Outdoor utility closet...

Well, I'm struggling for room to keep my feeder breeding colony in my tiny apartment. I do, however, have a utility closet (3'x8') off of my deck that seems like it would be perfect, considering there's nothing in there but my deep freeze. If you were setting up a colony in a space such as this, where the room is insulated but not heated, what steps would you take to ensure success?

I'm thinking:

space heater to raise/regulate the temp. (outside temps range from 38-52 in the winter)
Lights on a timer
Shelving on the walls to accommodate tubs (I've got a GREAT idea for this, will take pics when I'm done)

Anything else you can think of?

My experience with outside closets is that they don't have any ventilation. If this is the case I would be concerned about enough airflow to stop a significant build up of ammonia. If you can smell the ammonia (pee smell) then the concentration is high enough to cause RI and other issues with your breeders.


This could also be an issue with a heater of any sort as the heat could quickly get dangerously high.

So all this said how is it ventilated?

vent for fresh air in, and most of all, an exhaust fan to air it out!!



vaughn

Ventilation isn't an issue I had considered before, but is a good one. I'm not sure how air-tight it is, so I'll have to check in to that.

Heat would be thermostat-regulated, sorry I forgot to mention that in the beginning.

I'm beginning to think this might turn in to more work than I expected, but don't see many(any) alternatives at the moment...

They will probably be all right--I would provide lots of cotton or other very soft, warm bedding for them once it starts getting cold, in case there is a power outage over night. It's unlikely that adult rats will freeze to death so long as they have plenty of insulation...they are pretty hardy.
As long as you check on them a few times a day to be sure that the heater is in good shape, I don't see why it wouldn't work. You might consider having a backup on hand in case something happens to it. If the closet is well-insulated enough, a battery of infrared heat lamps could even do the trick. Cleaning cages regularly should prevent ammonia build-up too.