Re: how would i go about....
Find a petstore that breeds their own and offer them some extra money above that of a large rat??? Just an idea.
wildlifewarrior
Re: how would i go about....
Were gonna call some petstores where we know people tommorrow...
Re: how would i go about....
Ask for a small or medium rat. I know its not a proven breeder, but you don't want a rat that is too old.
Re: how would i go about....
Yea but we want a female that we know will breed. With all of our snakes (6) it gets expensive feeding them all....
We want to be able to breed a.s.a.p and we've already wasted the money on one taking the chances....
so were looking for a proven breeder...
Re: how would i go about....
Ok, just make sure they are 4-6 months old...
Re: how would i go about....
Yes i know all about the age range...... I read all the caresheets etc..
And if we get a proven breeder than as long as its not over 9-12 months we should be fine because were gonna keep a male and female pup and raise them and breed... so we wont be using the same rats for too long...
Re: how would i go about....
Okay, sounds like a plan, although I'm sure you might have problems breeding a 9-12 month old female.
Re: how would i go about....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Byte
Yea but we want a female that we know will breed. With all of our snakes (6) it gets expensive feeding them all....
We want to be able to breed a.s.a.p and we've already wasted the money on one taking the chances....
so were looking for a proven breeder...
The expense of feeding your snakes is something that should be considered well before actually buying them. If you can't afford to feed them, then you can't afford to have them.
That being said, I'm all for breeding your own rats to mitigate the feeding expense....but breeding rats is not free food. Nor is it instant food. It takes time to find the right rats...and it takes time for them to adjust to a new home and time for them to be willing/ready to breed. Just because you have two rats together does not mean instant babies. They're not machines. If you read through the feeder forum, you'll find many threads about people who have gotten rats and wonder why they're not getting babies after weeks and weeks of waiting.
I think anyone interested in breeding rats needs to educate themselves on every angle of rat-care before rushing off to buy a pair. It is just as important to take good care of them as it is to take good care of our snakes.
Re: how would i go about....
Whats wrong with buying bulk F/T???
Re: how would i go about....
The feeding can be afforded easily... It's not that its not affordable, It would just be easier to breed rats and do the feeding that way...
We wern't expecting for them to just start popping out babies, We knew it would take a while... We just didnt know that the female was too large to breed. That was the only problem
Re: how would i go about....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Byte
Yea but we want a female that we know will breed. With all of our snakes (6) it gets expensive feeding them all....
We want to be able to breed a.s.a.p and we've already wasted the money on one taking the chances....
so were looking for a proven breeder...
I think buying from www.rodentpro.com is soo much cheaper than breeding rats. It was just way to stressful on all the animals and on us. Took space, smelled, they needed a lot of food and care. Every single day I had to change everything and I spent $40 on food and bedding supplies for only 2 female rats and a male rat and their 20 so offspring they produced in 2 months. And I always fed apples, grapes and all sorts of fruits and nuts which they love so much. It was just a stressful ordeal that I do not want to go through again. I find that buying from rodentpro is cheaper :D
Re: how would i go about....
But if you had lots and lots of snakes and wanted to breed your own food monthly to feed all your critters without wasting gas, and money on frozen rats then breed rats. Just hang fly strips to keep flies on the down low.:) (I have 4 snakes to feed so I dont need to breed my own rats and thats probably one reason why I find it better to just go out and buy my own food ) because breeding rodents seems to be more time consuming and more money costing than your actual snake:eyepoppin
Re: how would i go about....
I breed rats, because some of my snakes just will not take f/t. It is not that hard, but I would take BPKid's advice and buy sub-adults so you know you're not just getting someone's old, washed-up breeders. It'll take more time but definately worth it. Or heck, if you did want a proven breeder, buy a preggo female and a seperate male, let her have the babies, give her some time off and breed her again; but again you have no way of knowing her age.
Re: how would i go about....
Just a personal preference but I don't think finding a "proven breeder" is that big of a deal. Personally I would want females that have NOT bred yet or just a short of maturity. You will get the most out of her breeding life this way. Who knows if the rodent you buy that has been used for breeding already is nearly retired or not.
Like was said you won't get instant food, it takes time especially when they are moved to a new setup. I raise my own food and it's always been more cost effective for me.
Re: how would i go about....
My dear sweet sister Kayla(Byte).... she has it all wrong. I am not breeding our rats because of any financial problems or because it is cheaper in the long run (because it's not!). I want to start my own colony due to the simple fact I'm sick of going to 3 pet stores that are 3 cities away to obtain food that half the time is not in stock because they sell it so quickly. I'm going to keep my current male and female rats together for at least 3 months (total) to see if anything happens. In the meantime I will be purchasing another female from petco that looks to me to be a maturing young lady.
Thanks to all who replied in this thread.
