Lots of questions about rat breeding/rack

Ok so im going to start breeding rats for my ball pythons and costal python and kenayn sand boa total 10 snakes
im thinking 10 females and 2 males so 2 bins with 1.5
also what size are rats suggested to be bred at and how long is a rat pregnat before they give birth
how much do you guys pay for your food and bedding
im paying 25 dollars for a 50 pound bag of rodent block and 15 bucks for a big bag of aspen

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Originally Posted by nick avram

Ok so im going to start breeding rats for my ball pythons and costal python and kenayn sand boa total 10 snakes
im thinking 10 females and 2 males so 2 bins with 1.5

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You should have as many female rats as you do snakes. Or you can start with a little less to gauge how your production is. You can always add more females if you don't have enough food.

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also what size are rats suggested to be bred at and how long is a rat pregnat before they give birth

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I like to start breeding my females at 3 months old. They can breed as young as 5 weeks though. So be sure to separate babies around that age to avoid accidental pregnancies.
A rat's gestation period is 22 days. It takes about the same time for a rat pup to be weaned.

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how much do you guys pay for your food and bedding
im paying 25 dollars for a 50 pound bag of rodent block and 15 bucks for a big bag of aspen

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I'm paying roughly around the same prices. But I'm looking to switch food brands ($12 for a 50# bag)

Id suggest only keeping 2-3 females per tub, and 4-5 tubs. This way you can space out the breedings and always have babies.

Im always amazed the prices you guys pay for things, i have to pay $51 for a 50lb bag of lab block, and $14 for 3 cubic feet of kiln dried pine :s

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Originally Posted by gypsy

Id suggest only keeping 2-3 females per tub, and 4-5 tubs. This way you can space out the breedings and always have babies.

Im always amazed the prices you guys pay for things, i have to pay $51 for a 50lb bag of lab block, and $14 for 3 cubic feet of kiln dried pine :s

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i got my local feed store to speacil order me some

I am buying from a feed store!! I'm gonna have to start buying pallets direct from the supplier soon!!!

I only pay $6 for 4 cubic feet of pine. Pine keeps the smell down better.

I definitely wouldn't go more than 1.4 in a tub, unless your cement tubs are waaaaay bigger than mine. Space out the breedings (I have a bachelor-pad cage in case I need/want to take a boy out for a round and give the girls a break) so you'll always have some of each size. You should also have at least two spare tubs/cages for grow outs (one for males, on for females), because otherwise you'll have weanlings in with new litters, and that tends to get messy and the loss rate goes way up.

I don't think you should have two males breeding a group of females at a time, problems can occur, and males WILL fight.

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Originally Posted by Capray

I don't think you should have two males breeding a group of females at a time, problems can occur, and males WILL fight.

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not together in a seprate tub
what im doing is
1 tub of a 1.4
another of a 1.4 a tub for moms and babys
and weanelings and feeders
then a asf tub with 1.3
and a tub for asf moms and babys

Weaned babies need to be kept anway from pregnant or recovering moms, because they will try to nurse and won't get weaned. Asfs also need to stay together 24/7 in established colonies with the exception of removing feeders. The colony works together to raise babies and removing a male will end with him being killed upon reintroduction.

1 tub for a colony of asfs
2 tubs of 1.4
3 tubs for growing/feeding(one male, 1 female, 1 asf)
1 spare for cleaning/quarantine/emergency