Rat Breeding

I need to start breeding my own feeder rats...would like some advice on getting started, specifically where to obtain my breeders. I've heard/read that most pet store stock is older and/or unreliable. My current snake load is 20 - 30...thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by hokies1jjc

I need to start breeding my own feeder rats...would like some advice on getting started, specifically where to obtain my breeders. I've heard/read that most pet store stock is older and/or unreliable. My current snake load is 20 - 30...thanks in advance.

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Check out the Breeding Rats Forumn in the Feeder section. My advice is to try to find a local breeder in your area as they should be able to help you get some good breeding stock.

Take note; it's worse than maintaining snakes; but welllllllllllll worth it!!!

Hey, thanks....didn't even realize those other forums were there.

I'm surprised you're just now starting after already having 20-30 snakes. There's no way I could afford that for very long. I wish I could, because rats/mice are freaking disgusting critters. It's amazing how much they can pee/poop all over everything in such a short amount of time. I really wish BPs ate goldfish or something :P

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Originally Posted by spitzu

It's amazing how much they can pee/poop all over everything in such a short amount of time.

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Isn't that the truth. My supplier is 15 minutes away. The amount of crap they leave in my tub is nasty.

I don't see anything wrong with getting your initial breeding stock at a pet store. If you buy the "small" size of rats, they will probably be young ones, which will be ready breed after they grow up for a couple more weeks. Since starting my own rat breeding gig, I have read up on it more and learned that female rats who don't start breeding before they are eight months old will have their pelvic canal fused in a narrow position and may have trouble getting the babies out. It happened to one large female rat I bought at the pet store, and she died trying to give birth. Poor thing! So, it probably is best to start with younger ones. Once you have females that are ready, they sure can reproduce quickly. They go into heat every 4-5 days and almost always have litters of over a dozen. It really is well worth it to breed your own rats if you have a good-sized collection of snakes. Good luck!

They stink a lot.... but every two weeks you have small ones ... sacrifice of 8 days old baby rat to small BP... PRICELESS!!! :)

What I did to start my colony off is drive around one day to all pet stores in my area. I picked up about 10 young females (from the mom and pop shops, not the major chains) and two males. I did this so I knew they were at the very least distantly related. I then grew them up held back all the females and a few males and went on from there. Once the colony is established I wouldn't introduce any new rats to the colony unless from a trusted source. Too many chances of disease.
Or you could go to a local person that breeds his/her own feeders and see if you can buy a bunch of live smalls...make sure they are live, the f/t ones don't breed so well.

I say you'll need to build a rack or two.

Getting your first stock from a pet store is fine if you take your time with it, but pet store genes are hit or miss. I got two girls, one with excellent mommy skills and genes, and another with NO mommy skills at all and horrible genes. You'll also want to find tame rats, as skittish ones bite and will try escaping.

Also, get your sexes at opposite stores so you likely aren't breeding siblings.

Finding a breeder is worth a try, but many can't seem to respect that rats are both good pets and good snake food, and many also won't sell to you if you plan to breed.

Another good idea is to get rats that don't have the same coat and color if you can. Or at least make the individuals in groups look different (so if you have a 1.3 group, try to do something like get a berkshire buck, an agouti female, a black and white hooded female, and a siamese female).

Also, for building your racks, you CAN use sterilite tubs; I've been using 90 sterilites for rats and ASFs and had chewing on the pieces of plastic on the lids, but no escapes.

Just for the sake of keeping track of things, keep a breeding document of your progress and the progress of litters up until you either cull them or they die. May come in handy.



Anything else?

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Originally Posted by CeeJay

Isn't that the truth. My supplier is 15 minutes away. The amount of crap they leave in my tub is nasty.

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Shipping is stressful, so they're not gonna just lay down and sleep.

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Originally Posted by banished

They stink a lot.... but every two weeks you have small ones ... sacrifice of 8 days old baby rat to small BP... PRICELESS!!! :)

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Every 2 weeks? lol your answer is priceless :rofl:

If you want better rats than you find at most pet stores then craigslist is the place.
I sell my pet quality rats on CL and have set many a person up with groups to start out with.
Find one person with females and get a male elsewhere and your off and breeding, that is if you've got your racks put together first ;)

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Every 2 weeks? lol your answer is priceless :rofl:

If you want better rats than you find at most pet stores then craigslist is the place.
I sell my pet quality rats on CL and have set many a person up with groups to start out with.
Find one person with females and get a male elsewhere and your off and breeding, that is if you've got your racks put together first ;)

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I wonder if those females that are gravid for 2 weeks only nurse for 2 weeks too.

That would be awesome. Just think how many more babies you could get cutting normal gestation and nursing time.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

I wonder if those females that are gravid for 2 weeks only nurse for 2 weeks too.

That would be awesome. Just think how many more babies you could get cutting normal gestation and nursing time.

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My thoughts exactly, man I could pump out the babies if they had them every 2 weeks

Honestly, most breeders don't mind selling to people who want to breed their own. At least everyone I know, including myself don't mind..
Most people who need a relatively large amount of rats breed their own. People with a smaller collection usually start their own colony, but find it very expensive to start and maintain over a few months, compared to the actual amount of rodents they need. In my case, they buy everything from me from rodent blocks to lab cages. I like to see people do well with their rodents.
The cost of breeding on a small scale usually doesn't pan out.
If you can find a breeder close to you, you can usually pick up rats dirt cheap. And maybe even hurt Petco/Petsmart a bit..:D
Support local breeders and mom and pop pet shops, the quality is usually better anyway!

Agreed, I just found a local breeder who hooked me up with a nice started colony and they are always willing to lend advice. He was able to point me where I can get some lablock locally :)