seperating rats

For some reason I can't touch an adult rat... I just hate the little things. I don't mind touching babies(well, I won't touch pinkies).. I'm a little germaphobe lol. What would be the best way to seperate my mother rats when they are pregnant without touching them? There's gotta be a humane catcher I can use or something and leave in the home depot tubs, come back later to them seperated? Any suggestions?

I love snakes and I'm getting into breeding so I started a rat colony for my snakes to feed off of to save money as I cant sustain feeding my snakes unless I did this(lost my job, but want to continue breeding).

Thanks fellow herpers! :]

Pick and chuck, lol! No, really, unless you're willing to work with them and work through things, you really can't do much with them. I'm not aware of any device that would keep you from having to touch them, other than a rat trap and that would largely defeat the purpose since you asked about pregnant females. Gloves, maybe, although they can be hard to hold at times.

Some of mine are "meaner" than others, including the one that bit the snot out of my finger which is still bearing a Band-Aid as I type this, lol! They're like anything, they all have personalities and some are "nicer" than others. I've worked with most of mine, either prior to them being pregnant or while they're young, getting them used to being handled and some are to the point they actually seem to enjoy it. Best advice I could offer is jump in with both hands, expect to be nipped if you have a mom with a litter and most of all, don't be afraid of them! Wash your hands before you handle them so you don't smell like food, be mindful of the moms with litters and as to the males, well...they generally could care less about much of anything besides a female in heat and/or food/sleeping, usually in about that order when it comes to mine!

Is your issue with them carrying germs/disease or something else? The disease/germ factor by and large comes back to you: keep them in sanitary conditions and you won't have any issues. If you can smell the bin (urine, feces), other than the "warm animal smell", it's way past time to clean. Practice good husbandry for them and for yourself: wash your hands before and after you handle them and don't touch your face, eat, etc. prior to cleaning up. I don't know if that answers your question(s) or not; hope so and I hope it helps. Good luck and take care!

Do you drink soda? I usually take those long rectangular "refrigerator" soda boxes, rip them in half, and give them to my rats for hidey boxes. You could always use one of those for moving rats (as long as you're quick about it), though if you leave it in the cage it'll get chewed up. I'm lucky that my boyfriend goes through a lot of soda, so I always have those boxes on hand. Honestly as long as you keep the cages clean anyways, grabbing them by the tail isn't too bad. Maybe just wear a latex glove?

It's more than touch, I have kevlar gloves I KNOW they cannot bite through even if they tried their hardest, i just cant get over the fact of touching the damn things. Maybe it's a natural disgust of long tailed rodents.

Put on your gloves, and shoo them into a water pitcher. Any plastic container of a decent size, put some bedding in so it's not slick for them, and some treats too. The rat shouldn't mind getting in the container, then gently "dump" her out in the new bin.

I cull biters. I did just get nipped by a mom, but I was rummaging to grab babies for a few minutes, not just picking up a baby and leaving. Usually even moms don't bite me, lest they too become snake food.

Rats are actually very clean creatures. If you do your part and keep their bins clean, theres no reason for them to be "germy." You can even give them a bath every few months with a small animal shampoo and have them smelling lovely! However, I know that for most people who do not like rats, it's not the rats themselves, but their tail. For some reason, a naked tail gives us humans the creeps. If this seems to be a problem for you, why don't you look into getting some manx rats? They're completely tailless, so they look kind of like guinea pigs, but rat sized lol. If you really just dont like them at all then I would suggest using a 1 or 2 quart feed scoop (theyre used for like feeding horses and cows). Theyre about $5 at any feed store and pretty durable. Theyve got a nice handle and are plenty big enough to scoop a momma rat up in. Man, I can't imagine how hard cleaning day is if you can't touch them! Anyways, that's all I can really think of. Good Luck!

cleaning is easy, kinda. Open the bin 1 way and the rush to 1 side, block it off and take all the bedding out with a scooper. I rather use my shopvac but I think that would scare the little pests. Replace bedding on that side close, open other end, replace. :]

They are rather easy to grab by the tail and can be transferred easily to another bin that way. As others have mentioned, they all have personalities, some inquisitive, some shy and skiddish. If you're never planning on making them "pets" the tail method is the way to go. Just reach in and grab them. If they turn toward you just shoo them away. When they turn their back get the tail. Oh, don't lift by the tip of the tail, grab it around the middle. If you grab the tip and lift them, you may pull the tip of the tail off.

Ok, big issues and not just with the op.. Are you guys seriously telling someone to gra a momma rat by the tail?? You can cause serious damage to them by grabbing by the tail. Plus if the rats are not used to being handled thats asking for a bite.. Now my other issue is how are you going to breed or own something you seem to have issues in caring for? I run numberous 1.4 colonies and even a single 1.4 with proper rat block feed and bedding materials, your still gonna be spending as much as just buying feeders from someone or a petstore. Sorry to come off harsh but its a simple fact, you own animals that eat rats.. Kinda gotta step up and roll with the punches...

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Originally Posted by crazyj83

Are you guys seriously telling someone to gra a momma rat by the tail?? You can cause serious damage to them by grabbing by the tail. Plus if the rats are not used to being handled thats asking for a bite..

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I pick up all of my rats by the tail. They are used to it and they don't make a fuss. They come to me and wait to be picked up and moved when I'm cleaning.

I always try to grab the tail as close to the base as possible and it's never more than the time it takes to go from one tub to another. My rats never bite. They never even try. I only had one rat when I first started that was a biting fool, God rest her soul.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazyj83

Are you guys seriously telling someone to gra a momma rat by the tail?? You can cause serious damage to them by grabbing by the tail. Plus if the rats are not used to being handled thats asking for a bite..

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The safest way to pick up a rat is by the base of the tail or by supporting the main body. If one picks up a rat below the base, the tail and/or skin has the potential to come off.

I work in a research lab and this is one of the national protocol methods to holding a rat.

I personally hold my rats with their bodies due to them being pet friendly. However, I would get the occasional nippy rat from outside sources and I would use the tail hold. And its required for me to tail hold at work. Plus they don't freak out when being held by the base of the tail compared to the end.

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Picking them up by the base of the tail is how youre supposed to pickup a rat. Thats the way i have always picked them up. Same for mice and gerbils. I you grab them by the base the dont really fuss alot.

Ok rereading my post i see the issue...lol.. Grabbing rats by the base of the tail is fine, but not preggy rats... If you look it up many sites say it can cause injury to the momma rat and unborn babies...i'll try to locate the site i read from..

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Originally Posted by crazyj83

Ok, big issues and not just with the op.. Are you guys seriously telling someone to gra a momma rat by the tail?? You can cause serious damage to them by grabbing by the tail. Plus if the rats are not used to being handled thats asking for a bite.. Now my other issue is how are you going to breed or own something you seem to have issues in caring for? I run numberous 1.4 colonies and even a single 1.4 with proper rat block feed and bedding materials, your still gonna be spending as much as just buying feeders from someone or a petstore. Sorry to come off harsh but its a simple fact, you own animals that eat rats.. Kinda gotta step up and roll with the punches...

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Never had an injury to any rat I have picked up by the tail. I should have been clearer I guess. I grab the tail as close to the base or thick end as possible. Mine don't even as much as squeek. You'll note I did say not to grab them towards the end of the tail, yes that will cause injury :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazyj83

Ok, big issues and not just with the op.. Are you guys seriously telling someone to gra a momma rat by the tail?? You can cause serious damage to them by grabbing by the tail. Plus if the rats are not used to being handled thats asking for a bite.. I run numberous 1.4 colonies and even a single 1.4 with proper rat block feed and bedding materials, your still gonna be spending as much as just buying feeders from someone or a petstore.

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We pick up and move all of our rats by the base of the tail and have never had any issues.
Also, you state that it cost as much to raise and breed your own feeders as it does to purchase them from someone else or a petstore. This is not true at all! We spend roughly $80-$100 a month on our rats(3 racks and 18 tubs) to feed our collection of 27 snakes. It would cost us more than that each week to buy from a petstore and just alittle less each week if and when we were buying from a local feeder breeder.

I pick up the babies by the tail when I am taking them from the momma tub and putting them into the gen pop tub, but the rest of the rats I pick them up by grasping them around their bellies. Once they're up, I put my hand under them so their feet have something to rest on while they are transported between tubs. Never been bit yet!!

ASFs on the other hand, are a whole 'nother nightmare. Those buggers I needed a glove for, even when picking them up by the tail.

If you are really really adamant on not touching them ever, you could get a feed scoop, like so:

http://www.horsenation.com/wp-conten...coop_Full9.jpg

and shoo them into it. But unfortunately I think if you're going to make the decision to breed rats, you're going to have to touch them, one day. What will you do when one escapes and you have to catch it quickly? You'll pick it up any way you can!

Also, breeding your own rats is DEFINITELY cheaper than buying, at least in our case. If you're willing to put in the time, that is.

I had 1 chew out sadly, I tried grabbing it but it was a fast bugger. It started to chew stuff so I sadly had to shoot it, my mom was furious lol. Another jumped out, I lured it into a humane rat trap with a water bottle and then it became snake food. You would think I'm more scared of snakes? Nope. Small little things... idk. They spook me..

I much rather get bit by my dog than a rat. Rat bites feel like a really bad pinch... which hurts, I rather take punches than pinches. lol. damn my sensitive skin.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazyj83

Ok, big issues and not just with the op.. Are you guys seriously telling someone to gra a momma rat by the tail?? You can cause serious damage to them by grabbing by the tail. Plus if the rats are not used to being handled thats asking for a bite.. Now my other issue is how are you going to breed or own something you seem to have issues in caring for? I run numberous 1.4 colonies and even a single 1.4 with proper rat block feed and bedding materials, your still gonna be spending as much as just buying feeders from someone or a petstore. Sorry to come off harsh but its a simple fact, you own animals that eat rats.. Kinda gotta step up and roll with the punches...

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you couldnt be more wrong addressing me. I take care of the rats, I clean one side, close the tub, open reverse end, clean that one. I just dont touch the adult rats.

So today was cleaning day! I cleaned the tub by getting all the rats on 1 side, placing cardboard inbetween and a quick vacuum of all the mess. I left 1/10 of it on 1 end dirty to hopefully train these guys to only use that side. These rats are NOT pet material. They are just too skiddish.. I put my hand in there and let them come up to me... every of them nibbled on me, good thing I had a glove on. I guess it's because I bought large feeders as pets... Maybe if I get some from a pet store that are meant as pets they will be friendlier... I'm thinking of culling off the male and getting a tamed one that I can handle so I can just rotate the male every cleaning.. That would be better. I realized... I'm scared of those damn teeth, I've been bit by rats in the past.... no fun @_@

Well. There's a difference between a nibble and a purposed bite. Rats will use their mouth to feel things like we do with our hands. A little nibble is normal and doesn't/shouldn't hurt. They're curious and inquisitive animals.

So just be aware that your rats may not be aggressive after all. Can you tell what sort of bite it is? When rats viciously bite, it hurts a lot!

As for taming a rat, it doesn't matter if they're from a pet stock or feeder stock. Pet store rats can be just as skiddish and aggressive as some feeders. Just as a feeder can be pet friendly as well. If you want tame and friendly rats, I suggest getting weaned or small rats to raise up and get used to you. I raised all my breeding animals from weaned rats I bought from different feeder sources. They're all pet tame and give my hands kisses when I stick them in the rat enclosures. Think of it like socializing a puppy. If you don't socialize that pup, it tends to be skiddish and easily frightened as an adult.


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Could be a nibble... I don't want to find out so once I feel pressure I pull away. I'm getting used to rats now though.... I can touch the smaller guys now that I've raised up...