Questions about breeding rats

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Originally Posted by ratlover887806

also you wont want to put two breeding males in together cause they will fight to the death once a female comes into heat

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This is false. Sometimes two males will fight, but it's just to establish dominance. A trick that I use once in a while with females that are reluctant breeders is to place the female in with two males. The males typically get along after the initial fighting, and the female being in heat has nothing to do with their aggression toward one another.

I wont have 2 males in the breeding cage anyways, but feel free to discuss it here. I have no problems with that.

So when it comes to caging, do you think a 16,5 long, 10 wide and 6 inches high cage is big enough for 1.4 rats? It is the second largest breeding cage we got here in Sweden. In cm it is 42 long, 26 wide and 16 high. What do you think?

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Originally Posted by Blubb

I wont have 2 males in the breeding cage anyways, but feel free to discuss it here. I have no problems with that.

So when it comes to caging, do you think a 16,5 long, 10 wide and 6 inches high cage is big enough for 1.4 rats? It is the second largest breeding cage we got here in Sweden. In cm it is 42 long, 26 wide and 16 high. What do you think?

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I keep 1.3 in a tub that's almost twice that size and it gets crowded when there's weanlings in there. Are you removing the females when they get pregnant or do you plan on keeping all of them plus the babies in that cage?

I do 1.3 in smaller tubs and 1.6 in Large tubs. I never take anyone out to nurse. Keeping more than one female helps lighten the load and give the mom rest, and time to still play, rather be strapped to a tub a lone to nurse.

2 males togehter can and will fight if they have a female in with them in heat. Otherwise if no female is with them they wont fight, since males make the better pets.

Once a week I wean them at 3-4 weeks old. Since i wean at 3 weeks old, i put a bowl in the tub for a step so they can reach the water.

My plan is to keep the females in the same cage. The description on the cage says it is a cage for about 6 rats. Hm, how else could I do?

Maybe you have smaller rats there. :rolleyes:

Some people keep the adults together for breeding. They remove a visibly pregnant female and put her in a smaller tub alone to have her babies. When she is done weaning the babies she is returned to the adult cage for breeding.

The cage size you described is enough for 1.2 to stay together all the time with babies. Depending on litter size it will get crowded quickly.

16.5"x10" has a smaller footprint than a 10g fish tank....only sliightly bigger than a 5.5g tank...

I'd be hard pressed to put even 1.1 in there, especially with babies....maybe good enough for a mom and babies.

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Originally Posted by jasbus

16.5"x10" has a smaller footprint than a 10g fish tank....only sliightly bigger than a 5.5g tank...

I'd be hard pressed to put even 1.1 in there, especially with babies....maybe good enough for a mom and babies.

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Okay, I see. Can I keep rats in a plastic tub or something? Or will they chew through it? I mean, I can make a couple of holes on the top for ventilation and put a brick on top of it to make it escape-proof. If this is possible, how many quarts is good for 1.4? Also the growing cage, which will contain more rats. 66 quarts? :rat:

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Originally Posted by Blubb

Okay, I see. Can I keep rats in a plastic tub or something? Or will they chew through it? I mean, I can make a couple of holes on the top for ventilation and put a brick on top of it to make it escape-proof. If this is possible, how many quarts is good for 1.4? Also the growing cage, which will contain more rats. 66 quarts? :rat:

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I have mine in plastic tubs. It works great. But they do need at least the top to be well ventilated or they'll develop respiratory infections. Just cut out a big square and cover it with wire mesh/hardware cloth. And if you want stackable tubs, just put the ventilation on the sides.
And lots of tubs come with handle latches now, so check them out at Target or Walmart. Those are super handy to prevent escapes.


Ive used a 71 qt rubbermaid. It's about a foot wide, a little over a foot long, and twice the height of a snake tub. I hold 5 males in there.

I occasionally put single nursing moms in 16 qt bins if the other females badger her too much.

And I use a 103 to hold 5-7 breeding females. The tub is pictured below. This is probably larger than necessary, but I like giving my rats space. Some are my pets too.
I know people who use around this size as grow up tubs. They can fit like 30-40 rats. But its a little cramped.


Old photo, but generally what I have. I now have a food hopper and take out the wheel when babies are present. I don't want a mama to make a nest under it. And as the wheel isn't fixed to the tub, I don't want squashed babies.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/IMAG0728.jpg


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Originally Posted by satomi325

I have mine in plastic tubs. It works great. But they do need at least the top to be well ventilated or they'll develop respiratory infections. Just cut out a big square and cover it with wire mesh/hardware cloth. And if you want stackable tubs, just put the ventilation on the sides.
And lots of tubs come with handle latches now, so check them out at Target or Walmart. Those are super handy to prevent escapes.


Ive used a 71 qt rubbermaid. It's about a foot wide, a little over a foot long, and twice the height of a snake tub. I hold 5 males in there.

I occasionally put single nursing moms in 16 qt bins if the other females badger her too much.

And I use a 103 to hold 5-7 breeding females. The tub is pictured below. This is probably larger than necessary, but I like giving my rats space. Some are my pets too.
I know people who use around this size as grow up tubs. They can fit like 30-40 rats. But its a little cramped.


Old photo, but generally what I have. I now have a food hopper and take out the wheel when babies are present. I don't want a mama to make a nest under it. And as the wheel isn't fixed to the tub, I don't want squashed babies.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/IMAG0728.jpg


Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

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Thank you for your answer ! Unfortunately we don't have Target or Walmart here in Sweden, but I know where I can buy what I need. Just 1 question though: how do you attach the wire to the top of the tub? Also, the water tap.