Questions about breeding rats

So, I have thought about breeding my own rats to feed my ball pythons, but I don't really know how I should start the whole process. I have a couple of questions too. Hope I will get some help (:

1) how many cages should I start out with?
2) will 1.4 be good in the breeding cages?
3) do males fight with each other even if the cage is free from females?
4) after how many litters should I stop breeding a female?
5) do females accept other litters than their own in the same cage?
6) about how long does it take for a rat to grow about 100grams?

Help please, I am just a beginner ^^

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Originally Posted by Blubb

So, I have thought about breeding my own rats to feed my ball pythons, but I don't really know how I should start the whole process. I have a couple of questions too. Hope I will get some help (:

1) how many cages should I start out with?
2) will 1.4 be good in the breeding cages?
3) do males fight with each other even if the cage is free from females?
4) after how many litters should I stop breeding a female?
5) do females accept other litters than their own in the same cage?
6) about how long does it take for a rat to grow about 100grams?

Help please, I am just a beginner ^^

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1. The amount of tubs just depends on your amount of breeders. At the least I would have a breeder female rat for every snake I have so say I have 16 snakes I would need 16 breeder females which would mean 4 breeder tubs with 1.4.

2. 1.4 seems like the best ratio for me and others usually do the same

3. I've never had males fight though I usually only have grow-out males together, not full grown breeder males. They may compete if you have 2.4 or something.

4. I don't keep track on females and how many times they breed but I retire them after their litter size begins decreasing enough so I get the most utility out of them.

5. It's probably best to have a separate rack with maternity tubs where you'll keep a mom and her litter. I pull the moms when they look pregnant. If they give birth in the breeding tub they're very likely to get trampled and die. Also the mom will have a hard time caring for them in that situation.

6. I don't weigh my feeders, I just go by size so I can't help there.

Hope this helps.

that answers all your questions. i breed rats and do 95% of what he does

Yes, it did help a lot, thank you. I have another question actually :P how long time should a female be with the babies until they can take care of themselves? And also, how long time do females rest after a litter?

Thanks (:

Rat kittens will wean themselves typically after a week and a half or so. You'll see them start to try hard food and try figuring out the water, and that's a good time to put them into your grow-outs or euthanize.

I leave my moms together in the tub. More than one mom will nurse litters, making it easier on the mom who gave birth. I wean my babies off once they can run around with eyes wide open.

I know there's lots of ways to raise rats and I'm still learning more and more, mostly from folks right here on BP.net. Stick around and ask tons of questions, because everyone here seems really knowledgable AND more importantly, they're willing to share their information with others.

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Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

Rat kittens will wean themselves typically after a week and a half or so. You'll see them start to try hard food and try figuring out the water, and that's a good time to put them into your grow-outs or euthanize.

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1 1/2 weeks is way too young to wean rats. The EARLIEST they should be weaned is 3 weeks, but if you're keeping any of them as breeders I would leave them with the mom until they are 4 or 5 weeks old.

I keep 1.3 in the small mixing tubs. I do not remove the females. It's a trade off. I would get more babies using a maternity rack but I would also get a lot more work.

I found that some groups do very well together, meaning the females are pregnant every time they can be and that 95% of the babies survive. Other groups will not produce as much and will also lose a lot of what they do produce. Those groups get replaced.

You must keep surplus females and you must be willing to replace groups that are not doing well. That's a tough thing to do when you first start. I had two groups that produced well but would lose all of the babies. They were my pinkie production groups.

Rolled oats has helped my production as a supplement to lab block. Not sure why but I read about it here so I tried it. And rats love a routine. They get used to things a certain way and changing it throws them off.

Sorry for the random thoughts. Good luck.

A week and a half to wean, gotta love that!
Man the money I'd be making ;)

they shouldnt be weaned fully until 4-5 weeks 3 at the least also you wont want to put two breeding males in together cause they will fight to the death once a female comes into heat the lemale rat carries for 20-22 days normaly and should have a little time to regain weight after each litter or it will take too much outta her bones and body and she will be more suseptible to diseases and those diseases can pass on to her babies which then you feed to your snakes then they pass on to your snakes which can be very disastrous for the snake rat and all involved and if you sell a sick rat to someone and it hurts there reptile you can be held responsible if you intend on selling some of them to help incure your cost of feeding and breeding them they are easy to breed and very easy to overbreed which can cause problems not in the overpopulation fact but the health fact anything else just ask cause i breed rats and have breed them for about 5-6 years now and i dont own snakes but i sell them for pets and feeders:)