Finally bit the bullet

[CD CONSTRICTORS]

Found a guy on CraigsList who builds rat rack- complete with tubs, watering system, feeding bins and all.... including whatever breeder pairs you would like.
I ordered a 6 tub rack and it is being custom built with all new components as listed above. I am getting 6-8 females who are all sitting on babies or pregnant and the males who they have been paired with. He is also including 50 small rats as he is very crowded right now. $230 seemed pretty fair considering the proven breeder pairs and small rats he is including.
This is just a picture of one of his 3 tub racks.

[Mike41793]

That sounds like a good deal to me!

[satomi325]

I also think that's a great deal. Congrats!

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[Adam Chandler]

Sounds like a sweet deal, congrats!

If you don't already plan on it I'd recommend requesting caster wheels such as these: 2" Caster Wheels be added to your new rack. They make it very easy to move it around for cleaning and whatnot.

[D&G]

That's a good deal, I built my own and have 130 dollars in each rack. It takes many ours to build one, I would have gladly paid more to have them made for me.

[Southern_Breeder]

Reckon thats a great deal.
With all the new rats, keep in mind to keep away from all your snakes or whatever you are feeding them too.
Rats are the fastest way to bring home mites there is. Just be careful.

Congrats though.

[CD CONSTRICTORS]

I just picked up my rack this morning. 6 tubs with watering system. His small rats were a tad larger than I would call small and I elected not to bring home 50 big rats when half my bp's are off feed right now breeding or getting ready to lay eggs. I'm mostly feeding small weined rats right now to my sub adults. He offered me 7 more large females that probably need a few more months before breeding, so I took them instead.

One is ready to pop soon and two more are pregnant!! All these rats have been housed with one another and are very friendly with each other which so far is a good sign for me. I have only 2 males and they are in tubs in 1:2 pairs right now with the 4 other breeder girls doing just fine. I split the other 6 adult females up into two tubs and all my tubs are now full. I need a few males to add to this package which I can pick up at my local shop.

Mites are a worry for me every week when I get rats. That is one reason, along with the cost saving, that I am starting to breed my own rats to supply most of my collection and my upcoming hatchlings.

Here's the rack- and we did add wheels:



Here's big mama ready to drop soon- in a tub by herself:



My two other pregnant girls in their own tub:

[CD CONSTRICTORS]

Out of the gate running!! We have babies on the way

I went to the shop to get some bedding and more food and came back to hear some squeeking in a tub. One of the smaller females was having babies. She only had a few out in this picture, but there are now 6 and she is still going. The other female is helping out cleaning them as they come out and mom goes to get a drink of water between babies.

What a day!!

[SquamishSerpents]

Wow very cool! You're making me miss breeding rats! The convenience can't be beat and they are so fun!

[CD CONSTRICTORS]

Wow very cool! You're making me miss breeding rats! The convenience can't be beat and they are so fun!

They are friendlier than I thought as breeders. Having a supply of pinks and pups will be a great thing when babies start hatching in a few months. My local shop only gets rats on Thursday and the pinks/pups don't last long enough when I would like to feed babies every 4- 5 days.

I am already preparing to have this rack as a breeder only rack and getting another 6 tub rack as a grow out rack. The guy was very nice and does good work and I will buy another identical rack from him.