What you keep your breeder rats in

Just trying to get some ideas of what I can move my breeder rats too. Racks, cages, what?
Pics appreciated

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1970/img1898ha4.jpg

top cage was 30, and came with the water thingy, food, and substrate. for the male

bottom was 30, for the females and their soon to be litters

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Originally Posted by Shaffer

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1970/img1898ha4.jpg

top cage was 30, and came with the water thingy, food, and substrate. for the male

bottom was 30, for the females and their soon to be litters

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Thanks, I am looking around and trying to see what will be cost efficient to buy 10-20 of

Where did you get those cage's they look great?

anyone else?

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Thanks, I am looking around and trying to see what will be cost efficient to buy 10-20 of

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It would be cheap to buy tubs wouldnt it? I mean if you have to buy that many!

i hvae about 16 lab style cages and three tubs

Wouldent it cost less and you would have more room with a giant rubbermaid

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

anyone else?

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My rat racks -

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...cks800x600.jpg

Since this pic was taken, I've built a mice rack based on the same plan, but using Sterilite 1644 tubs. Has 18 tubs and takes up less space than one rat rack.

Steve

I have my mice in 10 gallon aquariums, but i just got them, so we'll have to see how that goes. We keep all out mice and rats at school in the lab style tubs, but i think those cost like 60 or 70 buck a piece. They do last dang near forever though it seems. One thing i have heard is that what ever you use, make sure it is all flat sides and even curves there are no ridges or offset humps or anything that they can start to chew on, or they can eat their way out. It may not be that big an issue, im pretty new to keeping rodents. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in on that part.

Ours are in cages likes Schaffer's. I've moved the younger does into a BIIIG cage that has the basin bottom set into a rack frame on wheels. They're all in R's bedroom right now. I'm breeding them for the 3-5 wk old pups, but the adults are all pets, and I don't have anywhere to grow out past weanling size.


Squeeky and her litter of 12 are currently in a 20g w/a screen lid. Once I get a rack, I'll be putting 1.2 in tubs with UTH on one end, in the garage. My garage isn't heated, and gets freezing cold in the winter, thus, the UTHs. But for right now, all the ratties are in the bedroom.

Our colony is: Scabbers, Stewie, Robin Hood & Butterscotch (males)
Breeding females: Peekaboo, Squeeky, Peachy, Snow
3.5 mo. females: Raven, Beauty, Creamy, Monkey and Dumbelina

Unfortuately, using Robin and Stewie will be inline breeding along Peekaboo's line, but if I just euthanize the babies I'll be okay.

I couldn't get the mice to raise their babies. They kept eating the litters and now, except for needing mice pinkies for the baby corn and LTR, they're all on either rats or mouse fuzzies.

heres my small setup . just one colony of 1 . 4 so i dont need a very extensive setup .
the twenty gallon on top is the breeding cage .
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...r/IM000708.jpg
the 10 gallons are for the gravid and nursing females . also the new weened babies stay in the tens for a couple weeks .
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...r/IM000707.jpg
at 5 or 6 weeks i seperate any males that havent been fed off into the 20 high tank .
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...r/IM000710.jpg

sorry the tanks look so bad , these were taken right before i did the monthly sanitizing .

This is what I currently use, but this is a dated picture before I put in auto-watering system

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ack_698435.jpg



Im moving some to a new cage/weird rack that Im building, will see how that works as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

This is what I currently use, but this is a dated picture before I put in auto-watering system

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ack_698435.jpg



Im moving some to a new cage/weird rack that Im building, will see how that works as well.

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Do you have a plan for that rack?

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Do you have a plan for that rack?

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I originally built that off of the plan Brian posted... it is in the caging section somewhere I think..

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...reederCage.JPG

This is what I think I am going to switch my breeders to. Those plastic tubs arent cheap, and Ive had quite a few chew-throughs that Ive had to patch.

I havn't complete my rack using these cages yet, but in the end it will be easily half as cheap as an equivalent amount of racks like the first picture.


Note: I just unloaded those rats from like 10 growout tubs, to hold them while I cleaned their tubs. I do not keep that many in together :)

Here are the plans

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=rack+plans


Measure the tubs at your home depot / menards / lowest first, because mine were different and I had to adjust the cuts a bit.

Would you be willing to sell a rack or two once you switch bryan?

Well I use a bit of this and a bit of that LOL. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow if you want.

For my females with unweaned litters - 1 female and litter per 10 gallon tank

For my males - 40 gallon breeder tank - the males all live in there and are cycled in and out as needed so only 1 male is in there with a number of females during a breeding cycle...then the males all go back to hanging out in the big tank and being lazy male rats until it's one or the other males turn at bat - they will eventually be moved to a large Iris xmas tree box as soon as WalMart gets them in again.

For the feeders - 2 big plastic tubs with the tops meshed for ventilation - 1 for males, 1 for females