Some questions on breeding rats

[ss10gotanks]

Hello, im trying my hand at breeding rats again as a better way to feed my collection. Ive read some of the breeding posts on here but i still have a couple questions. First off how many rats can I keep in my tub, I bought around a 36 qt tub. Right now I have a semi-adult male and 2 weanlings in there. but there just food. I will be acquiring my breeders soon. How do I know how much food to give them? Is there a certain amount of blocks per rat? And is it okay to mix it with dog food? Also, is it okay to put a lot more food in there bowl then they need (to last 2 days or so.)
When you have multiple females per container and one has babies how can you tell which one is the mom?
That being asked how can you tell when a rat becomes prego,visually. and can you feel it if you hold them? When you move a prego female to a separate container before she births, How big should that container be? And will it be okay being by itself for 3-4 weeks? Also any ideas how how to provide adequate ventilation in a tub? I used a saudering iron and put tons of holes on the top half of the container and some in the lid. I couldnt afford the mesh this payday but i plan on cutting a big square out of the top of the lid to ad mesh. Does all this suffice for ventilation? How many tubs would you recommend having? And last but not least what kind of bedding for the birthing tub?
Thank you for any answers yall can give. I tried my hand at breeding before but all my litters kept dying because of my bedding that petco told me was "great". heh

[snakesRkewl]

Hello, im trying my hand at breeding rats again as a better way to feed my collection. Ive read some of the breeding posts on here but i still have a couple questions. First off how many rats can I keep in my tub, I bought around a 36 qt tub.

1 male and 2 or 3 females

I will be acquiring my breeders soon. How do I know how much food to give them? Is there a certain amount of blocks per rat?

You need to feed them from a rodent block holder or they will waste their food by burying it in the bedding and then refuse to eat it when it becomes soaked in their urine.

And is it okay to mix it with dog food?

Some people do, I don't myself, I only feed Mazuri rodent chow.

Also, is it okay to put a lot more food in there bowl then they need (to last 2 days or so.)

You'll find bowls don't work well and you'll be wasting a lot of food using a bowl.

When you have multiple females per container and one has babies how can you tell which one is the mom?

As long as the babies are getting fed it doesn't matter.

That being asked how can you tell when a rat becomes prego,visually. and can you feel it if you hold them?

They show visibly by the 15th day or so and yes you can feel it.

When you move a prego female to a separate container before she births, How big should that container be? And will it be okay being by itself for 3-4 weeks?

I use 20qt tubs in my momma rack and they do fine for their 4 week stay

Also any ideas how how to provide adequate ventilation in a tub? I used a saudering iron and put tons of holes on the top half of the container and some in the lid. I couldnt afford the mesh this payday but i plan on cutting a big square out of the top of the lid to ad mesh.
Does all this suffice for ventilation?

Just poking holes in a tub will pretty much guarantee you rats get sick, that is not enough ventilation for rats. Even when you do the mesh top you should do mesh sides also to let the ammonia out, or again have sick rats from lack of ventilation.
Ammonia is heavier than air and will sit in the bottom of the tub no matter how much of the lid is screened, unless your using concrete mixing tubs that are shallow.

How many tubs would you recommend having?

That depends on how many rats you keep and how many you are going to be breeding.

And last but not least what kind of bedding for the birthing tub?

The same bedding you use in the adults tubs, kiln dried pine or aspen.

Thank you for any answers yall can give. I tried my hand at breeding before but all my litters kept dying because of my bedding that petco told me was "great". heh

What bedding did they tell you to use?

[ss10gotanks]

Small animal softwood bedding. Towards the end I saw them sneezing a lot. but i gave up and ended up trading my breeders. but it wasnt till yesterday that i googled about this bedding and man is it bad for them. Thank you for your answers. where can i get a rodent block holder?

[BuckeyeBalls]

Small animal softwood bedding. Towards the end I saw them sneezing a lot. but i gave up and ended up trading my breeders. but it wasnt till yesterday that i googled about this bedding and man is it bad for them. Thank you for your answers. where can i get a rodent block holder?

Can make one out of 1/2" wire mesh from home depot or lowes

[tomfromtheshade]

I advise everyone who is thinking of breeding their own racks to build a rack. You can build a really nice rack for under $200 and you won't have the problems associated with plastic bins.

If you need any help with rack building plans I can help you out.

[ss10gotanks]

Im planning on just buying wire shelving for like 20 bucks at walmart and just stacking the tubs on there. I dont have a lot of room (but i guess a rack wouldnt take up much more) as I have all my bp's and rats in my room with me. But besides that I just have no building expertise at all lol. I mean I made a bird house once in shop in 5th grade several several years ago. (it was crooked.