Rat breeding Q's

Here's the best pictorial link on sexing rats at different ages I've ever seen....

http://www.ratz.co.uk/sexingrats.html

As for albinoism in rats, rat genetics are extremely complicated LOL...they have hets and so on but they also have polygenes which are modifiers on colors and so on and so on....here's some links if you want to read up on that....

http://www.afrma.org/ratgenpart1.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/7.../genetics.html

I'm not sure if two males can impregnate a female, I suspect it's possible though I never allow two mature males around a female in season. They will fight to the point that one male can be killed and the female can get injured in the process.

The pups will start trying hard food prior to being weaned but they still need their mother's milk to grow. Usually they start nibbling around 20 days of age but aren't weaned until 4 or 5 weeks of age (though lots of people do wean earlier I find I get bigger, hardier weanlings if I leave them with mom a bit longer).

I hope you aren't just putting them into the freezer still alive. That's a horrible inhumane death. Kill them humanely first, either with CO2 or cervical dislocation.

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Originally Posted by Flagg

Kill them humanely first, either with CO2 or cervical dislocation.

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How is cervical dislocation prefromed? Is there a site or something I can read up on?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flagg

I hope you aren't just putting them into the freezer still alive. That's a horrible inhumane death. Kill them humanely first, either with CO2 or cervical dislocation.

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Well I was planning on just putting them in the freezer. :eek:

I don't think so. That would be messy at best, and yes cruel. I already said I would do it humanly. I'm going to get some dry ice and do a CO2 chamber. I'll have way too many rats to put down all at one time for cervical dislocation, besides I heard that could get messy if it's not done right.

Dry ice will work if you have a cheap source for small quantities of it. Here I can only get 10 lbs for 7.50. I went with paintball 20 oz CO2 tanks. Less mess and easy to control the CO2 output flow. Refills are only $1 but 1 refill lasts me for a LOT of uses. like 3=4 months worth.

Putting them in the freezer is far far far from humane.

C02 is the best way to go for large numbers IMO.

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Originally Posted by Flagg

Dry ice will work if you have a cheap source for small quantities of it. Here I can only get 10 lbs for 7.50. I went with paintball 20 oz CO2 tanks. Less mess and easy to control the CO2 output flow. Refills are only $1 but 1 refill lasts me for a LOT of uses. like 3=4 months worth.

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Well I have enough rats with this bunch to last a while. I only have one small BP right now. She growing fast, but at only 420g she doesn't need too much or too big of food. Right now I'm giving her 2 f/t mice once a week. She'd eat a third one in the middle of the week if I gave it to her too. I'm going to convert her over to rats once all my frozen mice are gone.

I'll have to find out more about the paintball method, however. I have them available here at the house.

Maybe you could put it on here, or PM me the way that works.

Basically just a refillable 20 oz CO2 tank , a remote coil which has the valve and tubing.
Connect the coil to the sealable chamber and also connect a length of rubber tubing to the chamber for an exhaust hose. Like in this picture

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...c/7701ebbe.jpg

Seems easy enough to make...Flagg did you have to seal the hole to the tupperware? If so what did you use, aquarium sealent?

I used a hot glue gun, though it looks like crap. Aquarium sealant would work much better.

Next time I would go for a larger chamber, and one that has a better fitting cover, perhaps a twist on cover. The one pictured is cheap and good for mice and ASF rats but a bit small for domestic rats.
And I have to hold the cover down when filling with CO2 or it pops off.