30 gal long

[kjhowland]

Can I use a 30 gal aquarium to breed rats? I don't need many. I only have a baby boa and an adult corn. How many should I put into it? Thanks

[Gloryhound]

You can use it to breed rats in, but it will be a pain to clean. You could probably fit a good number of rats in it, but most people like to remove the male as keeping him in with the mothers and pups after delivery can cause all kinds of problems.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I would recommend having 3 enclosures.

1 for breeding
1 for birthing
1 for grow out

Glass tanks are a pain and you can successfully house rats in something as simple as this which will be much easier on you on cleaning day.



Also keep in mind that rat grow very fast and if you only have two baby snakes you will get over-crowded with over-sized rats very fast, unless of course you plan on euthanizing the rats and feed F/T to your snakes.

[kjhowland]

If I did 1 male and 1 female, would that work and not be too bad to clean. I do have a spare 20 if I have to move the male out. I just replaced both tanks with custom cages for the herps.

[kjhowland]

Wonder if breeding mice would be better. The corn is adult and eats large size mice well, and the baby boa is eating FT fuzzys. Or I could stick with buying them. Its getting tougher to buy live around here unless you're buying them for pets. NO live pinkies, fuzzies or hoppers either.

[Antares]

Personally, I'd opt for the mice because they have a shorter generation time, are easier to handle, and I don't feel bad about killing them. In a 30 long you could have quite a colony of mice, far more than your snakes will be able to keep up with. I've left the males in and taken them out when breeding mice and rats (not for my snakes). It actually depends a lot on the size of the colony and the personalties of the animals (how much your particular males seem to fight). Some males will kill their own offspring, but they seem to fight/kill each other less when there are females around. For a smaller colony I'd probably only have one (maybe two) male and I'd take him out not because I'd worry about him hurting the offspring, but because I'd worry about overpopulation. I've never had a separate tank for rearing the young, but I do always try to set aside an area (with nestles or one of those plastic igloo things) where they can hide their young. The 30 gallon is going to be a lot to clean though especially because it is much larger than you will need for the number of mice you want.

[kjhowland]

Thanks for the replies. Leaning towards the mice now. I do have a feeler out for ASFs though. They might be an option

[Hotshot]

I have a 1.1 on rats had a 1.2 and didnt get babys for like 4 months my advice is do a 1.4 and be happy sell the rest off if you want what I'm doing.

[Dcommander]

im with hotshot, het rats, do 1.4 or 1.5 and sell or uthanize the one u dont need...

[littleindiangirl]

Raising any feeder animals will cost you more to do yourself than to buy frozen or live in bulk (mice or asf) if you have only a handful of snakes. (less than 10)

I recommend reading Lord Jackels "Should I breed, how many to breed" sticky at the top of the feeder section.

It is a break down of what your looking at for raising your own colony of rats.

For less than 10 snakes, it is just NOT worth it in cost comparison. 12 females and 2 males, not to mention the weaners, are going to cost ya. The upside is always having high quality live feeders, and saving some money when compared to petsmart or petco FT.

The only way I would even recommend raising your own feeders for a few snakes is this way:

1. 1.4+ rats- If your lucky and can sell off the extra, you should at least have all of your snakes over to FT, so you can CO2 what you need, and freeze for later. Selling off the rest to a store or local buyers.

2. 2.2-4 rats- Your animals take FT and you can "bulk up" your freezer with several litters, and remove the males while you use up your frozen stock. Males should always have a partner to stay physically and mentally healthy.

Also, tanks are heavy and have poor ventilation. Tubs and racks are great alternatives to raising healthy rodents when made properly.