Questions about breeding rats

So, I have thought about breeding my own rats to feed my ball pythons, but I don't really know how I should start the whole process. I have a couple of questions too. Hope I will get some help (:

1) how many cages should I start out with?
2) will 1.4 be good in the breeding cages?
3) do males fight with each other even if the cage is free from females?
4) after how many litters should I stop breeding a female?
5) do females accept other litters than their own in the same cage?
6) about how long does it take for a rat to grow about 100grams?

Help please, I am just a beginner ^^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

So, I have thought about breeding my own rats to feed my ball pythons, but I don't really know how I should start the whole process. I have a couple of questions too. Hope I will get some help (:

1) how many cages should I start out with?
2) will 1.4 be good in the breeding cages?
3) do males fight with each other even if the cage is free from females?
4) after how many litters should I stop breeding a female?
5) do females accept other litters than their own in the same cage?
6) about how long does it take for a rat to grow about 100grams?

Help please, I am just a beginner ^^

---

1. The amount of tubs just depends on your amount of breeders. At the least I would have a breeder female rat for every snake I have so say I have 16 snakes I would need 16 breeder females which would mean 4 breeder tubs with 1.4.

2. 1.4 seems like the best ratio for me and others usually do the same

3. I've never had males fight though I usually only have grow-out males together, not full grown breeder males. They may compete if you have 2.4 or something.

4. I don't keep track on females and how many times they breed but I retire them after their litter size begins decreasing enough so I get the most utility out of them.

5. It's probably best to have a separate rack with maternity tubs where you'll keep a mom and her litter. I pull the moms when they look pregnant. If they give birth in the breeding tub they're very likely to get trampled and die. Also the mom will have a hard time caring for them in that situation.

6. I don't weigh my feeders, I just go by size so I can't help there.

Hope this helps.

that answers all your questions. i breed rats and do 95% of what he does

Yes, it did help a lot, thank you. I have another question actually :P how long time should a female be with the babies until they can take care of themselves? And also, how long time do females rest after a litter?

Thanks (:

Rat kittens will wean themselves typically after a week and a half or so. You'll see them start to try hard food and try figuring out the water, and that's a good time to put them into your grow-outs or euthanize.

I leave my moms together in the tub. More than one mom will nurse litters, making it easier on the mom who gave birth. I wean my babies off once they can run around with eyes wide open.

I know there's lots of ways to raise rats and I'm still learning more and more, mostly from folks right here on BP.net. Stick around and ask tons of questions, because everyone here seems really knowledgable AND more importantly, they're willing to share their information with others.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

Rat kittens will wean themselves typically after a week and a half or so. You'll see them start to try hard food and try figuring out the water, and that's a good time to put them into your grow-outs or euthanize.

---

1 1/2 weeks is way too young to wean rats. The EARLIEST they should be weaned is 3 weeks, but if you're keeping any of them as breeders I would leave them with the mom until they are 4 or 5 weeks old.

I keep 1.3 in the small mixing tubs. I do not remove the females. It's a trade off. I would get more babies using a maternity rack but I would also get a lot more work.

I found that some groups do very well together, meaning the females are pregnant every time they can be and that 95% of the babies survive. Other groups will not produce as much and will also lose a lot of what they do produce. Those groups get replaced.

You must keep surplus females and you must be willing to replace groups that are not doing well. That's a tough thing to do when you first start. I had two groups that produced well but would lose all of the babies. They were my pinkie production groups.

Rolled oats has helped my production as a supplement to lab block. Not sure why but I read about it here so I tried it. And rats love a routine. They get used to things a certain way and changing it throws them off.

Sorry for the random thoughts. Good luck.

A week and a half to wean, gotta love that!
Man the money I'd be making ;)

they shouldnt be weaned fully until 4-5 weeks 3 at the least also you wont want to put two breeding males in together cause they will fight to the death once a female comes into heat the lemale rat carries for 20-22 days normaly and should have a little time to regain weight after each litter or it will take too much outta her bones and body and she will be more suseptible to diseases and those diseases can pass on to her babies which then you feed to your snakes then they pass on to your snakes which can be very disastrous for the snake rat and all involved and if you sell a sick rat to someone and it hurts there reptile you can be held responsible if you intend on selling some of them to help incure your cost of feeding and breeding them they are easy to breed and very easy to overbreed which can cause problems not in the overpopulation fact but the health fact anything else just ask cause i breed rats and have breed them for about 5-6 years now and i dont own snakes but i sell them for pets and feeders:)

So about 4 weeks of weaning and then I give the mom some weeks off breeding. How many exactly you think? Can I put all my males in the same box, those who not are breeding? Thanks for all answers so far it has been really helpful (:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ratlover887806

...and she will be more suseptible to diseases and those diseases can pass on to her babies which then you feed to your snakes then they pass on to your snakes which can be very disastrous for the snake rat and all involved and if you sell a sick rat to someone and it hurts there reptile you can be held responsible if you intend on selling some of them to help incure your cost of feeding and breeding them they are easy to breed and very easy to overbreed which can cause problems not in the overpopulation fact but the health fact anything else just ask cause i breed rats and have breed them for about 5-6 years now and i dont own snakes but i sell them for pets and feeders:)

---

Can you provide a source for this?

I'd also like to know what issues are going to be transmitted from rat to snake as a result of over-breeding.

As far as I am aware, over-breeding a female leads to a shorter "producing life" and can run her down physically, possibly making her more likely to get a RI perhaps... but not giving her anything that can be transmitted to a snake.

If you're planning on replacing the females often, over-breeding isn't going to affect your colony much, correct?

Although I have only been breeding rats for about a year, I have several males to 4-5 females per tub. Never once have I found a dead male when my females go in heat.

My females breed regularly without any issues.

Hm, can I put all cages in a room without any windows? I mean, do they need daylight, or will a light bulb ~12 hours/day be good? I am thinking to place the cages in a room where I store my stuff. What do you think?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

Hm, can I put all cages in a room without any windows? I mean, do they need daylight, or will a light bulb ~12 hours/day be good? I am thinking to place the cages in a room where I store my stuff. What do you think?

---

The lights will work fine but they will need fresh air. Depending on how many are in there and how often you clean, so will you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

So, I have thought about breeding my own rats to feed my ball pythons, but I don't really know how I should start the whole process. I have a couple of questions too. Hope I will get some help (:

1) how many cages should I start out with?
2) will 1.4 be good in the breeding cages?
3) do males fight with each other even if the cage is free from females?
4) after how many litters should I stop breeding a female?
5) do females accept other litters than their own in the same cage?
6) about how long does it take for a rat to grow about 100grams?

Help please, I am just a beginner ^^

---

1) This depends on so many factors. If I was going to run 1 group of 1.4 and keep the females together till the pups are weaned and then feed off or euthanize the weanlings before they are sexually mature I would have at least 3 tubs. One for the breading. One for the male after conception and One extra. Having an extra makes cleaning much easier. When its time to wean you can move the male back to the females tub and move the weanlings to the old male tub to grow out. If you need to raise your feeders up more you may want an extra tub to have a separate male and female grow out tub. If you are going to have two or more colonies I would have at least 2 more tubs than you plan for. These are great in case you need to separate a female or some other unforeseen thing comes up.

Actually, the less lights rats are exposed to, the better. I read a study a while ago about rats being exposed to too much household lights can be damaging.

As far as males fighting, I've never had an issue with that. I only breed my female rats once every few months, so my males all live communally in a large cage. I even have a male that the females will always beat up if he's alone, so I put his brother in with him when it comes time for him to breed. If raised together, males will develop bonds too.

Wow, the things people post....


I replace, move, add an additional male to my colonies all the time. The key is, socialize...

The best way to produce rats is harem breeding of 1 male and 1 to up to 10(some people do more) females. In larger number harems, having two males will cause sparring that makes the males want to breed even more. Of course, you do run the risk of the males hurting themselves, but it works....
Myself, I run 1.3 rats per tub, don't seperate the harem, only the pups. I regularly move babies around to make the litters more manageable for a tub that has too many, etc... I also very regularly pull my jumbo males to sell or feed off(they get lazy), and replace with a younger buck, with pups in the tub... More often than not, it's the female that will lay a hurtin on a new male than the male killing off pups.. And, really I don't run into many problems at all. Every once in a blue moon, I'll find a beaten up dead rat, but it's not very common.

As for sickly rats, they get fed off, yes, fed to my snakes. They will not transmit any disease to your reptiles... Reptiles in the wild will eat carrion, I think my pythons can handle megacolon or a possible myco infected rat...(suiting up, flames are a coming...)

I've been doing these procedures for, I don't know, 25 years....maybe more, somewhere back in the late 80's.

I don't see how megacolon would hurt a snake. I mean, it's devestating to the rat's system, but it's not as if somehow the snake suddenly changes it's innards to get megacolon too. It's not contagious, anymore than a rat with a missing tail would somehow make the snake's tail fall off.

I've had two cases of males killing babies. One was absolutely blatantly a male who killed any babies, his or otherwise. One was a case of new moms with a established older male who MAYBE caused baby killing, but it happened in two seperate bins. He's great for breeding young females, just seems the babies get killed if he's not removed. Removing him means no dead babies. I use him on many of my first time breeding girls though. Afterwards, they get a different "permanent" male, and I haven't had issues doing this.

To each their own... no "one right way" and all that. I try to listen to the rat breeders who've been doing it forever.

I'd love to see the report about too much household light. It sounds fascinating. I wonder if it would apply to rats in racks, since a rack gets much less light even in a lit room... or if a rat has hiding spots in a 'open' tank, would it still apply?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ratlover887806

they shouldnt be weaned fully until 4-5 weeks 3 at the least also you wont want to put two breeding males in together cause they will fight to the death once a female comes into heat the lemale rat carries for 20-22 days normaly and should have a little time to regain weight after each litter or it will take too much outta her bones and body and she will be more suseptible to diseases and those diseases can pass on to her babies which then you feed to your snakes then they pass on to your snakes which can be very disastrous for the snake rat and all involved and if you sell a sick rat to someone and it hurts there reptile you can be held responsible if you intend on selling some of them to help incure your cost of feeding and breeding them they are easy to breed and very easy to overbreed which can cause problems not in the overpopulation fact but the health fact anything else just ask cause i breed rats and have breed them for about 5-6 years now and i dont own snakes but i sell them for pets and feeders:)

---

What are some of these diseases that you speak of? If a snakes stomach acids are strong enough to break down everything like bones and fur, then I dont know how many diseases there could be in a captive bred rat that would hurt them. They also have been known to eat carrion in the wild, as someone else said. Im not trying to pick a fight with you btw, just wondering?

Well, I can't speak for caging rats and lighting, but I have two rat barns, one with the lights on all the time, the other, just during daylight hours. I don't see a difference in any aspect of anything...

If I remember correctly the study I am thinking of focuses on LAN (Light at Night). It was done as a human study, but rats were used to conduct the results. It did show accelerated tumor growth as well as Retinal degeneration. I also read a separate study that focuses on Prohibited Normal Melatonin Secretion when rats were exposed to electrical lights and devices.

I seriously doubt lights have a significant impact on the lifespan of a rat used for breeding feeders, or any rat for that matter. I was simply pointing out that rats are fine not being exposed to excessive lighting. As they are a primarily nocturnal species, even daylight can damage their retina.

Not to say you should keep your rats in absolute darkness. I just don't use extremely bright lights in the room I keep my rats and also keep them on a light cycle. But then again, my rats are pets. :)

Thanks a lot Michelle, that's pretty interesting indeed ! I was just asking because I have a problem where I should place the cages, so I was thinking that my storage would fit pretty good. Basically, it's a room with a door, and it is completely dark all the time. I have no problems putting up some light a couple of hours each day. I try to avoid the smell as much as possible in my room, so I rather place the cages anywhere else.

Oh, and I have another question already ! You guys who have the rodents and snakes in the same room, doesn't your snakes think it is feeding time all the time because it smells rat everywhere? Like, your snakes think your hand is the rat because it smells rat everywhere.

I love how all people have their own way of breeding rodents, it makes it more interesting to chose between loads of ideas and techniques. (:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

Thanks a lot Michelle, that's pretty interesting indeed ! I was just asking because I have a problem where I should place the cages, so I was thinking that my storage would fit pretty good. Basically, it's a room with a door, and it is completely dark all the time. I have no problems putting up some light a couple of hours each day. I try to avoid the smell as much as possible in my room, so I rather place the cages anywhere else.

Oh, and I have another question already ! You guys who have the rodents and snakes in the same room, doesn't your snakes think it is feeding time all the time because it smells rat everywhere? Like, your snakes think your hand is the rat because it smells rat everywhere.

I love how all people have their own way of breeding rodents, it makes it more interesting to chose between loads of ideas and techniques. (:

---

I would definitely provide a light source through part of the day. I have a timer that corresponds with our sunrise/sunset. But a 12/12 light cycle would be perfect.

I actually do keep my rats housed in the same room as my snakes. Which I have over 100 rats counting babies (probably 40 adults) and right around the same number of snakes. I have not noticed increased aggression from the snakes, but maybe a slightly stronger feeding response. I just use hand sanitizer between handling snakes, rats, lizards, etc. Even between animals of the same species.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

So, I have thought about breeding my own rats to feed my ball pythons, but I don't really know how I should start the whole process. I have a couple of questions too. Hope I will get some help (:

1) how many cages should I start out with?
2) will 1.4 be good in the breeding cages?
3) do males fight with each other even if the cage is free from females?
4) after how many litters should I stop breeding a female?
5) do females accept other litters than their own in the same cage?
6) about how long does it take for a rat to grow about 100grams?

Help please, I am just a beginner ^^

---

1)Depends how many snakes you have and how often you feed.
2) yes. that's fine.
3) In my experience, no. I've kept tubs of breeding males together. They're all fine. They sleep, eat, play, and cuddle together. I don't do this anymore, but I've even kept 2 breeding males together in a tub of breeding females once. They did not fight at all. They grew up and were socialized together. The more dominant of them has bred to the females more often, but I have seen the second male breed with the dominant present. He didn't care.. They're sort of like lion coalitions. They're allies from other stranger males and will share females.
4) until you see production decrease. Around a year of breeding.
5) yes. I've had females w/o litters play babysitter for current mamas. Some may need human intervention to adopt. Like if you have a female with too many pups to care for, you can place some of her pups in w/ a another nursing mama. It's best to place babies w/ similar aged babies. Just remove the mother, place the new baby under the litter. Or try and get the baby to smell like the mama, by getting her to pee on the new baby.
6) I'm not sure. 2-3 months maybe??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

Rat kittens will wean themselves typically after a week and a half or so..

---

Uh..aren't their eyes still closed at this time?? Yeah?
It takes 3 weeks minimum for a pup to wean. I would wait until you see them eating and drinking on their own before removing them from the mother.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ratlover887806

they shouldnt be weaned fully until 4-5 weeks 3 at the least also you wont want to put two breeding males in together cause they will fight to the death once a female comes into heat the lemale rat carries for 20-22 days normaly and should have a little time to regain weight after each litter or it will take too much outta her bones and body and she will be more suseptible to diseases and those diseases can pass on to her babies which then you feed to your snakes then they pass on to your snakes which can be very disastrous for the snake rat and all involved and if you sell a sick rat to someone and it hurts there reptile you can be held responsible if you intend on selling some of them to help incure your cost of feeding and breeding them they are easy to breed and very easy to overbreed which can cause problems not in the overpopulation fact but the health fact anything else just ask cause i breed rats and have breed them for about 5-6 years now and i dont own snakes but i sell them for pets and feeders:)

---

Uh.... ?!:confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Michelle.C

Actually, the less lights rats are exposed to, the better. I read a study a while ago about rats being exposed to too much household lights can be damaging.

As far as males fighting, I've never had an issue with that. I only breed my female rats once every few months, so my males all live communally in a large cage. I even have a male that the females will always beat up if he's alone, so I put his brother in with him when it comes time for him to breed. If raised together, males will develop bonds too.

---

Exactly what Michelle said. Males will bond together if they are raised and socialized together.

Also, I've heard of something similar regarding photo period exposure.
I'm not sure about rats, but I've read many publications about ferrets and how it could relate to adrenal disease. Since pets no longer live under a natural daylight schedule. Adrenal disease in ferrets are tumors and may be caused by the unnatural over exposure of lights due to living in a human household. So it's about hormones.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

Oh, and I have another question already ! You guys who have the rodents and snakes in the same room, doesn't your snakes think it is feeding time all the time because it smells rat everywhere? Like, your snakes think your hand is the rat because it smells rat everywhere.

I love how all people have their own way of breeding rodents, it makes it more interesting to chose between loads of ideas and techniques. (:

---

I have rodents and snakes in the same room. My snakes don't react at all to the rodents in the room. Maybe for the first few days, but after that they went back to their normal behavior. Mine only get excited if the rodent is physically in their tubs.

It seems like it is okay to have several females with litters in the same cage (although someone mentioned the opposite in page 1) so I will go with that. My goal is to produce at least 1 litter each week, so I guess I will need about 12 females and ~4 males to start with? How do you guys keep track of which female you should breed and which female that shouldn't? Let's say I have 1 cage where the breeding takes place, 3 cages with females (4 females in each one) and 1 cage of males (about 4 males). I'm afraid that I will put a female who should rest into the breeding cage. Any suggestions?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

It seems like it is okay to have several females with litters in the same cage (although someone mentioned the opposite in page 1) so I will go with that. My goal is to produce at least 1 litter each week, so I guess I will need about 12 females and ~4 males to start with? How do you guys keep track of which female you should breed and which female that shouldn't? Let's say I have 1 cage where the breeding takes place, 3 cages with females (4 females in each one) and 1 cage of males (about 4 males). I'm afraid that I will put a female who should rest into the breeding cage. Any suggestions?

---

I guess, all I can suggest is keep good records.
Personally, all my females look different so there's no chance for me to mix them up. You can get an ear notch for rats/mice and tag their ears for identification. Sharpie mark on their ear or the base of their tail works too, but has to be repeated every week or two as the ink fades.

To avoid mixing up females, you can categorize their cages as well.
So like,

Breeding Cage
Female 1 Cage: Pregnant
Female 2 Cage: Litter
Female 3 Cage: Rest

You can keep the females in their designated cage to avoid stress and just rotate a cage card that states their status. So for example, when Female 3 Cage is done resting, you can rotate a male into their cage to start breeding. Move the female 2 cage card to rest, etc etc.

You could probably even narrow down the males to 1 and just keep rotating him with the breeding stage cage.

These are just suggestions. In the end, you can do whatever you want.

And females in a group tend to synchronize their heat schedule (like humans), so they'll all go into heat at once...So you may not get a litter a week with this system. If you wanted a litter a week, you may have to make the groups smaller.

This shows a good example of litter a week w/ 12 females:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ngCalendar.jpg

Hope I didn't confuse you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by satomi325

I guess, all I can suggest is keep good records.
Personally, all my females look different so there's no chance for me to mix them up. You can get an ear notch for rats/mice and tag their ears for identification. Sharpie mark on their ear or the base of their tail works too, but has to be repeated every week or two as the ink fades.

To avoid mixing up females, you can categorize their cages as well.
So like,

Breeding Cage
Female 1 Cage: Pregnant
Female 2 Cage: Litter
Female 3 Cage: Rest

You can keep the females in their designated cage to avoid stress and just rotate a cage card that states their status. So for example, when Female 3 Cage is done resting, you can rotate a male into their cage to start breeding. Move the female 2 cage card to rest, etc etc.

You could probably even narrow down the males to 1 and just keep rotating him with the breeding stage cage.

These are just suggestions. In the end, you can do whatever you want.

And females in a group tend to synchronize their heat schedule (like humans), so they'll all go into heat at once...So you may not get a litter a week with this system. If you wanted a litter a week, you may have to make the groups smaller.

This shows a good example of litter a week w/ 12 females:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ngCalendar.jpg

Hope I didn't confuse you.

---

That's actually a great idea ! I will still probably feed f/t to my snakes as much as possible, so I might not need a litter per week at the moment. A litter should last about 3 weeks here. I guess I will start small and go bigger if needed. Thanks (:

I have one large breeding cage with two males and a few females in it. They all get along just fine. Then I have a few cages with just females and young and one with just one male and two females. I also have a cage with two pet males. The only issue I have with the rats is if I don't remove the young before the next litter is born the new litter tends to get trampled. So I remove the young rats into a grow out cage when they are about four weeks old, or before the next litter.

Quote:

---

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

---

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?

Quote:

---

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?

---

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.

Quote:

---

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.

---

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:

Quote:

---

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:

---

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

Quote:

---

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

---

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

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.

---

I use zip ties. But I don't have rats that chew, so I don't worry about them chewing off the ties. Most people use metal ties or wire.

I use water bottles and do my water like this, but lots of people have an automatic watering system. So for a large colony, maybe look up how to do that kind of system.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/IMAG0774.jpg

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

Ah, pretty smart construction. I will probably do just like that too. So, how to attach the bars (or what you could call it) to the ceiling? Should I just use glue or what? I'm so excited to start breeding my own snake food :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

Ah, pretty smart construction. I will probably do just like that too. So, how to attach the bars (or what you could call it) to the ceiling? Should I just use glue or what? I'm so excited to start breeding my own snake food :)

---

You would think Ikea would have something you could use. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blubb

Ah, pretty smart construction. I will probably do just like that too. So, how to attach the bars (or what you could call it) to the ceiling? Should I just use glue or what? I'm so excited to start breeding my own snake food :)

---

I zip tied them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/IMAG0738.jpg

Rat breeding is fun. I enjoy it a lot.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...lding+rat+rack

I'd highly recommend going with a rack and auto watering system. In the thread above are some examples of what others have done. I use racks myself.

Cement or mortar mixing tubs are great. Plastic zip ties work sometimes but it only takes one rat to teach its buddies how easy they are to chew. Filling bottles gets old fast too.

Filling bottles sure does get old. I have about 16 water bottles and 3 dishes for various bins of rats, and it has to be done. I made it into a game of sorts, unscrewing bottle tops while a bottle fills under the faucet, and if the bottle gets full before I'm done with the other bottle's lid, I get sprayed with water. Incentive to rush to get the tops back on the bottles!

Yes, I'm aware, I have no life.

The tub system in those pictures works pretty well. I normally use a long strand of thin wire to "sew" the mesh onto the lid now, only because it looks neater and I don't have the zip tie cut ends poking me. The rats have not chewed the bin with zip ties on it yet though.

I also saw someone that puts a metal washer over the "spigot" hole, so the rats can't chew the hole larger. I'm certain it was someone on here, so maybe they'll chime in with a picture.

Right now, the few tanks/bins I have rats in(not racks)I give water in dishes to them. It works fine, but you have to rinse the dishes and refill them at least once a day, and at first the rats will tend to fill it with bedding.

Actually, I have a similar "game". While filling up one bottle under the sink, I unscrew the next lid to be filled and start screwing on the lid to the bottle that's already filled. I think I am wasting more time than saving, but hey, it gets me through it.

Right now I have a rat rack that holds six bins, four large and two of the extra large. I use these for nursing, weaning or breeding. I also have one of the 4' Christmas Tree Totes and two of the 3.5' Christmas Tree Totes. Along with a double stack ferret nation for the males.

I would eventually like to replace some of the totes with another rack, but I'd probably just end up filling those up too. It's hard for me to not hold a lot of them back. :)

As far as attaching the mesh to the tub, I melt holes in the tubs with a soldering iron and use zip ties to attach it. I rarely have issues with them chewing a zip tie.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

I also saw someone that puts a metal washer over the "spigot" hole, so the rats can't chew the hole larger. I'm certain it was someone on here, so maybe they'll chime in with a picture.

.

---

Is this what you're talking about? This is from my lab. We use an automatic watering system for the rats. But for home tubs, I'm sure a big washer can be used in place.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...ratwater-1.png

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

Similiar, but the drinking tube pokes through the washer/hole into the bin.

Michelle, that's just about what I do, and I timed it and it's twice as fast as filling, then putting all the tops back on.

Have u guys thought about cutting the tops of the bottles off or putting a hole? That way you can just go around with a pitcher and fill the bottles without having to remove them? Well, unless you have your bottles just lying on top of the hardware cloth, I guess that won't work.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk