Is it posable to breed rats without smell/touching them

How many of you breed rats and have very low smell and hate to touch them? Also if you have low smell what is your system for cleaning there cage/tub? Any tips are welcome. Also how many rats would i need as breeders to keep up on 4-5 snakes?

um... well... i guess i don't touch the ratties too much, but my daughter sure handles them a lot.

adding some vanilla extract to the water does wonders on reducing the smell... but honestly, keeping their enclosures/cages/tanks clean is the key!

5 snakes... eat 5 ratties per week.

each female can give you approx 10-15 ratties per litter.

litter takes 3 weeks gestation... and three weeks to grow to feeding size... so you could do 3 females all being bred at different times... two weeks apart and that would give your females a little break before being bred again.

(did i do the math right? folks... i'm so tired.)

Hi!

For 4-5 snakes, and with the amount of detest you display for rats, I would just spend the $10 a week and get your snakes on f/t.

Breeding rats is just about as much work as keeping snakes. If you hate them THAT much, breeding rodents would make keeping your snakes unenjoyable.

where did he display "detest" for rats? he just asked a question. :confuzd:

i kinda inferred that there was a hatred for rats too not gonna lie, but for 5 snakes I'd try the f/t route especially since there will be no smell and very little touching and with 5 its shouldn't be too expensive each week
*this is of course speaking from my experiences and with 12 snakes I would rather buy them frozen then keep a colony, especially since I live in a small apartment

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Originally Posted by Tony25

How many of you breed rats and have very low smell and hate to touch them?

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I guess I just figured that he must hate to touch them, or he wouldn't have asked the question this way? I think no less of him, do not judge him for this - it is what it is. I guess I just "assumed" (bad bad) that this question must have stemmed from somewhere., somewhere being his own personal feelings.

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Originally Posted by Tony25

How many of you breed rats and have very low smell and hate to touch them? Also if you have low smell what is your system for cleaning there cage/tub? Any tips are welcome. Also how many rats would i need as breeders to keep up on 4-5 snakes?

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I breed rats, and adore them - and snuggle with my breeders - wonderfully inquisitive and SMART animals!

If you're going to breed rats, there's no avoiding handling them - and if you don't want a momma rat to bite your hand when you take babies, it would be in your best interest to handle and interact with her so that she doesn't view you as a threat.

You'll also need to handle them when you move them to clean their enclosures once a week (to keep away the smell).

You can probably do 1.3 rats and cycle the females so all three don't have litters at the same time, and each one will have a companion when not breeding (more handling).

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by adizziedoll

Breeding rats is just about as much work as keeping snakes.

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I find that my rat colony takes far more time/effort to run than my 40 BP's do!!

Along the lines of what others said. If your going raise your own rodents you need be prepared to spend as much...or MORE time on them than your snakes. Regular cleaning is the best way to keep smell down, along with the little tricks folks mentioned above. You don't have to touch them all that much if you choose not to but when you clean you have to get them out somehow.

You may consider african soft-furred rats, between weekly cleanings they have virtually no smell. However they do not reach the same size as common rats and if being scared of a nibble...or full on bite is an issue you may not want to try them.

Either way if you have an issue with rodents you probably should not raise your own. As I said you need be able and prepared to put just as much work and quality into their care as you would for any other animal as your snakes health, depends on their health.

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Originally Posted by monk90222

I find that my rat colony takes far more time/effort to run than my 40 BP's do!!

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You ain't jokin! I have 5 new litters right now and about 18 prego girls. I spend way more time on my rats than on the snakes. I also enjoy the hell out of them.

To the original poster, if you don't like rats, buy frozen or buy live on a weekly basis. You can't breed rats without touching them (at least that I am aware).

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Originally Posted by TekWarren

You may consider african soft-furred rats

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You're like a drug dealer for ASFs...

I keed, I keed! :D

Regular rats all the way!!!

Just buy them weekly.

Breeding takes up a lot of time and space, and does smell if you aren't on top of the husbandry of the rodents.

But they are sooo fun to breed!! I love making different color combos.

It is my sub-hobby while still loving my herps.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Regular rats all the way!!!

Just buy them weekly.

Breeding takes up a lot of time and space, and does smell if you aren't on top of the husbandry of the rodents.

But they are sooo fun to breed!! I love making different color combos.

It is my sub-hobby while still loving my herps.

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Rock on Heather!! :rockon:

I LOVE my rats and yes like said above they take a lot of time and I know I spend more money on them then I do on my snakes. I also like breeding them and seeing what different colors and such I get when pairing them up.

They don't smell unless you let their cages go then they start to stink. You will have to handle them from time to time to clean cages and such. Also I find it a lot more easier when cleaning day comes or I have to remove babies from mom's when I have that rats trust. I make sure that I spend time handling my momma rats a lot. It pays off in the end with me not loosing any blood by being bitten.

Also by handling them you will be able to learn each one of their personalities and will be able to tell their moods. I know when it's okay to stick my hand in the tank when that rat is sitting on her babies or if she gives me "the look" or shows any kind of body language to back off I know she means business. 99% of the time my female rats are very mellow and don't have a problem with me. I don't spend that much time working with the males since I only have them for one reason and that is only to make more babies.

I have 9 snakes and have 15 breeder rats. I rotate them so I have a constant supply of baby rats that are perfect feeding size for my snakes.


If you don't want smell or interaction with them then I suggest you just find a local breeder or pet store and just buy weekly rats that way.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Regular rats all the way!!!

Just buy them weekly.

Breeding takes up a lot of time and space, and does smell if you aren't on top of the husbandry of the rodents.

But they are sooo fun to breed!! I love making different color combos.

It is my sub-hobby while still loving my herps.

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For the money it costs once the collection gets bigger, the benefits of breeding outweigh the downsides.

As for making combos, I bred 2 albinos that I got from the pet store and out of 14 babies, 2 were beige hooded and 2 were brown with beige hoods. Talk about a surprise!

Thanks for the input guys. I have a good source for f/t im just thinking into the future when the 5 start to breed. I dont hate rats i just dont wont to be bit by them lol. Also dont want my house smelling.

if you handle them regularly, from when they are small, they have no reason to bite... although an eager rattie looking at a treat in your hand CAN be a nip waiting to happen LOL or a tug with her paws LOL

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Originally Posted by Tony25

Thanks for the input guys. I have a good source for f/t im just thinking into the future when the 5 start to breed. I dont hate rats i just dont wont to be bit by them lol. Also dont want my house smelling.

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I've got you covered Tony ... no worries. ;)

-adam

Not much I can add to these great posts Tony other than to say that keeping any breeding colony of mammals is work, there is some smell involved though good care reduces that and rats are one of the least smelly of the rodent group (mice stink!). Bites are not terribly common but do occur. I don't usually get bitten as my breeders are hand tamed but the feeders aren't and they will nip occasionally. Females on litters are the most common biters though again if they are hand tamed they aren't as likely to view you as a threat to their offspring. Rat bites can go nasty so good first aid is a must.

Oh and if you get bit by a rat it will almost always be on your knuckle LOL.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

You're like a drug dealer for ASFs...

I keed, I keed! :D

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I prefer the term pimp :P Hey I've been keeping things pretty low and just offering an alternative. There are enough others pushing them so I don't have to LOL.

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Originally Posted by TekWarren

I prefer the term pimp :P Hey I've been keeping things pretty low and just offering an alternative. There are enough others pushing them so I don't have to LOL.

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You know I couldn't resist! :D

Thanks guys for your replys. I decided not to breed rats at all. Ill keep with f/t. Much easier and cleaner.