Starting a small colony?

So I want to start breeding rats. I have a few 10 gallon tanks that need tops but they aren't too expensive. I don't want to have the male(s) with the females constantly, just until I know the females are preggors so I was wondering if this setup would work.
2 males. 4 females
Cage1: 2 females, 1 male added when breeding
Cage2: 2 females, 1 male when breeding
Cage3: for the 2 males when the females are raising their pups and on break.
possibly a 4th (maybe even a 5th) cage for the weaned pups.

Something I am worried about is if the two males would get along?

And would it be ok to feed them dog food? I have 2 small dogs and we get the 50 lb. bags which last a while. I know red dye is bad for snakes so I can make sure the food is dye free and they would be getting scraps (mainly veggies and fruit) every once in a while. Is there supplement needed?

I would love some suggestions and feed back :)

We feed our rats and mice dog food and one of our suppliers does too. I think i remember hearing that senior formula dog food has a better nutritional value for them too, but don't quote me there :) I've also never seen any males really fight to the point of them not being able to stay in the same cage. Honestly I can't remember the last time I saw any of our rats fighting. Though the only breeding we do is from the occasional prego feeder, I think your set up sounds pretty solid.

If you get the males when fairly young, you should be fine as far as the fighting goes.

Dog food is for dogs, not rats. You can use it but you really should suppliment it with a grain mix. They also need max 16-18% protein, so that usually means a senior dog food. The hog feed recommended in the ASF forum is cheaper than dog food and would probably work out better for them than a diet of straight dog food.

I am going to go against the grain here and say that in no way is 10 gallons adequate space for one rat much less 2 females and a male. I know some breeders on here will put feeders in as small a space as possible to save room, but rats are just too large as adults. I have several adult males that are 800+ grams and there is barely enough room for them to turn around in a 10gallon. I keep rats as pets and not as feeders, so feel free to disregard my opinion on this. :)

Good luck with your colony!

Your set up sounds good, (and familiar). I agree, 10 gallon tank for 2 adult rats is really pushing it, not to mention all of the young that would be running around in there too.

I would use hog feed over dog food any day. Dog food makes rats stink, and it is often too high in protein. I use it in a pinch, but not as a staple.

Ok so my second option for housing will probably be some kind of large tubs, I will have to get screen too but that shouldn't be too hard.
Hog food will be no problem for me to find and it might be a good idea to ask around and see if there are some people in my area that would like to buy some of the frozen extras...

I'd just stick to one male. Males stink and are larger. I have 13 female-1 male and have plenty full healthy litters although just a few get to hopper size as i really just need pinkies and a few hoppers, weeners. BTW I keep a few rats together in a 20 g ( going to add a topper soon)and about 8 in a double layer(added a topper), 35 g tank. I have been blessed though as my rats are all undersized by genetics( all 4 starter female rats were small ).

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I would use hog feed over dog food any day. Dog food makes rats stink, and it is often too high in protein. I use it in a pinch, but not as a staple.

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I've actually heard that hog food has unholy amounts of copper in it and that copper is poisonous to snakes. I could be wrong though, and the person I heard it from could have been wrong. Just thought it was worth mentioning. :-/

Not all hog feed is supplmented with high amounts of copper, just as not all hog feed is medicated. It just takes shopping around. I would strongly suggest that everyone gets the nutritional facts of whatever they feed, but that may be asking too much.