Cannibalism in rats?

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Originally Posted by Snow Balls

How would you attach a rodent bottle to a cardboard box?


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You're brave keeping them in a cardboard box. My wife would never let me hear the end of it if they got out.

If this is something you do often I would invest in the proper equipment to do it. Just a little cage and at least a water bottle. That will make the entire process better for you and them.

Something like this is what I'm thinking.

OMEM Portable Reptile Terrarium Habitat for Mini Pet Houses https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H7C5H97...36AGM3CV?psc=1

Exo Terra Faunarium, Plastic Reptile Terrarium, Mini https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000256DXG...605ZAWBQ?psc=1

And this would hang easy to give water without a mess.

Lixit Aquarium Cage Climbing Resistant Water Bottles for Rats, Hamsters Gerbils, Mice and Other Small Animals https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006B6804...RT8PEQV4?psc=1


As to why it happened? You got me. I had a rabbit growing up that every time she had babies she would kill them and eat the top of their heads.

I think it's also possible that one died and the others took advantage of it for food.

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Originally Posted by Erie_herps

I think it's also possible that one died and the others took advantage of it for food.

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As well as for moisture...:( This was so avoidable!

It is possible that you simply bought the rats at a time when they happened to not have been recently fed. It may be that the store feeds and waters feeders each morning and was simply running late that day. Not an unlikely hypothesis, considering the labor situation currently.

It was almost certainly hunger or thirst, and I've had feeders die and not be eaten since there was food and water present. If my feeder mice run out of food (always a regrettable and culpable situation on my part), they absolutely eat each other. I haven't bred rats for a while, and never had them run out of food or water when I did, but suspect they're the same as mice.

Personally, I'd not box feeders for more than an hour or two without food and water, and I'd not house them in a cardboard box for any length of time -- not even minutes. (I have put the cardboard carrier inside of a vented plastic tub for the ride home, for the extra layer of protection. Screened vents in the top, where they cannot get to easily.)

They chew out of things so fast it is mind blowing. I use tubs with holes for water bottle nozzles in the side, and if I leave a hole without a water bottle for ten minutes, they've chewed the hole out to the point that the tub is unusable.

I'm just a little unsure why you're getting defensive and not trying to take any of the blame. It can 100% be pure luck, even if its the first time its happening to you. I'd find a better way to get feeders than to leave them in a cardboard box for 8-10 hours, because that's simply asking for trouble.

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Originally Posted by SS snakes

I'm just a little unsure why you're getting defensive and not trying to take any of the blame. It can 100% be pure luck, even if its the first time its happening to you. I'd find a better way to get feeders than to leave them in a cardboard box for 8-10 hours, because that's simply asking for trouble.

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Who said I was getting defensive?


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Originally Posted by SS snakes

I'm just a little unsure why you're getting defensive and not trying to take any of the blame. It can 100% be pure luck, even if its the first time its happening to you. I'd find a better way to get feeders than to leave them in a cardboard box for 8-10 hours, because that's simply asking for trouble.

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You've been waiting to make a first post and that's what you went with. Interesting choice.

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Originally Posted by KMG

You've been waiting to make a first post and that's what you went with. Interesting choice.

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Exactly the thought that went through my mind. As for those cages you recommended, I was thinking about something maybe like the yellow/black storage bins from Home Depot with some vent holes drilled out near the top with other holes drilled out near the bottom for the water bottle. How far off the ground should the bottle be exactly?


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Originally Posted by Snow Balls

Exactly the thought that went through my mind. As for those cages you recommended, I was thinking about something maybe like the yellow/black storage bins from Home Depot with some vent holes drilled out near the top with other holes drilled out near the bottom for the water bottle. How far off the ground should the bottle be exactly?


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Probably about 4-5" -that's for the tip of the tube above the cage floor or from the top of any substrate you put in there- to accommodate all ages/sizes of rats. If the tip contacts any substrate, it will continuously wick out the water. Water bottles usually are sold with a basic attachment thingy- so wait until you have the bottle & holder in hand to measure.

It would probably be better to just put a hole for the tube to poke inside, & attach the bottle outside, since rats (& other rodents) will use it to climb on if it's available, & when it bangs against the side for a while, it will drip more. Rats will be rats...:cool:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Probably about 4-5" -that's for the tip of the tube above the cage floor or from the top of any substrate you put in there- to accommodate all ages/sizes of rats. If the tip contacts any substrate, it will continuously wick out the water. Water bottles usually are sold with a basic attachment thingy- so wait until you have the bottle & holder in hand to measure.

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That type of bin would work though right? I was planning on running by Home Depot after work anyways and grabbing a few cleaning supplies. I might as well go by petco and grab a bottle too. Putting substrate in would probably help with cleaning afterwards I assume?


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