Rat Breeding

I need to start breeding my own feeder rats...would like some advice on getting started, specifically where to obtain my breeders. I've heard/read that most pet store stock is older and/or unreliable. My current snake load is 20 - 30...thanks in advance.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hokies1jjc

I need to start breeding my own feeder rats...would like some advice on getting started, specifically where to obtain my breeders. I've heard/read that most pet store stock is older and/or unreliable. My current snake load is 20 - 30...thanks in advance.

---

Check out the Breeding Rats Forumn in the Feeder section. My advice is to try to find a local breeder in your area as they should be able to help you get some good breeding stock.

Take note; it's worse than maintaining snakes; but welllllllllllll worth it!!!

Hey, thanks....didn't even realize those other forums were there.

I'm surprised you're just now starting after already having 20-30 snakes. There's no way I could afford that for very long. I wish I could, because rats/mice are freaking disgusting critters. It's amazing how much they can pee/poop all over everything in such a short amount of time. I really wish BPs ate goldfish or something :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spitzu

It's amazing how much they can pee/poop all over everything in such a short amount of time.

---

Isn't that the truth. My supplier is 15 minutes away. The amount of crap they leave in my tub is nasty.

I don't see anything wrong with getting your initial breeding stock at a pet store. If you buy the "small" size of rats, they will probably be young ones, which will be ready breed after they grow up for a couple more weeks. Since starting my own rat breeding gig, I have read up on it more and learned that female rats who don't start breeding before they are eight months old will have their pelvic canal fused in a narrow position and may have trouble getting the babies out. It happened to one large female rat I bought at the pet store, and she died trying to give birth. Poor thing! So, it probably is best to start with younger ones. Once you have females that are ready, they sure can reproduce quickly. They go into heat every 4-5 days and almost always have litters of over a dozen. It really is well worth it to breed your own rats if you have a good-sized collection of snakes. Good luck!

They stink a lot.... but every two weeks you have small ones ... sacrifice of 8 days old baby rat to small BP... PRICELESS!!! :)

What I did to start my colony off is drive around one day to all pet stores in my area. I picked up about 10 young females (from the mom and pop shops, not the major chains) and two males. I did this so I knew they were at the very least distantly related. I then grew them up held back all the females and a few males and went on from there. Once the colony is established I wouldn't introduce any new rats to the colony unless from a trusted source. Too many chances of disease.
Or you could go to a local person that breeds his/her own feeders and see if you can buy a bunch of live smalls...make sure they are live, the f/t ones don't breed so well.

I say you'll need to build a rack or two.

Getting your first stock from a pet store is fine if you take your time with it, but pet store genes are hit or miss. I got two girls, one with excellent mommy skills and genes, and another with NO mommy skills at all and horrible genes. You'll also want to find tame rats, as skittish ones bite and will try escaping.

Also, get your sexes at opposite stores so you likely aren't breeding siblings.

Finding a breeder is worth a try, but many can't seem to respect that rats are both good pets and good snake food, and many also won't sell to you if you plan to breed.

Another good idea is to get rats that don't have the same coat and color if you can. Or at least make the individuals in groups look different (so if you have a 1.3 group, try to do something like get a berkshire buck, an agouti female, a black and white hooded female, and a siamese female).

Also, for building your racks, you CAN use sterilite tubs; I've been using 90 sterilites for rats and ASFs and had chewing on the pieces of plastic on the lids, but no escapes.

Just for the sake of keeping track of things, keep a breeding document of your progress and the progress of litters up until you either cull them or they die. May come in handy.



Anything else?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CeeJay

Isn't that the truth. My supplier is 15 minutes away. The amount of crap they leave in my tub is nasty.

---

Shipping is stressful, so they're not gonna just lay down and sleep.