Housing rats on screened-in back porch?

Hello all,

We are buying a house with a projected closing date of June 30th. There is plenty of room in the house to have a reptile room and I am planning on housing my rodents in the same room temporarily. Unfortunately the back yard isn't big enough for a shed to house rodents, however, it does have a screened-in back porch and I was wondering what your thoughts were on housing the rats there? We are planning on having a ceiling fan installed on the porch and will be having the backyard fenced with a privacy fence. Aside from security issues (which I hope the privacy fence and a locking door to the back porch will fix), what are your thoughts on the rats surviving in warm GA summer temps (mid 90's - 100f) if a ceiling fan was used? Also if you have any input on other issues (like predators, insects that might infest them if housed outside, etc.) that would be great.

I am pretty sure that they'd need to be moved inside during the winter months (when it is below freezing) but it would be great to have them in the ventilated back porch during the warmer months if possible.

The warmer months are the problem. In Georgia it'll probably be too hot without more serious ventilation, or an AC unit. I think my rodents maximum comfort level is 80, and that's pushing it.

Too cold in the winter and too warm in the summer, your production will severy drop under 45 and above 85 and temps below that and they will start dying.

Not to mention that you will attract a lot of wild critters, field mice, possums and racoon on your porsch and they will get in and eat the food and try to eat your feeders as well.

Yeah not a good idea. I worry more about too hot rather than the cold.

Ugh... Guess they'll be staying in the snake room. Thanks for your input guys.

You can also section out a piece of the garage to make a rodent room. You can insulate it and ad an AC unit for the summer months and a space heater for the winter months.

Yeah my buddy has a building he keeps his 10,000's of rats in - his AC broke one day, 2 years ago, when it was 100 degrees out and even with all the industrial fans blowing the air out he lost most of his animals.

BHReptiles- unfortunately the house does not have a garage, it only has a carport with a small storage room... One of the downsides to buying an older house I guess.

I will have to think about this. At the moment I only have a few rats, mostly as pets and to be the foundation for my breeding colony... But if they're going to stay inside I'll have to figure out more ways to reduce odor before committing to raising my own feeders.

Thanks again for your input everyone.

Mine live outside in my barn. I live in middle Tennessee and it does get pretty hot and cold here. The barn rarely gets above 85 degrees bit it does happen and none of my rats ever died. I keep them in an insulated "closet" if you will with doors and top open in the summer. In the winter I close the "closet" and have a heater installed with thermostat to kick on at 60 degrees. Never lost a single pink in the winter either. I have about 100 rats going in this set up at any one time. It can be done:)

Even if your rats don't die or suffer any real health issues, temperature extremes on either end will drastically reduce your production.

There are ways to control the odors, but there really isn't any way to eliminate it completely. However, unless someone is allergic or has a very sensitive nose, it isn't too bad, depending on how big of a rat colony you'll need.

Thanks for the input guys!
kc261- Right now I have only 6 rats (3f / 3m) it may be because they are housed in wire cages, but they tend to start smelling fiarly quickly. I'm thinking that when maintained in a breeder setup (bins /rack) they won't be as stinky.. Usually its the items in the cages that start smelling or the cages themselves, not the bedding.

I will have to put more thought into this. Now I'm only feeding 5 snakes and will probably only be adding about 5-6 more to my collection over time, so it may still be more economically sound to do f/t.

If they start getting stinky quickly, then either you are sensitive to it, or there are a few other possibilities.

- Diet can play a big factor in how much they stink. What are you feeding?

- At least in mice, some males just stunk a whole lot more than others. Not sure if it was a difference in body chemistry, or just habits (marking their territory more). I always fed off the extra stinky ones.

- The bedding you use, how often you change it, and how crowded your rats are makes a huge difference. The pine pellets seem to be the most effective in controlling odors.

- Adequate air circulation is important. I always keep a fan running in the rat room.

There are other things, but those are the biggest ones that I can think of at the moment.

Thanks,

I may just be pretty sensitive to the smell.. I feed native earth (harlan 18%), use shredded aspen with an under layer of pine pellets, and keep a fan running in the room they're in. Oddly enough, it's the females that start smelling faster... I think they scent-mark more than the males.

since your rats are in a cage, is there some type of substrate on the poop tray? it gets really stinky if rat pellets and pee collect on a bare tray. try to put some sort of bedding under the cage.

JP- Thanks for your feedback. Yes, I do use bedding.. A layer of kiln dried pine pellets with aspen over it. At this point I think it's the cages and furnishings smelling, not the bedding. I may try a tub-style setup if I do breed because I think fewer furnishings / less metal for the pee to get on will mean less smell.