Breeding Rats in same room as Ball Pythons

hi, i couldn't find the awnser to this on my own....Is it ok to breed rats in the same oom with ball pythons? I have nowhere else to put the rack so if it doesn't disrupt the health or the breeding of my snakes, thats what i plan to do. it will be a homemade rack for the rats and will be right next to my vision rack with cb 70 tubs. thanks for the help.

I know Alice has her rats right next to her ball python racks...She's got some big ol' snakes that look great! so as far as I am concerned, i doubt it would cause problems :)

Please do a search, there are SEVERAL topics on this :)

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Originally Posted by gil6

hi, i couldn't find the awnser to this on my own....Is it ok to breed rats in the same oom with ball pythons? I have nowhere else to put the rack so if it doesn't disrupt the health or the breeding of my snakes, thats what i plan to do. it will be a homemade rack for the rats and will be right next to my vision rack with cb 70 tubs. thanks for the help.

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Yes its ok.I have my mice(stinky pigs lol) and rats all in the same room as all of my snakes and have no problems.The only thing i will warn you about is to make sure your rodents are not able to escape there own enclosures.Rats will chew thru plastic containers like you spread butter on your bread.Mice are capable of doing the same thing but it will take them longer to chew thru the plastic.I keep my breeders in large fish tanks and no one escapes no matter how hard they try:D .I hope this info helps you in the long run.When you build your rack we need pics lol:cool: .

Ok thanks for the replys....quick followup question. I have done some reading and it seems like pine shavings are ok for rodents but not good for snakes (right?). Can i use pine bedding for my rat rack next to my rack for my ball pythons? do you think this could cause problems> thanks

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Originally Posted by gil6

Ok thanks for the replys....quick followup question. I have done some reading and it seems like pine shavings are ok for rodents but not good for snakes (right?). Can i use pine bedding for my rat rack next to my rack for my ball pythons? do you think this could cause problems> thanks

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If i remember correctly pine shavings have a oil substance in it that is harmfull for snakes.Even though the snake would never have straight contact with it,i would be concerned that its still on the rodent.Myself i would not take the chance just incase.

Joe, that is not entirely true. ;) Some pine beddings are kiln-dried to remove the residue you are referring to(still not good for snakes). I personnaly use the kiln-dried pine for my rodents and have never had a problem. I did have some sneezing issues with rodents when I used some pine bedding that was not kiln-dried, but nothing that affected my snakes (from rodents).

My observations of rodents in the same room:

I used to keep rodents in the same room as my snakes. Since I moved them to another building I have noticed more of a reaction when I bring them into the room. Before it took some of my snakes awhile to figure out the rodents were in their cages. I think that was because the "smell" was in the air constantly before. Now I can take a tub of feeders into the snake room and leave it sit for about 30 minutes and come back and every snake in the room is at the front of their tubs "looking" for food.

I agree with Bill. If I had the space, I'd keep my rats in a separate room from my ball pythons - in fact I'd keep them in a separate house! :rat:


I haven't seen much difference in the feeding response of my ball pythons from when they were in different rooms (my ball collection was smaller and fit in one of our bedrooms at the time). I usually have 4 or 5 out of 50 that don't eat every week and that varies from week to week. Now, of course during breeding season that number goes up, but they are otherwise occupied. ;)

But, if I could, I'd separate them to maybe increase my feeding response even more.