Breeding rats - Ratio advice

I have a rather small collection, but buying frozen feeders from a shop really adds up. Based on the amount of snakes I am feeding what ratio would you suggest for male - female without have a ton of offspring, but having enough feeders for a steady supply? And I don't plan to euthanize any, as that makes me sad. :tears:

3 balls
1 corn

Plan on expanding a little in the future. Probably more on the ball side, but am also interested rat snakes.


Thanks!

I've always heard one female per snake. You'd probably have lots of extras tho. Maybe 3females will do the trick. But then again you may have to go pick up a few from the store if you run out.

Just stagger your females. If you do this you will have more of a consistent supply. After one has her babies give her a couple weeks off and just rotate them. Should keep up with demand 1.3 should be fine also. I have not tried this or have no experience but im sure someone does this method and can give you more accurate info.

You have to Trial and error it till u get it right i have balls and corns, on the mice i have 120 trays and the rats 13 trays, i don't rotate the males every cage has one 1.2 ratio on the mice and the rats are 1.4 ratio I would start with 2 mice of trays and 2 rats trays to see how it works hope this helps

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...ewracks016.jpg

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...ewracks011.jpg

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...Pythons313.jpg

I have 1.4 and I feed all of my snakes just fine

Quote:

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Originally Posted by oskyle1567

Just stagger your females. If you do this you will have more of a consistent supply. After one has her babies give her a couple weeks off and just rotate them.

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This ^. And trial and error. I have 13 snakes and 28 female feeder breeders. I rotate my girls around to give them a break in between litters to keep them healthier and not overproducing. Another thing to keep in mind is how many and what size of food you'll need; your corn will more than likely take crawlers/pup size and the balls...depends on their age/size. Norway rats grow fairly quickly, so just keep that in mind so they don't outgrow your animals. You could also hold back a few females from the litters to then grow out and breed later when your first generation of females stop producing. It sounds like a lot but give it a shot and don't be afraid to adjust if you find it isn't working. This sheet has some great info as far as a schedule...I used it when I first started and then simply adjusted for my collection and the various sizes of animals I have with the different prey sizes. Good luck!

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Many-to-Breed

If you don't euthanize any they will quickly outgrow the size you need to feed your snakes. I know you said buying frozen from the pet store is adding up, but have you thought about buying frozen feeders in bulk? If your animals take frozen thawed without any problems, that'd be the most cost efficient way to go.