Mice and rats verses multi-mamerys

[LeglessDragon]

Does anyone know what the real difference is? The smell is one differnece and the look, but nutrition wise? Is it better to feed normal mice and rats or is multi-mamreys the way to go. There is a price difference, but is there a difference for the snakes?

[Urucone]

I know of some one that breeds with them and he sells it for cheaper than normal mice, nutritional value to the multi's, I can't say, but I think it depends on the breeder of the mice, take an back door multi breeder that feedsw his mice dog food and a normal mouse breeder that gives that little extra, the normal mice would be better food, but in general I really don't know? But I don't think so

[LeglessDragon]

Thanks Urucone. Not sure myself, but what you say does make sense. What puzzles me is the different smell they have to ordinary mice. That has to do partially to the food they eat, but if they eat the same food... The different smell could also be the way they obsorb food differently than mice so could possibly have something mice don't? Don't know and am really having trouble finding any info on that on the net. Thanks for answering my post. Appreciate it.

[CLSmith]

This is what I found on them on the following site:

http://www.heritage-pets.com/id55.html

Info:

Multimammate Mice
Praomys (Mastomys) natalensis

(This species has been reclassified.You may find outdated references as Rattus natalensis and Mus natalensis)

By Heritage-pets

Common Names Include: Natal Multimammate Rat, Common African Rat, Soft-furred or African Soft-furred Rat.

Multimammate Mice are the possible link between mice and rats. They are said to be the most common rodent in Africa. In their natural environment they can be found in small to extremely large groups throughout most of south, central and eastern Africa. Other than in the mountains and desert areas, they seem to have become well established in most open areas, small towns and cultivated farmland.

Adults Weigh approximately 60 grams and measure about 25-27 cm tip of the nose to tip of tail with the head & body length 15 cm and the tail length of 11 cm. A normal wild coloured Multimammate mouse is agouti but due to the fact that this animal has been kept and bred in labs since the mid 1900’s, many colour mutations have become well established. In North America this species is still new and although still rare most of the animals, kept as pets, are the various colour mutations.

The nocturnal, multimammate mouse is considered to be easy to keep, undemanding and odor-free. Although not really aggressive, sometimes they (especially the males) can get a bit nippy when defending their territory. Multimammate Rats were named because the females possess extra teats, (8-14 pairs rather than the usual 5 or 6 pairs that other rodents have). Their soft, silky fur has given them their nick name the “Soft-furred Rat”.

A small colony of Multimammate mice/rats can be kept in a large glass tank with tight fitting, well-ventilated lid. They can also be housed in small animal cages but I prefer glass tanks as they seem less messy. They are terrestrial animals; the tanks need to be equipped with climbing furnishing such as branches, twigs, rocks and natural substrates that make the tank more enjoyable for the animals and for the owner who is studying them. Like all types of rodents they do need a hiding spot or nesting area for sleeping and where they can feel safe while raising a family. Be forewarned that multimammate mice can be hard on live plants and do enjoy chewing so when you are deciding on a new setup, only use items that can be disinfected properly, that are safe and products that can be easily replaced, when needed. I have seen some beautiful in home terrarium style set ups for many small furry exotics and personally, I think that whenever possible maintaining these types of natural habitats are just as rewarding as the pets themselves.

Multimammate Rats/Mice are omnivores, they eat mostly seeds but fruits, vegetables and animal protein are all a part of their normal diet. It is very important that your pets have a good quality small hamster/gerbil mixture of seeds available at all times. They also need to receive a little of everything else mentioned, at least twice per week. Water must be available at all times.

When conditions are favorable, the Multimammate Rat breeds throughout the year, it is very prolific and if kept in pairs can reproduce once a month in captivity. If you don’t want them breed it is better to keep them in same sex pairs as it will not be as easy as you might think to find homes for all of the babies.

Sexual Maturity is reached at 3 months of age and the gestation period lasts approximately 23 days. The litter size can vary from 1 to 20 but normally 8-10 pups are born nearly naked and blind. All the pups are raised by all if the females in colony. The pups open their eyes when they are 14 days old and shortly there after start to investigate their surroundings. They should not be weaned until they are 21-23 days old and should remain with the parents until they are at least 28 days old.

When starting a new colony it is probably best to pair animals from different colonies as this will help prevent inbreeding, to some degree.

[LeglessDragon]

Thanks CLsmith. Checking out the other site as well that you sent me. Thanks again.

[TonyK]

These mice sound great any of the Cape Town guys breeding them?

[LeglessDragon]

Don't know anyone in Capetown breeding. They do seem to be a better option. I tried them for the first time last week and the response from my snakes was great.

I have a fussy eating baby corn (pewter/granite) that eats on and off. When I put in the multi-mamery pink he swollowed two in quick succesion with no problems. My russian rats went crazy for them! The other corns all ate with no problem and my texes female ignored the plain mouse and ate the multi-mamery instead. The only snake that did not eat was my tiawan rat snake. I suspect he is going on a hunger strike again because he wants rat pups. As big as he is he still wants rat pups every now and again.

It seems the better option, but what are the metabolic difference? Do they obsorb more vitimins than ordinary mice as their wee is less acidic? Would like to know before I switch to this option permanently.

[Snakes4Africa]

These are a great food source if certain things are noted... These animals chew! Do not keep them in plastic containers unless you want a free-range colony. They are a little more nervous than nice and rats and as such are more prone to jump out of the cage or your hand. Like hamsters, they do not bounce well. They bite like mad when they feel threatened so avoid feeding live to your snakes. The babies are born bigger than mice and have a little light fur at birth as well. This is not ideal for tiny hatchlings. They are great for getting difficult (esp African) snakes to start feeding.
As for smelling different, they are a different species so they will smelll different. Rats and mice also smell different to each other, as do guinea pigs and rabbits. Multi-mammates have a different dietary reqirement to rats, who inturn are different to mice. MMs need more seeds. it seems, and do not thrive on standard mouse food or dog food. They age quicker and die younger than rats and mice, in my experience, living productively for about 10months.
I don't believe they are a better food source than any other, just another option.

[LeglessDragon]

If MM's need more seeds then this tells me that they may be a better option than the current mice on offer. My reasoning for this is that breeders would not have just fed them dog pellets or pig pellets as they are currently feeding the mice now. I am going to start my own colony as well, but my research on the mice is that, in order to get healthy food sorce again for the snakes, I would have to breed to at least a 4th generation of mice on a well balanced diet. with the MM's it will be easier. They don't need to live that long. Just long enough to breed and become food for my snakes. As far as the hatchlings are concerned... I will have to first get my hatchlings to a size that they can handle the MM pinks, so feeding normal pinks will have to do till then.

Thanks Snakes4Africa. This has helped a lot. Will in future be breeding MMs on a balanced diet of seeds and other sources of food. If anyone in my area wants they know where I live.

[the fox]

What do you house them in?

[LeglessDragon]

the fox - I only got a breeding colony today. I am housing them in a fishtank setup at the moment. Have seen the remains of what they chew. Would not trust plastic very much.

[Pythonodipsas]

At least the 'proper' common name is mentioned here, thanks to CLSmith. Call me old fashioned but it irritates me when people call them by a smorgasbord of wrong names. I have heard them being called Multimate mice, Multimice, multimum mice, etc. They have many mammary glands (boobs) hence the common name multi-mammate. Sorry i just had to throw that in.

[Psychogav]

Anyone got a picture??

[the fox]

By the way im sebastiaan de vos (legless dragon)

[LeglessDragon]

Hi Sebastiaan!! Hello. Great to see you here. Was at the show today and not many corns. Looking out for that one for you. As I sit here and type I can hear the rodents chewing away! They have already chewed their plastic water dispenser! Plastic around them is no good. I think for the tiny colony I have here a glass tank will work well. Seen the setup at the breeder and he does use plastic, but it is modified so that the mm's don't get a corner to chew. The breeder is Johan (uses his name as a login and is on SAReptiles) and I must say that his rats look like they could be pets and not feeders. They look so healthy and well cared for.

Psychogav - Will post a pic around teusday if no one else has till then. Busy at the show and going to be even more busy on Monday.