Best snake collection size to breed Rats?

as for bedding and food it depends on what you have. i have a 1.3 colony and i still have about 3/4 bale of pine that i bought almost two monts ago and i cleaned them weekly also as of right now a 25lb bag of mazuri lasts me 2 months. i paid $5 for the pine and $17 for the food.

I like the idea of raising my own rats and plan on putting together a nice breeding setup when I get the time in a month or so. I figure I can freeze some of them for emergency situations and sell/give away any extras that aren't being eaten. It also gives me the piece of mind of knowing where the feeders came from and what kind of live they have lived. Maybe I have been in fish keeping to long but I know I am very picky about what my Piranhas eat and where those feeders come from, breeding your own is a better option then guessing if they were properly taken care of and ate right. :gj::gj::gj:

I have heard that temperature and light can cause stress on rats which decreases their breeding potential. What temperature range is appropriate for a colony? 50-90°? 60-90°? I just built an 8-shelf breeding rack and the Edstrom automatic water system is to be delivered tomorrow. These guys are going to be in my patio storage closet! Lol.. I know, I know. Far from ideal, but I have to work with what space I have and I really don't want my place to smell like an ammonia factory..

I'll post pictures and a link to the design later today hopefully.. I think it should be quite an efficient system..

I once saw a calculation that someone on here came up with that suggested how many breeder females you need per snake to keep feeders availaible. I have searched but can't find it. Any help?

We keep an average of 3-4 female rats for every snake we have to feed. Including babys and hatchlings.

This way you have one female in every stage of feeder production for every snake.
1-breeding
1-nursing/birthing
1-resting
1-growing up to replace retired breeders.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FatBoy

I once saw a calculation that someone on here came up with that suggested how many breeder females you need per snake to keep feeders availaible. I have searched but can't find it. Any help?

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here you go,
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=52894

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jben

here you go,
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=52894

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Thanks man.

So if I read that correctly, he has a male with a female for one week and the job gets done?? and then he moves him to the next female...

that's correct.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mommanessy247

i plan on starting my mouse breeding project next month so i will have feeder mice ready to go when i get my snake in august. i will only have the 1 snake but the mice at my local pet store cost $7.99 ea. (thats $39.95 for mice for 1 month x 12 months-thats $479.40 for mice for a year! way too much in my opinion). breeding just seems the better, easier & more cost effective way to go.

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The rats your buying arn't meant to be feeders are they?

I've considered breeding my own feeders but I think it would cost to much and be to much work to breed mice for three snakes.