Going to Start breeding

Ok so I have 5 snakes now and food is going to start costing me around 60 bucks to feed a month but I foresee myself buying more snakes seeing I'm going to start breeding next season. Now supplies I have come up with:

Drawer rack with ventilation about a 28 qt tub (2 high)
1.3 ratio of males to female rats in each tub
Aspen bedding
Rat food, but I have seen some dog foods work just as well
2 water bottles

I was just going to let them go at it for awhile do get the colony going and to get some babies up to size so I can freeze them at the size I want.

Going to the store to buy the rats and they are about 60-80 grams so small rats and I have heard that I should prob wait a month before breeding them, is this true. Also anything else I should know or get?

Also can I just leave a bowl of food in the tub?

MitsuMike, can you post a pic of that drawer rack?

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Originally Posted by MitsuMike

Also can I just leave a bowl of food in the tub?

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Sure you can if you like pissing away money. They will hoard it and waste it more than they eat it.

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Originally Posted by jben

MitsuMike, can you post a pic of that drawer rack?

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Yes sir, it's the top two. Dimension are the same as a 28 qt tub, well alittle wider by about 3 or so inches but length and height are the same.
Also I would obviously cover the handle hole.
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/c...ssL_AA400_.jpg

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Sure you can if you like pissing away money. They will hoard it and waste it more than they eat it.

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Oh damn, well then I will just make a wire square out of the stuff you guys use on the lids and just put the food in there. Thanks for the heads up.

A problem. Rats are going to chew out of that so fast. Unless you cover the entire front with wire mesh on the inside, the rats will chew out and escape in a matter of days.

You can just throw food in there if you want. Bowls won't work as they don't keep their food in it. They will take it out, bury it and end up pooping and urinating on it. All of my mouse enclosures do not use food hoppers. I just put the food right on the bedding and I do notice quite a few blocks in the bedding when I clean, but it is not enough to make me build hoppers for the tubs.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

A problem. Rats are going to chew out of that so fast. Unless you cover the entire front with wire mesh on the inside, the rats will chew out and escape in a matter of days.

You can just throw food in there if you want. Bowls won't work as they don't keep their food in it. They will take it out, bury it and end up pooping and urinating on it. All of my mouse enclosures do not use food hoppers. I just put the food right on the bedding and I do notice quite a few blocks in the bedding when I clean, but it is not enough to make me build hoppers for the tubs.

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Good point. I will def invest in some of the wire mesh and just cover it on the inside. It should be a prob. Easy fix.
Any thing else I need to fix on it. I thought it was a pretty sweet little set up that I had lying around. I was just going to throw it away
And just put a certain amount of food in each day?

I would also do something to make sure they can't open those drawers. Looking at it without a size comparison, it is hard to get an idea of how big the drawers really are. Housing 4 rats in each drawer constantly seems a bit too much. If you will be housing the male in with the females 24/7 then I personally would not put more than 2 females and 1 male in there. When you get litters and the babies start moving/hopping around, that space quickly fills up.

As for food, I read somewhere that rats eat 15g of food a day, each. I do not measure my food out. I just scoop some out of the bag and put it in the tub/tank. When I notice it is getting low, I add more.

i wouldn't trust that drawer even with wire mesh. Don't under estimate rats. They'll be able to push out the front at the top. I've seen those, they aren't sturdy.

I'd say just use it for storage and get something else for the rats.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I would also do something to make sure they can't open those drawers. Looking at it without a size comparison, it is hard to get an idea of how big the drawers really are. Housing 4 rats in each drawer constantly seems a bit too much. If you will be housing the male in with the females 24/7 then I personally would not put more than 2 females and 1 male in there. When you get litters and the babies start moving/hopping around, that space quickly fills up.

As for food, I read somewhere that rats eat 15g of food a day, each. I do not measure my food out. I just scoop some out of the bag and put it in the tub/tank. When I notice it is getting low, I add more.

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They are 28 qt tubs and I was goin to down grade to just a 1.2 ratio.

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

i wouldn't trust that drawer even with wire mesh. Don't under estimate rats. They'll be able to push out the front at the top. I've seen those, they aren't sturdy.

I'd say just use it for storage and get something else for the rats.

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I was going to put bungie cords around it of rig a pipe to hold it in place when I don't want it to move. I've had these for years. They aren't bad. Are rats really that bad, I've kept gerbils and I have a friend with a rat and they don't seem half as bad a gerbils.

terrible venting...

big mess in the making...

build a real rack.

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Originally Posted by suzuki4life

terrible venting...

big mess in the making...

build a real rack.

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Explain? Venting is the same on both sides and has more ventilation than the systems I have seen.
If it's going to be a big mess I would like to know why atleast.

I'm not trying to shoot down or ignore not using this rack but I have no tools or anything and only have the tools available at short intervals, not for projects, now that I'm back at school and not living with my parents who have all the tools.
Hint's why I am trying to find an alternative solution to my problem.

If this really legitly won't work plz tell me b/c I really don't want rats running around my place.
So far I have:
Use this rack only 2 high (2 tubs) wire mesh over the vent holes. Bungie cord around each tub (tight) so not even a boa could get out of it.
From my perspective it looks to be a escape proof, small free rack that houses a small population of rats (6).
Chime in with comments or concerns plz

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Originally Posted by MitsuMike

Explain? Venting is the same on both sides and has more ventilation than the systems I have seen.
If it's going to be a big mess I would like to know why atleast.

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if you make an inner basket of wire mesh it will stop them from chewing out the sides.....

but it won't stop them from pushing their bedding out

My rats push their bedding over the top of their tubs somehow....


So once they start pushing their urine soaked bedding out the sides, it will restrict air flow...

You would need a litter dam of some sort....but then you would restrict your air flow...

a catch 22.

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Originally Posted by suzuki4life

if you make an inner basket of wire mesh it will stop them from chewing out the sides.....

but it won't stop them from pushing their bedding out

My rats push their bedding over the top of their tubs somehow....


So once they start pushing their urine soaked bedding out the sides, it will restrict air flow...

You would need a litter dam of some sort....but then you would restrict your air flow...

a catch 22.

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I'm not worried about the bedding thing. They will be in a place idc about so it's all good. Also I''ll be checking them everyday so I can fix it if they do push it up.
Thanks for explaining.

Any edge that the rats can get their teeth around, they are likely to chew. Although fixing the front of the drawer is a relatively easy fix with some hardware cloth, what about the other sides?

When the unit is closed, what do the sides and back look like inside that outer shell? I've seen similar units that the rodents wouldn't even have to chew out of, they could just jump out of the drawer. Something that is designed to hold clothes or similar items is not likely to have all the drawers sealed enough to keep rodents in.

Although it is possible this will work, I'm afraid it is very likely that it won't, and then you'll have a disaster with loose rats everywhere. Even if it appears to work for a while, you might eventually get a rat that is more prone to chewing, or a day when they are hungry because you didn't put in quite enough food, or it might gradually warp & sag over time. I'm sure you'd be happier in the long run if you built a proper rack. If the lack of tools really makes that impossible, you could make tubs like the ones in this thread:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56321

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Originally Posted by kc261

Any edge that the rats can get their teeth around, they are likely to chew. Although fixing the front of the drawer is a relatively easy fix with some hardware cloth, what about the other sides?

When the unit is closed, what do the sides and back look like inside that outer shell? I've seen similar units that the rodents wouldn't even have to chew out of, they could just jump out of the drawer. Something that is designed to hold clothes or similar items is not likely to have all the drawers sealed enough to keep rodents in.

Although it is possible this will work, I'm afraid it is very likely that it won't, and then you'll have a disaster with loose rats everywhere. Even if it appears to work for a while, you might eventually get a rat that is more prone to chewing, or a day when they are hungry because you didn't put in quite enough food, or it might gradually warp & sag over time. I'm sure you'd be happier in the long run if you built a proper rack. If the lack of tools really makes that impossible, you could make tubs like the ones in this thread:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56321

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THANKS ALOT! That is what I was thinking about last night but everyone else had the tops with the mesh on it never thought about the sides.
But I don't have the room for that big of a tub, haha. I will down grade to the 32 qt tubs (the ones at target are more tall than long) and just do the same thing and have a 1.2 rats. Sounds like less work to and don't have have worry about chewing and escaping.

Just read that the better plastic keeps from chew outs so I'm going to stick with the big tubs.

The only tools that you need to build a rack are as follows:

1 power drill w/ a counter sink bit and a phillips head bit
1 staple gun w/ staples
1 90 degree corner clip
1 pair tin snips

That is ALL you need to build a rack. Just get the wood cut at Home Depot when you buy it.

You will be WAAAAAY better off in the long run.

Rack would be better

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Originally Posted by tomfromtheshade

The only tools that you need to build a rack are as follows:

1 power drill w/ a counter sink bit and a phillips head bit
1 staple gun w/ staples
1 90 degree corner clip
1 pair tin snips

That is ALL you need to build a rack. Just get the wood cut at Home Depot when you buy it.

You will be WAAAAAY better off in the long run.

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I know how to build a rack but the problem is the wood cutting. All the HD's or Lowe's around here won't do "projects" and when they do try and cut the wood it's at an angle.
I might just go home for a bit and do some building but that won't be for awhile. But once I do a new snake, leo and rat rack will be in the making.

Thanks though. I'm just goin to do 1 tub for right now and see how it goes.

Now that I have my tub I am wondering about rat size.
I was thinking about getting the females at the medium to large size so around 80-100 grams
And then the male would be the same.

what's a 90 degree corner clip?

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Originally Posted by suzuki4life

what's a 90 degree corner clip?

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I think he's referring to a corner clamp? It holds the wood in place at a perfect right angle while you screw it together so that your finished result comes out square.

Here is a photo of some in use:
http://www.roberthcooke.com/theater/040.DSC00338.JPG