Rats over mice? And question about breeding them as feeders

I plan on only breeding one or the other as feeders for my 2 males that are viscous eaters and I'm getting a female that i think is already eating rats. So my first question is what is better to feed them rats or mice? I think my two males will switch really easy and i have two 10 gallon sized tubs on my rack i could use, but would that be good to hold rats, or is it too small and better for mice maybe?

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Rats all the way. They will eventually out grow mice anyways.

Thanks I'm going to try switching them to rats first and if they don't refuse it then I'll start off with 1.1 rats and if that works out then I'll get another female if needed

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Rats are way better to breed. Mice stink so bad.
One mouse will stink up a freshly cleaned enclose within a few hours and smell worse than an entire rack of rats 5 days after their last clean.

10 Gallons are too small for more than 1 rat. It might be alright as a maternity enclosure for a birthing female and newborns, but not as a permanent home for more than one adult.

Omg mice smell horrible!!!
My pet rat barely smells, of course she's only one. My 2 asf's don't smell at all :)


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I definitely take advice from Satomi,knows her stuff!!!!:)

Definitely rats. They smell better, grow bigger, are easier to handle (IMO) and if you have excess, you can sell them off for quite a bit more than mice. You can get a big tub from walmart or target to house them, that 10 gal won't go very far if you're breeding.

A few things to take in consideration

1 Once your BP are adults it will be easier and more convenient to feed a single prey which make rats a better choice.
When it comes to breeding mice have a stronger odor but it can be controlled.

Rats cannot be kept in a 10 gallons tubs and even mice will rapidly be over crowded as they will produce every 3 weeks.

When you want to consider breeding my suggestion is to build a rack that fit your need (breeders, weaned animals, holdback)

Remember that rats have a rapid growth rate and since your litter will average 6 to 12 babies and you only have 2 snakes I would suggest to switch your snake to F/T, and euthanize rats when they reach proper weight so you never have rats that have outgrown the ideal size.

I breed both but I also breed snakes so having mice is essential for me to get hatchlings started, in your case you need to consider everything.

Thanks everyone, the smell was another question i had and i actually thought rats would smell worse but im glad im wrong because i have the rack in my room so that would be the deal breaker. The rack i made i can always make bigger, and i made it to hold two different sized tubs 41 qt and 19 qt so could i use the 41 qt for 2 females and babies, one 19 qt for a single male, and another 19 qt for young ones i plan on using as feeders so they dont get over crowded with the females? I'll post a pic of the rack now to get an idea.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/nypy8a6u.jpg
Heres my rack i made from pvc
The top two are the 41 qts and bottom two are 19 sorry i actually over estimated the size they arent those arent the same as ten gallons but would it be okay for just one male adult rat? And if theyre to short i can still buy deeper ones that are the same length and width. I originally planned to use the 41s for my two males when they get bigger
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They might be too shallow. Do you have the exact dimensions? Oh, and are those ventilation holes I spy? Those will probably be a source of chew outs. I'd cut out those areas and replace with hardware cloth for some flow-through.

The 41 qt is 23L x 17W x 8H but they sell another that is the same but 11" of height so when i make the rack bigger i can fit it on there. And yeah but im using those two for my males so the next tubs i get will be made for the rats

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The corners in those tubs are going to get chewed through pretty quickly. Any kind of "corner" in a plastic tub will be gone, and so will the rats. This is why the black cement mixing tubs are the best... no corners or ridges for them to chew on.

Damn so that's no good, I'll try thinking of something i can maybe do to the corners, thanks.

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Originally Posted by Achilles.10.7

Damn so that's no good, I'll try thinking of something i can maybe do to the corners, thanks.

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You can still use plastic tubs, but make sure all the surfaces are smooth and flat. The tub you posted has ridges(where the handle is) where the rats will chew through. A tub without those ridges would be ideal.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Achilles.10.7

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/02/nypy8a6u.jpg
Heres my rack i made from pvc
The top two are the 41 qts and bottom two are 19 sorry i actually over estimated the size they arent those arent the same as ten gallons but would it be okay for just one male adult rat? And if theyre to short i can still buy deeper ones that are the same length and width. I originally planned to use the 41s for my two males when they get bigger
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Use dimensional analysis bud 1 gallon=4 quarts so 41/4=10.25 gallons.

thanks then I'll look for something to use separately from that rack and I'll use something bigger

Yeah i was way off, i tried guessing by eye. Thanks.

i had another question, do they make a lot of noise at night if i keep more than one in the same tub? Or would it be better to keep them separate if I want to avoid that?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Achilles.10.7

thanks then I'll look for something to use separately from that rack and I'll use something bigger

Yeah i was way off, i tried guessing by eye. Thanks.

i had another question, do they make a lot of noise at night if i keep more than one in the same tub? Or would it be better to keep them separate if I want to avoid that?

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If they get along well, there shouldn't be much noise aside from gnawing on lab block. At least until the babies drop. Then you'll hear squeaking all night. You get used to it though :)

Thanks, I'll try it out and hopefully it's not to bad. I wouldn't even care about the noise but i don't live alone so i hope it isn't loud enough to bother anyone else.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

Use dimensional analysis bud 1 gallon=4 quarts so 41/4=10.25 gallons.

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Qts is a common unit to use for tub references in the reptile world, so converting to gallons doesn't really matter here.

I think people here would be more confused and/or unfamiliar with gallon units actually.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Achilles.10.7

thanks then I'll look for something to use separately from that rack and I'll use something bigger

Yeah i was way off, i tried guessing by eye. Thanks.

i had another question, do they make a lot of noise at night if i keep more than one in the same tub? Or would it be better to keep them separate if I want to avoid that?

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The juvies may rough and tumble at night. Rats are nocturnal after all. Adults are pretty quiet for the most part. And nursing babies can be surprisingly loud. You can hear them nurse and they squeak whenever their nest is disturbed or when the mother moves away. If you were in a different room, you wouldn't be able to hear them overall



Go ahead and keep your rats together if your tubs are large enough.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Qts is a common unit to use for tub references in the reptile world, so converting to gallons doesn't really matter here.

I think people here would be more confused and/or unfamiliar with gallon units actually.



The juvies may rough and tumble at night. Rats are nocturnal after all. Adults are pretty quiet for the most part. And nursing babies can be surprisingly loud. You can hear them nurse and they squeak whenever their nest is disturbed or when the mother moves away. If you were in a different room, you wouldn't be able to hear them overall



Go ahead and keep your rats together if your tubs are large enough.


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Thanks, I'll be fine with the noise I sleep like a rock. I just don't want it to bother anyone else i live with. And i was going to get a 64 qt tub (23L x 17W x 11H) that fits on my rack, would that be okay for two?

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I bred rats for a while. As long as you handle your breeders they will ne docile. They don't stink as bad. You can also put atiny bit of vanilla extract in their water to hold down smell. I uswd 20 and 29 gal tanks and left the male with the females even when they had pups and had no problems. You do have to remember hat males can and will kill pups if they don't think they are their's or if there isn't enough food and water. So will females. I helped at a pet store hat bred both rats and mice and the mice were disgusting. So were the ats but that was because they had so many and didn't clean properly. I moved the babies when they were weaned and seperated male and female. I had a 55 gal grow out tank and used aspen with weekly thorough cleaning. I did food and water every day and my breeders and hold backs were handled daily. I don't do aggressive rodents. If they got aggressive they got fed off. Even if they were a breeder. I also went with the ones bred to be pets instead of feeders as my breeding stock. They were a lot more docile than feeder stock that isnt handled as much. Good luck on what ever you decide.