What am I doin wrong

[frenchy]

I have been trying to breed rats for about 2 months now and cant suceed I started w mice and still no luck then moved to rats still nothing tried rats from petco nothing tried petsmart nothing tried reptile store nothing I dont get it why wont they breed for me. I feed mazuri I clean cages I know they are mature each rat has been hugeeeeeeeeeeee and I just keep taking them back to the store cuzthey wont breed any insight on how to get the ball rolling

[suzuki4life]

you have been trying for 2 months but you keep taking the rats back to a pet shop....something isn't adding up.

[kylerimb]

You do know that the gestation period is about 3 weeks, and that females usually go into heat approximately every 5 days right? Using those generalized numbers it could take a month for the first litter to appear.

I don't know how long you're waiting before you return them...but maybe patience would be a good thing. They're rats, and as long as you're doing what you say you are, they will produce. Unless, of course, you keep getting infertile ones which I would find hard to believe.

[frenchy]

I take them back cuz they dont get get it on they ignore eachother and I tried w mice for 6 months and no goeither ill wait this pair out I guess

[kylerimb]

i would say that if you don't have ANY production inside of 1.5 - 2 months...something's wrong. that's probably when i would start asking questions.

i've never worked with mice, so i can't say anything about them.

just stick it out a little bit and quit trading out the rats, i'm sure things will be fine.

[Freakie_frog]

2 months for new rats really isn't that bad.. If after 6 months they haven't produced a litter then I'd be worried.. I'm assuming you know that petco and petsmart never carry different sexes of rats..they are either all males or all females so if you're buying 3 rats from petsmart then they are all the same sex..just FYI

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

If they are huge rats, you may have old ones that are past breeding age. Try to get girls that are about 8 inches long (excluding the tail). They should be about 2-4 months of age. Try to get a male who is active, curious, and a bit bigger than the girls. Small males will not be allowed to breed with the females.

Also, try getting your day/light cycle regular-ish. It doesn't have to be STRICT like it seems to have to be with mice and ASFs, but a regular daily routine might be a good idea. Whenever I am awake, I have the light in my room on, which is usually from 3pm to 3am, with the light going off for 1-3 hours at a time during that "day" for whenever I leave the house, go eat dinner, or watch TV on the big screen.

If you are getting rats that are skittish, don't even bother thinking they'll breed. Not only will skittish rats take any chance to escape, they will not let you near their babies. The skittish female I had also didn't even try taking care of her babies (but she also had bad genes, so I culled her). Or to a pet store (or even a breeder who is okay with what you're doing) and find females that are calm and not afraid of you. If one even freezes and gently tries to get away, do not consider her.

I recommend getting a 1.2 group to start with. Chances are at least one of the girls will be a good mother with good genes, and then you can keep female pups from her litters to grow up and expand (though I recommend getting another male to breed them with).

At Petsmart, if they have male rats, they should be pet quality: friendly, curious, likes people, energetic, ect. Get a buck (or two if you like) that is bigger than the girls, but not fat.

Feed the Mazuri with high quality senior/overweight dog food (that means don't buy it from Walmart), too. I've fed all my rats high protein and highish fat food (dog & cat kibble, with oatmeal and table scraps) and they're doing wonderful. Females will abort a pregnancy if the food is not adequate.

Another thing I just thought of, since I'm watching my girl who just had 19... are you giving them enough bedding to make a good nest out of? Any time I haven't supplied a crapload of wood chips or given them a few handfuls of shredded news paper, any girl who's got pups seems a little lost.


Am I forgetting anything?



EDIT: Buy your bucks and does from separate stores. Petsmart here carries male rats, and PetCos here carry female rats. This also ensures that you are not breeding rats that have similar genetics.
Also, try to get rats with different coats. Say, one female would be a berkshire, one female a b/w hooded, and the male a siamese. Makes it easier to tell who's who.

[steveboos]

What are your temperatures where they are breeding? If its too hot or too cold, they wont breed. Seems like you don't give your rats enough time, be patient and let them do what they were instinctively programed to do.

[frenchy]

now do i house them together 24/7 the doe and buck

[kylerimb]

Housing them together is your option. But it is recommended usually that you remove the female once she is obviously pregnant. This prevents her from getting pregnant again while she's nursing her previous litter.