Apple's Guide for First Time Breeders!

A few things I noticed:

Clutches can be larger than 12.

Why remove the eggs from a nesting area if you are maternally incubating? This can lead to females not rewrapping around the eggs if they are disturbed too much.

You made no mention of Themostats to control temperatures. This is critical for the wellbeing of the animals.


I applaud your effort to condense the information one would need into one big post, but there is a LOT more to it than that.

It's always the little things.

:)

Great, this thread is turning out exactly how I wanted it. People are making suggestions to make it better. I'll add them in and soon this will be one of the best guides on the web!

Be sure to suggest any additions/modifications here!

OK mods, next string of edits is here :P

Changes:

- A 'Breeding Tub'. Some people use the male or female's cage for this. Others buy a separate enclosure for breeding. Again, this is up to you. Make sure it is heated as they will be in there for a while.

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- A 'Breeding Tub'. Most people use the female's enclosure for this. Others buy a separate enclosure for breeding. Again, this is up to you. Buying a separate enclosure is not advised as it may turn the female off to breeding. This term is used because some breeders do use separate tubs, so to avoid confusion.


You will put him back in every 2-4 days until you see signs of an ovulation.

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You will put him back in every 2-4 weeks until you see signs of an ovulation.


4. Candle the eggs!

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4. (Advised for artificial incubation only) Candle the eggs!


8. Feeding

Some females eat during breeding, and others don't. I usually offer food to my females while breeding. If they don't accept it, they probably won't eat during the season. Try one more time and then stop offering food. If you are doing maternal incubation, I recommend not offering food when she is with her eggs.

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8. Feeding

Some females eat during breeding, and others don't. I usually offer food to my females while breeding. If they don't accept it, they don't accept it. Try again on the next feeding day. If they seem intent on not eating the rat after a few days, you can offer every other feeding day. If they still don't take it, you can stop feeding all together until the eggs are laid. After laying you can repeat the cycle to see if she takes food after laying.


5. Put the eggs either into your incubator or back where they were in the tank. The incubator should be set at 88-90 degrees with humidity at about 93%. After moving/replacing the eggs, place the female back into her enclosure and close the lid.

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5. Put the eggs into your incubator if you are using artificial incubation. Before replacing the female be sure to wash her and her enclosure thoroughly so that no sign of eggs will remain. This will get her out of breeding mode. Do not wash if you are using maternal incubation. After removing the slugs, just replace the female.




@LadyOhh:

I assumed people would set their incubators to the temperatures stated in the article. This could be done with a thermostat or with the incubator's controls. I can't possibly go over every option, so I provided the temps and left it to the users how to reach them.

Thanks for the help, and keep suggesting revisions!

Also, thanks for editing this guys :P

PS: You might want to remove the "Edit note" posts. They serve no purpose after the edit is made and clog up the page.

Bump! Can a mod fix the guide with the above edits?

When I breed I introduce the males for 3 Days then off for 3 days, If he locks her frist day all day I separate them once they unlock. Thus giving the male break and female as well to develop.

If you dont cool your females you need the male in there to stimulate follicle growth otherwise she wont know when to start.

OK, I'll add something about cooling in the next edit. Also, could someone please do the previous edit if it hasn't been done yet?

You mention that you would advise against feeding a brooding female if maternally incubating. That's a long stretch of time to force her to go without. My females do eat while on eggs. Offer smaller than usual meals and don't disturb the female excessively and there should be no problem continuing to feed her regularly while she's on her clutch.