breeding rats in outside shed

as the title states I have turned part of my shed into a rat breeding room not very big only about 8x6 area,

now this shed has no windows in it at all, is this going to be a problem? do I have to install a window or can I just simulate daylight with having the lights on?

any info would be great

Goin to need vents

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Originally Posted by frenchy

Goin to need vents

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Ok how would you suggest i do the vents? just like a door vent? vent to right outside?

maybe a small bathroom fan?

only problem is i live in Nova Scotia and it gets cold here in the winter, and i want the room not to be to drafty and my space heater sky rocket my power bill

I would arrange the vents so that you get a cross flow of air

I personally feel that you're going to have to use a heater to have them survive. I'm in Phoenix, AZ and I'm using a space heater at least at night during the winter for my rats, which are in an outdoor shed. I also have it very well insulated and a small window unit air conditioner to keep it cool in the summer. Idk what the weather is like there, but if your temps get much above the mid 80's in the summer you're going to also need an A/C unit.

I had my rats outside in the winter in arizona (phoenix) and didn't need a heater. They were on my porch and did fine even at night.

BUT, during the summer I had a shed I had the rats in that was ACed. I propped the door at night since it was cool. The bill was more money and I wasn't using a typical shed, I was using a walk in freezer.

At my other house in arizona we tried to insulate the garage and AC but it raised our electric bill around 300-400 (the bill was $600)during the hottest month (we had other animals out there that needed it though).

Here they would turn into frozen ratcycles.

I keep mine in my garage, which gets fairly cold in the winter, but I just used heat lamps with adjusters built in so I could regulate a warm spot for them. It worked fantastic during the cooler months. I had two liters during a cold spell and none of them froze. I haven't heard anything wrong with using heat lamps yet so I'll stick with that.

I sold my rat racks off awhile ago and currently just breeding mice. The mice colony is kept in the garage and this winter I had a few lost due to cold until I figured out I could repurpose the gf's green house. It's a cheap portable one (was ~$30 from Big Lots) but it works great for keeping the temps constant. And I haven't lost any due to cold since I put them in there.

I'm building a new hybrid mouse/rat rack this year and I plan to incorporate a way to use some plastic sheeting as a removable greenhouse for winter. The one thing I have noticed is that the smell is worse -although completely self contained in the greenhouse- when I open it for feeding/watering. I would imagine that you would need to vent it to prevent a build of up ammonia. I have a activated carbon absorber that I use, just been too lazy to incorpate into this since it was intended as a temporary thing.

Hope this helps and gives you some ideas on how to keep your rats from becoming ratcicles.

PS: The activated carbon absorber runs off a large computer case fan so the operating cost and noise level is pretty low. And it moves a lot of air.

I sold my rat racks off awhile ago and currently just breeding mice. The mice colony is kept in the garage and this winter I had a few lost due to cold until I figured out I could repurpose the gf's green house. It's a cheap portable one (was ~$30 from Big Lots) but it works great for keeping the temps constant. And I haven't lost any due to cold since I put them in there.

I'm building a new hybrid mouse/rat rack this year and I plan to incorporate a way to use some plastic sheeting as a removable greenhouse for winter. The one thing I have noticed is that the smell is worse -although completely self contained in the greenhouse- when I open it for feeding/watering. I would imagine that you would need to vent it to prevent a build of up ammonia. I have a activated carbon absorber that I use, just been too lazy to incorpate into this since it was intended as a temporary thing.

Hope this helps and gives you some ideas on how to keep your rats from becoming ratcicles.

After last week? Yes you are going to need a heat source for the winter. -11 is too cold. I have not been breeding but have given thought to it for obvious reasons. Depending on your location you may also need a cooling system in the summer as well. Personally venting I would use foot vents and a rooftop mushroom vents they can be opened and closed as needed. If you are planning on selling pm me!


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