Temperatures?

SO i have just started breeding rats, here in KS its been around 106 for the last two weeks straight so the rats are inside for now. My questin is, Can i move them to the garage for the fall, winter and spring? I live in a duplex so it is surrounded by interior walls on each side. Could i just run a space heater a few times a day and still have them produce for me?

I keep mine 76-80*, I'm sure if you kept a heater in the garage on a tstat, things would be fine.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I keep mine 76-80*

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WIth those temps do you have steady breeding all year round?

I have steady breeding except with a few problem children, at those same temps. The temperature isn't what's causing the few not to breed, I might actually have a few sterile, or just plain stubborn ones, not unusual.


I wouldn't let your animals get any hotter than 85. Even 85 is getting into risky territory.
And keep in mind it only takes a short time at high temps, like if the outside temp rose to 110 for a while, and you weren't home maybe, for them to all die.

They'll breed well into the 80's, but they get lazy, and don't do as good. They can handle temps up into the 90's no problem, but like I said, they just stop breeding. And, keep in mind, if you colony breed, like in a rack, a few rats and babies produce alot of heat, so it's always warmer in the tub by a few degrees as well. To be safe, keep them in the 70's if possible.
We've been really hot this year as well, and even with my A/C's at full cold, my sheds are topping 85 during the hottest part of the day when it's 110 outside, but, they're still breeding like crazy. I put extra fans in during the day to circulate more air.

Have to keep an eye on temps, I did not realize that one of my fans died and I lost more than a few rats last week due to heat. It was
one of the days that we had the heat wave.
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Ive been pushing 89 to 90 in my shed with a/c and fans running 24/7.
This heat is crazy this year:mad:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Ive been pushing 89 to 90 in my shed with a/c and fans running 24/7.
This heat is crazy this year:mad:

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Ain't that the TRUTH or like the boxer on DirectTV commercial says "That's The Truth, Truth!!!"