My First Breeders

So, as I have steadily accumulated more snakes (I am up to four now), my feeding bill just keeps getting higher and higher. My room mate, who also has snakes, just started a small colony of ASF rats. Well today, when going to the store to get some feeders, there was one little baby rat that was just soooo incredibly cute. I had thought about starting a small breeding colony of my own rats before, so I thought I would save the little guy from becoming food for the time being. I know rats do better in pairs, so I went ahead and got a younger female for him to be buddies with until they reach breeding age. I know buying older rats to start off would have been better, but I am willing to take the time to raise them up and I would prefer my breeders be a bit friendlier anyway. So here are some pictures of their setup (color coded to match my room). Eventually I will get another female or two, but for the time being these two will probably be together until they get a bit bigger.

Their Setup:

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...um/TheFarm.jpg

The Female, who I have Named Cow but will call MooMoo:

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...bum/MooMoo.jpg

The Male, the one who originally caught my eye, who is named Penguin:

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...um/Penguin.jpg

They are both around 42 grams, and I have seen both of them drink and eat since I got them home. Any suggestions or words of advice would be greatly appreciated!

The male looks kind of like a dumbo. Awesome rats!

Unless you want them to breed young, I suggest you separate and buy a buddy for each of them, otherwise she will be pregnant constantly. They look a little young to be weaned, so you will need to make sure they are eating for sure, and may need to help them figure it out.