Thinking of starting a colony... I know a handful of things but not everything

I want to start up a small colony, partially to feed my snakes and partially because I think I'd enjoy having rats (although I imagine I'll be leaving my house smelling of rat every day). I've seen the chickenwire feeding boxes that some people keep the food in and I'll be able to figure out how to build that before getting the rats. I have a drill and can easily set up the water bottle. I should have no problems swapping out bedding regularly and keeping them fed on lab blocks. I know they like dark areas and since they'd be in my room with my snakes (my bedroom) and on account of the fact that 5 days of the week I'm out of the house for almost the whole day that won't be a problem. I know they need hides to stay feeling comfortable, and I realize that as creatures with an advanced limbic system they need social interaction. I know that I'd probably try and get them at the reptile show in November. Finally i know that I want to keep only a few (1 male and 2-5 females)

What I don't know is if they can be kept in the same room as the snakes, if you can keep them in a colony (like asfs that I've seen) when breeding or if they need to be separated.

The amount of information on this forum seems too much to sift through, and there don't seem to be any specific care sheets for rats on here, and the stickies don't act in this respect either (we have Should I, How to Save Space, and Colours... but not How To care for/keep them) .

Also a stoner once told me about this activated carbon air filtration system that she claims will get rid of any smells (obviously she was using it for drugs) but I was wondering if anyone here might know if activated carbon can pull the scent of rodent urine out of the air, I was going to make a miniature version of it this weekend but I couldn't find an affordable miniature version (the smallest pieces of ductwork are the size I would want for the full filter, so I cant make a mini version to test it's effect with urine ~_~).

Yes many ppl keep their rats in the same room with there snakes and have no problems. Even a few feet away from eachother.

Some people do it differently by pulling out the prego females. I have done both and have since just left my prego's in the tub with the male and two other females and have yet to have a problem with the babies getting killed or anything. I keep my colonies to 1.3 and seems to work ot just fine. I don't use hides or anything. Here is how I have my rats set up.
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/w...7211/001-5.jpg

I still use water bottles but am switching to the gravity water system. filling bottles everyday or every two days gets to be a pain in the butt.

I keep my rats in the basement and have a small window fan blowing out into the alley next to my house. The smell isn't ass bad as you might think if you saty after them. I mean you can smell them but it isn't a horrible smell and it doesn't travel anywhere but in the basement where they are kept.

I just started my clonies a few months ago so I am in no way an expert in rat breeding but if you have any other question I would be glad to try and help! Good luck!

Make sure u start small....I made the mistake of starting with 3.15 colony and my population exploded within a couple months. I pretty much give them away to my friends and keeep my snakes and tegus more then happy. The odor was not so bad untill all the babies actually got bigger, the smell of nitrates in the morning is rather unpleasing. I clean every sunday, new substrate n wash tubs. It def. worth it, because i dont know how i would have been able to feed my collection this past couple months w/out my colony but at the same time its a lot of work to keep them odors down and the room clean.

As for the substrate what do you guys use? I think the oils in pine are dangerous for snakes, but would the fumes from using pine be hazardous or would that be fine? I was thinking of keeping them on a combination of that super absorbent stuff mixed with pine shavings.

aspen bedding

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

As for the substrate what do you guys use? I think the oils in pine are dangerous for snakes, but would the fumes from using pine be hazardous or would that be fine? I was thinking of keeping them on a combination of that super absorbent stuff mixed with pine shavings.

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To reduce smell I use Pine Pellets (Equine Pine, Equine Fresh), very absorbent and goes a long way.

Once the female is ready to give birth I offer wood shaving in addition to the equine pine.

Pellet type substrate is the best substrate I have evern used and would never go back to anything else.

Oh and what about square footage for them? Assuming 1 male and 3-5 females? I was thinking of grabbing a 95 quart tub since they look like they have a decent depth and I would imagine would give them enough space for their litters up until they need to be pulled out.

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

Oh and what about square footage for them? Assuming 1 male and 3-5 females? I was thinking of grabbing a 95 quart tub since they look like they have a decent depth and I would imagine would give them enough space for their litters up until they need to be pulled out.

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You will need several tubs once for breeding, one for the female to birth and nurse her youngs, and one to wean your young.

I use jumbo cat litter pan and a rack so I can't answer on stand alone tubs.

Is it absolutely required to pull the females out with their litters? I was under the impression that they can be fine living together without having to pull any out.

Edit: Well I looked into it and it seems the male will breed with the females shortly after they give birth and that sounds like a bad idea. But can the females be kept together?

Depends on what you looking to do with your colony. Kepping the females in with the male the whole time yes, they can get pregnant that same day. If you need high production thats the way to go. But it is really hard on the females giving birth every three weeks and will put them out of commision faster. Some people remove prego's and give them time "off" before reintroducing them to the male again after they take the weaned babies from her. Females are ok to put together when they are prego they will nurse the young together and take turns nursing.

Ah, alright then, I'll get a nice little stable set up for my handsome buck and a larger enclosure set up for my females, that settles that.

In a mortar tub 1.5 is fine and if you get to many freeze them. I like to separate my females because I need sm. Rats more than pinks or crawlers.
Removing the female once she is preggo helps her because she can focus on producing more milk for that litter in which they grow faster as opposed to feeding her babies and also trying to grow some babies in her belly...
I also cap my limit on 3 preggos per tub as they will help each other out but not be over crowded.

But If I am needing smaller rats I wil not take out and just mass produce pinks. But I will not keep her with the pinks If I need some larger ones I will use surrogates. Males will not hurt the offspring nor will other females. If they do they are missing something in there diet.. Whether it be water or some sort of nutrients.. Hope this helps... Imma rodent Veteran HAHA

Also I forgot to mention that I use pine bedding for my rats. Most pine bedding is kiln dried so the oils that are harmfull are no longer present. So you can use pine just make sure that it is kiln dried. I get a bail of it for 6.85 and that lasts me about 1-2 months depending on how often I clean their tubs out.

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Originally Posted by BLong7211

Also I forgot to mention that I use pine bedding for my rats. Most pine bedding is kiln dried so the oils that are harmfull are no longer present. So you can use pine just make sure that it is kiln dried. I get a bail of it for 6.85 and that lasts me about 1-2 months depending on how often I clean their tubs out.

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Thanks for reminding me!


I use Pine PF flakes. They are large flakes of pine and give little to no dust. If that is not available I will use the largest shavings I can find. They give off less dust therefore better when your snakes eat em and better for the rodents them selves.

I use kiln dried pine and have for years without issue...I feed 6f.

I only separate babies once their eyes open and never remove a male. My 1.4 tubs average 40-60 pups per month or they are fed off. I keep records per tub not rat.(sorry too many racks, it would be a full time job)


cleaning....baking soda then pine....will last a week easily.

Equine fresh is okay, but no nesting material unless you provide it...its dusty and when it goes sour...it goes severely. The pellets become very wet sand dust looking material. I have 2 bags left I do use on occasion if I have any rats left over after pick up.

Rodents, I breed rats, gerbils, asf and apm currently.

So, just to clarify, two large tubs with all the amenities would handle a 1.3-4 colony?

Also is there any special diet/food you'd advise for the pregnant females?

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Originally Posted by Deborah

To reduce smell I use Pine Pellets (Equine Pine, Equine Fresh), very absorbent and goes a long way.

Once the female is ready to give birth I offer wood shaving in addition to the equine pine.

Pellet type substrate is the best substrate I have evern used and would never go back to anything else.

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Same here and I like it much better than wood shavings alone. It is dusty, but much easier to clean than wood shavings.

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Originally Posted by Chaossoldier11

So, just to clarify, two large tubs with all the amenities would handle a 1.3-4 colony?

Also is there any special diet/food you'd advise for the pregnant females?

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I feed all my rodents LabDiet's Rodent Diet 5001: http://www.labdiet.com/pdf/5001.pdf. I use the cement mixing tubs like the poster that posted pictures of their rodent rack. I normally keep 1.3 - 1.5 in them.

But if i just got two big tubs, no rack, and possibly one smaller tub for after the delivery, would that work? I'm not really worried about space. I just want to know if the number of tubs is ok.

Yeah that would work there is a nice DIY on a rat tub using sterilite tubs from walmart. Which I used at first. worked out pretty good.

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Originally Posted by BLong7211

Yeah that would work there is a nice DIY on a rat tub using sterilite tubs from walmart. Which I used at first. worked out pretty good.

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Yea those work but be careful some like to chew on any corners they can find....


Yes two tubs will handle that colony just fine