Let me tell you how much of a pain it was traveling to the pet store to get these female mice!
In part 1 of my video I was nothing less than weary as I’d nearly traveled an entire day to go to the pet store, pick up the female mice, and ride back home in one piece. Getting there was the easy part as I had already gotten used to going hours and hours in my car with no breaks. I felt that it was ridiculous that I had to travel so far, but considering the amount I would have to pay in frozen thawed mice in a protracted amount of time warranted such a journey. Look at the screenshot under this text. $74 for 10 rat pinkies? Simply ridiculous! It doesn’t get much better than that if you include frozen mice pinkies, though I concede you get a one months supply.
While you could also buy in bulk, I don’t feel comfortable feeding my animals months old pinkies that have been sitting in my supplier’s freezer for God knows how long. Instead, I decided to opt for my own supply by sourcing the feeders in comfort of my own home. At least then I know for certain they were born and raised in great conditions with parents that are well fed, in hygienic conditions, and are treated with care. It also gives me a perfect excuse to try something I’ve never done as well as keep more animals- which I do responsibly.
The Travel
Getting there was the easy part, as I did a straight drive there with no breaks save for to take a few silly pictures for my folks. Once I arrived I was relieved. Got out the car and saw stars while I stretched to pop damned near every bone in my body like any old man would do. I went ahead in the store after practicing what I would say to the associates so they wouldn’t ask too many questions. If you’re trying to buy one or two mice they’ll question you to ensure you’re not trying to use the purchased mice as feeders. Six mice though? I expected an Inquisition to the highest degree with the manager coming out to boot.
I was almost right as the lady stalled me for nearly thirty minutes trying to ascertain what I would be using these seven mice for. I say seven because once she brought the female colony out I noticed that one female would be left all alone and away from her friends, so I grabbed her as well. The lady, let’s call her Eleven, kept beating around the bush packing up the mice and letting me go home with them, much to my irritation. I knew her game and played along despite not really having the time or patience for it. If she denied this sale for fear of them being used as feeders I’d be screwed and would have to find another location that would likely be farther away from home. Were it not for that one saving grace, I would have tried to rush the process along. Eventually she gave in and finally let me have the mice, packing them up in my mouse tote and taking them to the register. Once I paid for them, I put them in the car, plugged up the fan, and was on my way back home. The trip back was uneventful overall as the most that happened were the females occasionally fighting each other. The last thing I needed was a blood bath so I stopped to tap the box hoping that would stop the bickering. Thankfully that was enough, so every time I heard them squeaking and running around I would tap the box to make them instantly freeze.
Eventually I reached home. It took a lot longer since my sleep caught up to me and I had to take rest stop after rest stop. It didn’t help a lot as I’d still wake up tired as all hell but with enough energy to keep going a few more miles. I ended up shooting a video to help with the fatigue and it worked like a charm, keeping me awake the rest of the way there.
The Set Up
The rest of the day was dedicated to getting some much needed rest and relaxation, where I near hibernated until I was rested enough to fall out of bed. Waking up meant hitting up my local pet store for exercise wheels, hides, chew sticks, food and bedding. After that I went to the beauty that is Walmart to pick up the drawer set you see in my most updated video. The set up is explained in the video, so look at it if you wish to see how I have the colonies contained.
My biggest surprise while shooting the video was realizing that colony 1 & 2 were already pregnant, especially the white mice looking as if ready to burst. Its only been two weeks since I’ve had them, meaning that they’re about one week pregnant if my estimates are correct. I doubt they mated as soon as I put them together as the females were wary of the males and refused to allow them to sleep in their hides until recently, but I could be wrong to assume that. Another video will be posted once they give birth as this will be the first time I’ve ever bred animals together and had successful rearing of offspring. Depending on how quickly the babies grow up, I may have a second and final colony set up so there isn’t too much pressure on one colony. I’ll be sure to hand raise the second colony if I ever set it up so the females aren’t so nervous or jittery when I try and touch them. I’m sure they haven’t had much human contact, so I understand it. Here’s hoping we have some offspring!!