Before getting a ball python i did a lot of research online as far as husbandry, feeding him, etc. I ran into a TON of websites saying how mean and cruel it was to feed a smart animal like a Rat, who can make a great pet, to a snake, who makes a somewhat pointless pet...

Well to say the least, I was intrigued. I had never had rats as pets and figured, why not get a few rats to use as breeders, and keep a few of the babies and raise them as pets.... I thought that was only fair, so I could see both sides of the story.

So now our pet collection has grown from 2 cockatiels, and 2 cats, to include a ball python and 2 rats (Esmerelda and Templeton) who we picked up from Petco.

Esmy is a white rat (appears albino, but who knows), and Templeteon (chocalate all over, but white rings around his ankles and a white belly). We have 2 10 gallon setups, and placed them together last Saturday....

Now my question is, how can I tell if these guys have actually taken the steps to produce me some snake food? They both get a long great from the start. Esmeralda tends to be the boss, sometimes she will knock templeteon down on the ground, hold him down and nibble at his shoulders/neck, and he will make a few little squeaks. But that is the extent to which Ive seen them interact.

Is it safe to assume that i will have babies in less than a month, or are some males from pet stores sterile/not interested?

These guys are both medium sized rats.