Got my rat group going!

Simple as that. Got some large fancies in a 1.2 group. Hopefully I'll have pinks in a month! I got nothing but bites from the mice.

The male and one of the females are both black hooded coats, and one female is black with a white underbelly and feet. The female hooded has a black spot under her belly, so I can tell them apart for the most part. :laugh:

They also didn't fight whatsoever. I found that odd. Both females accepted the males advances though! Now that they're comfortable, they're also running around and wrestling. They make some odd noises too. :rofl:

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8...cn1379r.th.jpghttp://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4374/dscn1378wr.th.jpghttp://img844.imageshack.us/img844/4...cn1363y.th.jpghttp://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4...cn1365h.th.jpg

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Originally Posted by Shenzi Sixaxis

Simple as that. Got some large fancies in a 1.2 group. Hopefully I'll have pinks in a month! I got nothing but bites from the mice.

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WooT, yay to babies :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shenzi Sixaxis

The male and one of the females are both black hooded coats, and one female is black with a white underbelly and feet. The female hooded has a black spot under her belly, so I can tell them apart for the most part. :laugh:

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Black with a white belly is "Berkshire" and having a black spot in the white belly is a dominate trait created from "the down under" gene.
I have several big girls that have the down under gene.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shenzi Sixaxis

They also didn't fight whatsoever. I found that odd. Both females accepted the males advances though! Now that they're comfortable, they're also running around and wrestling. They make some odd noises too. :rofl:

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Happy healthy non stressed females will usually accept males into their home without too much fighting, dropping the male in during their heat cycle is an excellent time to introduce a new male.

On this topic - I have two snakes that will be eating live prey - in the event that my snake doesn't eat on any given feeding night - I was thinking of setting up a small setup to keep the rat until the next feeding day.

Can anyone tell me exactly what supplies I will need to just house one or two rats from week to week.

Thank you.

ten gallon tank with lid, hanging water bottle, aspen or kiln dried pine, rodent blocks if you can, scrap table food works short term too.

Oh that doesn't sound too bad. I don't need any heat lamps or anything for them??

If I clean the cage every other day - do you think I can control any bad smells - I will have to put these in my unfinished basement and don't want my house to smell.

Thanks for your help.

1 or 2 rats won't smell even in the house if you change the bedding every 3-4 days.
They should be kept above 55 degrees if possible or give lots of bedding to hide under.
No external heat source needed unless your putting them in a cold dark basement.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shenzi Sixaxis

Simple as that. Got some large fancies in a 1.2 group. Hopefully I'll have pinks in a month! I got nothing but bites from the mice.

The male and one of the females are both black hooded coats, and one female is black with a white underbelly and feet. The female hooded has a black spot under her belly, so I can tell them apart for the most part. :laugh:

They also didn't fight whatsoever. I found that odd. Both females accepted the males advances though! Now that they're comfortable, they're also running around and wrestling. They make some odd noises too. :rofl:

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8...cn1379r.th.jpghttp://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4374/dscn1378wr.th.jpghttp://img844.imageshack.us/img844/4...cn1363y.th.jpghttp://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4...cn1365h.th.jpg

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Good looking group. Hope they give you lots of feeders!

Looks like you're well on your way to having pinks before you know it!! Congrats! :)

Berkshire... nice name. :D

Thanks all. Got some more pictures too. :rolleyes:

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/4...cn1402d.th.jpg
Just... :rofl:

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/6...cn1399d.th.jpghttp://img814.imageshack.us/img814/9426/dscn1398.th.jpghttp://img28.imageshack.us/img28/4635/dscn1397t.th.jpg
Someone smelt my rice. He also dropped the big piece half a second after that picture. XD

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/1...cn1389e.th.jpg
Thought this looked nice.

if you thought that first pic was funny, wait til you see a big about to pop in 1-2 day preggo girl laying flat on her back, looking like an overstuffed hairy water balloon lol

I can imagine! :rofl:

Of course, got any pics of prego rats? I've seen mice, but not rats. xD