly. Any time I get a snake from someone who has asked me to take it because they can not care for it that eats live if I can't switch it to FT in two months I find it a new home that is ok feeding live. I just can not do it. I don't care how natural it is.
Well. As I Have Stated Numerous Times He Refuses Anything But The Real Thing... And I dont sit there and watch the murder. I plop him in THE BOX and the mouse in THE BOX and come back in 2mins and put him back in his tank, And he certainly doesnt swallow anything still alive.. End of story. If I know its going to be food I dont get attached. You kinda get used to it. Or at least I do. Of course I raised Sheep that went in our own freezer lol. (Butch, Larry, Moe) So again as The Forum States. If You Dont Like It, Ignore It, Get Over It, Or Leave. I am really Tiring of being Badgered about This. Please Drop The Subject.
My sincerest Apologies to the Awesome Members of FMB who would prefer not to read the actual happenings of my Feedings and have been kind enough to leave it alone..
My sincerest Apologies to the Awesome Members of FMB who would prefer not to read the actual happenings of my Feedings and have been kind enough to leave it alone..
Hey I was not badgering ANYONE ok? I was answering a question posted by another person AND I SAID if the snake won't eat FT or FK then you have no choice. Then I stated why I just can not feed live. I was NOT badgering you just giving information. I'm not a total pansy, I butcher my own rabbits, but they do not get crushed, they get a quick bash to the base of the skull/spine and the head quickly removed. No suffering at all. I can't stand suffering, excuse me for being sensative.
I am not against live feeding, myself. So please don't take it that way. I can't do it, but if others do, fine.
But as the snake grows older and moves to large mice, please be aware that the risks to your snake are very high, if you continue to feed live. Mice WILL fight back. I've seen horribly scarred snakes because they were left alone with a prey that fought tooth and nail.
So... if not for the sake of the mouse, consider the safety of your snake as it grows older.
But as the snake grows older and moves to large mice, please be aware that the risks to your snake are very high, if you continue to feed live. Mice WILL fight back. I've seen horribly scarred snakes because they were left alone with a prey that fought tooth and nail.
So... if not for the sake of the mouse, consider the safety of your snake as it grows older.
Bella, I'm sure Jessi wants to be as careful as possible with her snake. Saddly some will litterally starve themselves to death if the do not recieve live food. A lot goes into getting a snake to go to ft. I should know. I refused to feed live at all when starting a clutch of corns last summer and lost all but 2 to not eating. I tried every thing but live and forcefeeding. Usually when a hatchling corn refuses ft though it tends to be a good indicator that something is wrong with it though. With BPs, I understand them to be extremely difficult to get going on ft at all. I read recently the easiest way to get a BP to go to ft is to offer live with the mouse held by the tail with forceps and once the mouse is being swallowed present an ft in a back to back feeding. After several times of this to try the zombie dance with an ft to make it look like the live on foceps (really fighting to get free), its horrid (to me) but it seems to work and slowly the snake adjusts to ft, but it can take years to get them fully switched.
ERR: I've had and cared for BP's my whole life. I fully understand. But from my understanding, this snake in question has not yet been tried on frozen. It was recieved from the buyer who simply said that it was fed live. I'm only offering advice on what may happen as time goes on.
I know they are a very fickle snake. I had one that needed to be force fed her entire life - she was healthy and thriving, but it was a pain in the butt and required more than one person - you don't want the snake coiling when you are inserting a tube.
My current snake ate live babies - those were the only I was willing to feed live. They were dead in seconds once she coiled. Now that she is eating large mice, I feed pre-killed. She'll take frozen or fresh killed without a second thought. How it is presented can make all of the difference in the world. Even though I feed with tongs, I quite often make her 'hunt' it around her enclosure before allowing her to take it.
I know they are a very fickle snake. I had one that needed to be force fed her entire life - she was healthy and thriving, but it was a pain in the butt and required more than one person - you don't want the snake coiling when you are inserting a tube.
My current snake ate live babies - those were the only I was willing to feed live. They were dead in seconds once she coiled. Now that she is eating large mice, I feed pre-killed. She'll take frozen or fresh killed without a second thought. How it is presented can make all of the difference in the world. Even though I feed with tongs, I quite often make her 'hunt' it around her enclosure before allowing her to take it.
Actually i KNOW i have stated whether it be in this topic or another that i have tried multiple venues on other ways to feed and i believe i stated that the ball python in question still refuses.....this snake in question has not yet been tried on frozen
Since it seems that people continually want to bring up this topic i will be having it LOCKED from further posts. Thankyou.
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