I bought my first rat!!!

Okay so I let free the field mouse and I bought what Jack's aquarium and pets calls a small rat. I asked the guys how old he thought she was he sad a few weeks but I don't know if I can believe him considering that he couldn't even tell a boy from a girl and I could tell that Ev-ey was a girl. lol

anyways I drilled holes in a 41qt serilite tub. I wanted to make sure the setup was okay. So heres what I got:

*41qt (latched) sterilite tub with holes drilled in
* carefresh substrate
* water bottle
*food bowl with store bought food till I gather all the food in the recipe found on here
* A hide thing (I'm think I might take that out.)

I know pictures will help so here:

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ts/ev-ey02.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2.../ratcage02.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2.../ratcage01.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ts/ev-ey01.jpg


I want to go back and get another rat today because I know they get lonely. So should I get a male or female? I might get a male off my friend in a couple of weeks when it gets weened (just a thought) so any thoughts or restictions?

No suggestions? Cuz I was thinking about getting a male in case my friend decides on keeping the male rat.

Is a 41 qt to sm for two rats?

I just had my rats escape from a storage box like that. They chewed a hole in the side and went running off. Just something to think about. Good luck with her and hope you can get some litte ratties from her!!!

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I just had my rats escape from a storage box like that. They chewed a hole in the side and went running off. Just something to think about. Good luck with her and hope you can get some litte ratties from her!!!

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Thats not good. I'll have to watch her because I hate cleaning out tanks. They are so heavy...ugh.

Cute little rat. :)


The question about whether to get a male rat or not depends entirely on if you want them to make babies or not. If you just want a companion, make sure they are the same sex. If you want babies...well....you know... :P

I just realized the male escaped yesterday and I had to tear into the work bench to get to him. I got them situated in a tank now. The tub worked for like 3 weeks before this.

I haven't kept/bred rats yet, but going from my mouse experience. The holes in the side will actually give them a starting place to chew. I keep my mice in 12 qt sterilite tubs with a screen top in a rack with food and water coming through the screen. Haven't had a chew through in about 1 1/2 years now.

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Originally Posted by denowt

I haven't kept/bred rats yet, but going from my mouse experience. The holes in the side will actually give them a starting place to chew. I keep my mice in 12 qt sterilite tubs with a screen top in a rack with food and water coming through the screen. Haven't had a chew through in about 1 1/2 years now.

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picture of setup? My rats will chew straight through the side of one of those even if it is smooth :P crazy rats

I'll get a pic of teh old tub when i have a chance. They chwed through on a pretty much smooth area of the tub.

OK, coming from an ex-petstore employee. that is a small rat. All rats get fairly large.:rat: So she is a young one. She looks young. Yes, that rat can chew through your setup very easily.:mouse2: So if you are posting this message on a feeder forum, I am assuming you want to make more rats right? I would get a male then, so you can make cute little snake food. :snake:


Have fun, rats are pretty fun...too bad I am allergic to them.:(

oh sorry I got smiley happy...never seen so many smileys!:eyepoppin

If you replace the middle of the lid with some wire mesh(1/2"x1/2"), it will allow more ventilation. More toys to chew on and play with, less boredom and wanting to chew out.

That baby looks about 8 weeks old, definitely NOT old enough to even consider breeding. Get another female(if that one is indeed a female), and wait about 4-5 more months. THEN, get a male if you want to breed. I would get some lab blocks(16% protein is fine) from a Purina Mill(Mazuri is an excellent brand) to make sure they are getting everything they need that isn't in the mix that I wrote a recipe on.

If I have kept a group of mice in tubs with the lid replaced with mesh, then rats will be fine in them. You could even find a nice two story, wire cage at a pet store and then just use tubs later on down the road when you separate the moms for birthing.

Watch out for signs of stress induced myco flare-ups. They will get porphyrin(reddish discharge) from their eyes and nose, breathing may become labored, etc. They can also get allergies from being on dusty bedding, carefresh being one of them. Aspen works wonderfully if they start sneezing alot. Sneezing here and there is normal.

Hope that helped and yes, try and get her a buddy soon! But make sure they are the same sex, LoL.

Becky beat me to it. *sigh* Looking at the pic, your little girl is the same size as our latest girls, and they're 7 wks today. :birthday: :giggle:

Ours are in cages, a 20L aquarium when they give birth and are then weaned. Another of the bigger My First Pet cages is another birthing room. With a payday, I'm going to put together some of the tubs w/a screen for the one's I need to grow before breeding, and put them out in the garage w/a UTH for this winter. The pets will stay on the desk in their big cages.

Cute little booger you have tho!!! :aww: I wuuuuuuuvs the soft fuzzy fur of the young rats! And their whiskers tickle! :love:

Okay so the tub setup is bad. I understand that now. So the basic wire rodent cages work okay? I wasn't planning on breeding for a while, still unsure on the subject. Haven't bought a buddy for her but I think now I'll go back to the same pet shop and get one from the same tank and get a wire setup if they work better. Just let me know what works and what size I'll need. As I said before I'm new to all of this lol.

www.rattiusmaximus.com will help you will sizes, selecting a healthy rat, what to look for in a cage(NO galvanized wire, eeww), etc. She has a nice site and is very detailed.

PERSONALLY? If you're looking for pet and LATER breeding, that would be a touch different home setup than if you're going into it with the outlook she's going to be part of your snake food production line.


Ours started out as food, but became pets when the snake was on a fast. So ours are in cages in Robin's bedroom. I started the breeding for snake chow as an aside, to help my budget. Now I want to keep some of Peek's baby girls and turn them into a breeding colony, instead of a pet mischief. We're still going to handle and cuddle them, but once they're big enough, they're going out in the garage.

Just be sure that the cage's floors wires are coated and not to get a rabbit one where the wires might be too far apart for the rat's head getting stuck, or the little girl escaping all together.

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

picture of setup? My rats will chew straight through the side of one of those even if it is smooth :P crazy rats

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I haven't taken a picture of mine yet, but I built it using this design. Instead of the cement tubs, I use 12 qt Sterilite tubs. Also, I don't have experience with rats yet, just mice.
http://home.stx.rr.com/trojcak/pics/...k/rat_rack.jpg

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

If you replace the middle of the lid with some wire mesh(1/2"x1/2"), it will allow more ventilation.

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I can just get some of that at home depot right? I know there is a guide on here somewhere.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

They can also get allergies from being on dusty bedding, carefresh being one of them.

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And I read somewhere that it was dust free. :( That makes me sad. Is it really dusty or is it still okay to use because it is really absorbant.

It's called 1/2 inch Hardware Cloth. I got my roll from Home Depot in the fencing aisle for under 6 bucks. You need a bag of good strong zip ties as well as something to clip the wire with and cut or melt out the middle area of the tub lid. Here's a pic of the label on the roll of hardware cloth that Home Depot carries. Don't let them tell you to buy chicken wire, it's way too light and rats will chew right through it (Home Depot guy tried to tell me it would be fine...not LOL).

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ClothLabel.jpg

Thank you

Okay i have another question. My friend still wants to give me a male rat. He just got weened. So from what I get it would be bad to take him and put him with ev-ey right? I'd have to buy a whole new set up?

I might not take one but i'm just wondering.

Yes, it would be a bad idea. Rats can get pregnant at 6 weeks of age, but 10 year old girls can also get pregnant. Does it mean it's the best thing for them? No.. Get your rat a FEMALE friend from the original pet store(make sure it is female, sometimes males can suck in their googlies making them look female). Then wait about 5 months before you get a male rat in the picture, if that is what you want.

I also forgot to mention quarantine. Do you know where your friend's rats come from? If not, they should be quarantined at the least in a separate room, preferably at another location, for a good month. If they aren't, you won't notice if they get sick, if their glands swell from SDA, etc. Unquarantined rats can bring alot of disease into your existing colony and can kill them in a very short amount of time. Just like with snakes, quarantine is very important.

I would just get another little female from the pet store, so you know they came from the same air space, no quarantine necessary. It won't do that little female any favor by putting a male in with her now. Even litters that have just been weaned, but have been kept together for too long(5-6 weeks instead of the normal 4) can get pregnant, so why risk it.

Thanks I didn't know she could get pregnant. She bred her rats (I don't know their ages) and produced them. I tell her no then. Thank you again.