Two rats in a tub...now what?

The price of feeders where I live is crazy. Petsmart is selling frozen medium rats for over $10. And when you order them the price of shipping puts ordering from a wholesaler at nearly the same cost.

I found a local pet store going out of business, and got some bulk aspen bedding at 50% off. I made a rat cage out of a tub and bought two large rats from another local pet store for $9.99 a piece (outrageously priced I might add).

Now that I have a 1.1 colony just started when can I expect a litter? Do they need to settle in? How long will I have to raise the pups until they reach a body size of 4 inches? They are being fed a high protein dog food from the local feed store, supplemented with table scraps (chicken bones, veggies, grains).

Any input is appreciated...

Don't know how many snakes you are feeding, but 1 female rat will produce every 21-24 days, if you leave her with the male at all times. You can expect 5-20 pups everytime, but consider that you need them a certain size, and they will all be the same size at the same time. You will need to freeze at the size you need.
In all reality, you are not going to save money by breeding 1 female rat.
Find a breeder nearby, and buy direct, save your money, and time...

Or increase your colony :)

I agree. To just have 1 pair of rats is a lot of trouble if your not feeding many snakes. Also I'm not a dog food fan. If this is something you want to do I'd switch to mazuri. I've seen good prices on ordering frozen. I have a friend who was getting jumbos for a couple of his big snakes at 1.$ a piece. Have you considered ordering bulk 50 or something like that? Otherwise I would try and find a private breeder and buy from them. Or go to a reptile show and you can buy frozen there and save on shipping.


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Like others have said, 1 female wont be enough. And from what I have read breeding back to back is not good. Get another female and another tub, when 1 is pregnant place her in the separate tub and then let her nurse and just keep rotating giving each female a break. I have yet to see anyone agree on the break time but pretty much everyone agrees that she needs one.


If or when your snake/s can't keep up place an ad on craigslist.

Search the internet, there are many sites that will detail the growth cycle, and how to breed. You will probably still have to buy over the next month or so till things start going.

Breed back to back... It's the best way. They don't need a rest, and can produce litter after litter consistantly without any harm to them. If you see a female that is thin, pull her out for a month or feed her off.
Been breeding colony rats for 20+ years this way....