I bought my first rat!!!

If you replace the middle of the lid with some wire mesh(1/2"x1/2"), it will allow more ventilation. More toys to chew on and play with, less boredom and wanting to chew out.

That baby looks about 8 weeks old, definitely NOT old enough to even consider breeding. Get another female(if that one is indeed a female), and wait about 4-5 more months. THEN, get a male if you want to breed. I would get some lab blocks(16% protein is fine) from a Purina Mill(Mazuri is an excellent brand) to make sure they are getting everything they need that isn't in the mix that I wrote a recipe on.

If I have kept a group of mice in tubs with the lid replaced with mesh, then rats will be fine in them. You could even find a nice two story, wire cage at a pet store and then just use tubs later on down the road when you separate the moms for birthing.

Watch out for signs of stress induced myco flare-ups. They will get porphyrin(reddish discharge) from their eyes and nose, breathing may become labored, etc. They can also get allergies from being on dusty bedding, carefresh being one of them. Aspen works wonderfully if they start sneezing alot. Sneezing here and there is normal.

Hope that helped and yes, try and get her a buddy soon! But make sure they are the same sex, LoL.

Becky beat me to it. *sigh* Looking at the pic, your little girl is the same size as our latest girls, and they're 7 wks today. :birthday: :giggle:

Ours are in cages, a 20L aquarium when they give birth and are then weaned. Another of the bigger My First Pet cages is another birthing room. With a payday, I'm going to put together some of the tubs w/a screen for the one's I need to grow before breeding, and put them out in the garage w/a UTH for this winter. The pets will stay on the desk in their big cages.

Cute little booger you have tho!!! :aww: I wuuuuuuuvs the soft fuzzy fur of the young rats! And their whiskers tickle! :love:

Okay so the tub setup is bad. I understand that now. So the basic wire rodent cages work okay? I wasn't planning on breeding for a while, still unsure on the subject. Haven't bought a buddy for her but I think now I'll go back to the same pet shop and get one from the same tank and get a wire setup if they work better. Just let me know what works and what size I'll need. As I said before I'm new to all of this lol.

www.rattiusmaximus.com will help you will sizes, selecting a healthy rat, what to look for in a cage(NO galvanized wire, eeww), etc. She has a nice site and is very detailed.

PERSONALLY? If you're looking for pet and LATER breeding, that would be a touch different home setup than if you're going into it with the outlook she's going to be part of your snake food production line.


Ours started out as food, but became pets when the snake was on a fast. So ours are in cages in Robin's bedroom. I started the breeding for snake chow as an aside, to help my budget. Now I want to keep some of Peek's baby girls and turn them into a breeding colony, instead of a pet mischief. We're still going to handle and cuddle them, but once they're big enough, they're going out in the garage.

Just be sure that the cage's floors wires are coated and not to get a rabbit one where the wires might be too far apart for the rat's head getting stuck, or the little girl escaping all together.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

picture of setup? My rats will chew straight through the side of one of those even if it is smooth :P crazy rats

---

I haven't taken a picture of mine yet, but I built it using this design. Instead of the cement tubs, I use 12 qt Sterilite tubs. Also, I don't have experience with rats yet, just mice.
http://home.stx.rr.com/trojcak/pics/...k/rat_rack.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

If you replace the middle of the lid with some wire mesh(1/2"x1/2"), it will allow more ventilation.

---

I can just get some of that at home depot right? I know there is a guide on here somewhere.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

They can also get allergies from being on dusty bedding, carefresh being one of them.

---

And I read somewhere that it was dust free. :( That makes me sad. Is it really dusty or is it still okay to use because it is really absorbant.

It's called 1/2 inch Hardware Cloth. I got my roll from Home Depot in the fencing aisle for under 6 bucks. You need a bag of good strong zip ties as well as something to clip the wire with and cut or melt out the middle area of the tub lid. Here's a pic of the label on the roll of hardware cloth that Home Depot carries. Don't let them tell you to buy chicken wire, it's way too light and rats will chew right through it (Home Depot guy tried to tell me it would be fine...not LOL).

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ClothLabel.jpg

Thank you

Okay i have another question. My friend still wants to give me a male rat. He just got weened. So from what I get it would be bad to take him and put him with ev-ey right? I'd have to buy a whole new set up?

I might not take one but i'm just wondering.