When to breed my own rats?

[Gerardo]

I currently have 7 ball pythons with 2 more coming very soon and possibly a couple more later this year. At what point does it become more convenient to produce my own rodents?

[chilliscale]

I would. You are probably paying more for rats than the cost of breeding.I mathed out per 4 weeks, and 20 breeders, I use no more than 1 large bag of pine(5$) less than one bag of tractor supply dog food(14$) and supplement with food scraps from home. I was previously paying 3$ per small rat. The only problem then is do you have enough animals to eat all the rats.

[Kokorobosoi]

Just freeze what you don't use, I'd say do it if you have the space, and you like rodents. You'll be spending a bit of time caring for them, so if you don't like them, don't do it.

[Gary P]

I would. You are probably paying more for rats than the cost of breeding.I mathed out per 4 weeks, and 20 breeders, I use no more than 1 large bag of pine(5$) less than one bag of tractor supply dog food(14$) and supplement with food scraps from home. I was previously paying 3$ per small rat. The only problem then is do you have enough animals to eat all the rats.

Pine isn't good for ball pythons so using pine as a substrate for their feeders would be just as bad since they eat them. And what you feed your feeders matters because your snakes will eventually be eating them.

I would advise not to take this persons advise on how to care for feeders. But it does sound like a good idea for you to do your own breeding. Just keep them on aspen and feed them a nice well balanced diet so they will be nutritious food for your snakes.

[chilliscale]

I along with many many rat breeders use line and have for a long time. Supplementing dog food has worked great for me and my rats are healthy and strong.

[Caspian]

I have six BP's, and one Kingsnake - and I breed my own rats. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to go back to breeding my own mice, too, since my largest girl decided she doesn't like rats recently... Mice stink much worse. But I plan on getting a rodent shed build this summer, so that they can all be moved OUT of the house, as well as building rodent racks to keep them in instead of storage tubs.

Edit - I recently got a bag of stall pellet bedding to try for my rat cages, since I noticed there was a bit of blood around one of my male rat's nose from sneezing at the pine. It's not good for rats, but pine WILL work, and it's cheap. He has no problem with the stall pellet, however and I've discovered that it controls odor and moisture better for quite a bit longer than the pine, aspen, OR recycled paper bedding ever has. I feed Mazuri... but if Doggy Bag dog food were available around here, I can guarantee I'd be using that instead. Unfortunately, it's not. I found one place 200+ miles away that I can get Mazuri... at $1 a pound.

[stickyalvinroll]

I wouldn't do it. Rats are disgusting creatures imo. They stink up the house and will take up a it of time. I feel like my house and time is a lot valuable than saving a few dollars here and there

[chilliscale]

I wouldn't do it. Rats are disgusting creatures imo. They stink up the house and will take up a it of time. I feel like my house and time is a lot valuable than saving a few dollars here and there

That is a good point. Although I have sealed off my room and created a negative pressure, before I sell my home I will likely have to replace drywall and trim to get the odor out of the room.

[mdb730]

You could always try breeding ASFs, they don't get huge that you can't feed off and they don't smell as bad as mice and rats. Warning, they have huge litters so be ready to freeze some. Only problem with them is not a lot of people use them and some potential customers might be worried they won't be able to switch BPs to rats or mice.

[Aercadia]

Convenience comes at its own cost, so weigh that against what you want as well. How much is it costing you monetarily to feed your snakes on a weekly basis when you buy their meals from a local source? Vs: how much will it cost you in time, effort, and setup costs to produce your own food? You need a rat rack, a place to KEEP the rat rack, a watering system (bottles or otherwise), bins for breeding, enough rats that females in rotation will produce enough offspring to feed your snakes sustainably, bins for the birthing mothers and their pups, substrate and food... and you'll be changing their litter every few days, feeding and watering them every day (if you're using bottles), killing what you use (or don't use, if you feed live), and freezing the excess... so you'll need freezer space as well.

It seems a little overwhelming to look at. But when our feeding costs rose to $75+ a week (that's $300 a month!! as much as we spend on ourselves!!) my husband did the math and got into Mr Build-it mode, and we built ourselves a 6-bin rack, bought some mommy-bins at a discount since someone was getting rid of their old ones (not pretty, but fully functional), and we started buying bulk substrate and rat food on special order through our local Pet Club store. We kept that rack IN THE HOUSE (omg, regrets). We have since gained even more mouths to feed, and recently built a fully insulated and AC'd shed to house our expanded our rat colony (and will be adding ASFs soon)(THANK GOD, NO MORE RATS IN MY HOUSE). My husband estimates that it costs us $30-50 a month to bed and feed our rats, and we spend a couple of hours a week maintaining them. Even with the headache and hassle of losing weekends to build better racks, build a gravity watering system, clean, feed, maintain, kill, vacuum pack, and freeze them... it is INCREDIBLY worth it to us!!