Breeders dying.....

[MitsuMike]

Ok so I keep my rats in a old snake rack (moved them to 28 quarts for a week now, they have a screen top). I keep them in a storage closet of my apt for smell purposes. Now the male rat died a week ago randomly no signs nothing. Temps are 84 at the max but constant air (breeze) is an issue seeing they are in a locked closet. I air it out about 2-3 times a day depending on the day. I have 28 rat pups now and a Mom died just like the male. Checked her like 5 hours before them boom dead. If suffication them they would all die. Proper food and water is being given (tap water and doggie bag). Now I have 1 female to 28 pups, thank god about 10 are weaned now (I hope). I just don't get it. Are they old? Diease? Anything is appreciated. Building a rat rack this week also, but the tub set up is the same as a 28 qt with a screen lid so I am holding on off on doing it till I get some advice.
Thanks!

[MitsuMike]

Also the males and females were around 400 grams (maybe more) if that helps out....

[MitsuMike]

Bump for advice?

[4theSNAKElady]

Were you keping them all together? They may have gotten overheated.....poss heat stroke? That's my only guess.

[MitsuMike]

Female with the pups housed in a 28 qt tub with wire mesh lid. Male was housed in the same qt before he died. Changed the bedding and what not. Other female is doing fine just thin and I now have 12 weaned pups to take out.
Heat stroke would have came from heat spikes of massive temps with no water, but can understand it with real air flow but the minimal from being in a storage closet. But temps don't break 84 in there.....seems weird.
Also that was my guess to heat stroke/suffication. But I don't see how. I think I am going to build the new rack system and see how it goes.
Wish me luck!!
Also the mice are doing fine along with the new rat pups

[MitsuMike]

Well the last mom died today.........She was 300 grams and the other one who died a few days ago was 350. Got a new pair today less than a year old. I still had 19 pups. Well I put the new female i the tub with them and I come in the next morning and 4 babies where ripped up and the others just died. Put about 15 in the freezer but they are too small for what I need though. I got like 9 weaners out the whole ordeal though but still not worth it to me. I hope I can get a better colony going now.
Im still stumped on the how they are dying. My mice are doing fine and so were the pups. Every time I will check on things and everything is fine then all of a sudden in 2 hours they are dead.......it's sooo weird

So far there is possibilies of:
Heat stroke
Cancer

[MarkS]

Air flow is always an issue, especially this time of year when it starts heating up. My rat room is completely enclosed but I have a duct bringing in air from the outside and a heavy duty exhaust fan sucking the air out of the room and exhausting it outside 24/7 I've had my fan fail on me twice when I blew a circuit and both times I had massive loss of life within only a few hours. The air turned so bad so quickly that I nearly passed out walking into the room. If you can hook up an exhaust fan to the outside that would probably help a lot. You can find them online pretty easily at sites that sells hydroponic supplies.

[mykee]

I would really try to get to the bottom of the cause of the deaths rather than continue to replace the rats. If the issue is environmental (as I believe it is) you'll just end up with more dead rats...

[Tim Mead]

Apartment ? regularly sprayed for pests ? sounds like it could be a noxious issue..?

[MitsuMike]

Apartment yes. I can't hook up a fan to it that I know of. Would they be ok on a porch? I think I may have to just give up on breeding if I cant keep them in anymore.
Any options for places to keep rats but not in the apt b/c they stink so much?