let me see if i got this right..

this is theoretical just seeing if i understand for when i do start breeding rats

ok so i have 4 tubs:
tub 1: breeding rats
tub 2: for mom after she gets preggo
tub 3: males after they are weaned and waiting to be fed off
tub 4: femals after they are weaned and wating to be fed off
is this correct?? could i just have my breeders being 1.1 and keep them separated until i need them to breed more? or maybe 1.2?

Yes i would just keep 1:2 in a tub and remove the male after they are prego.

As for the weened ones there is no reason to separate males/females if you are just feeding them off...unless you plan for them to grow up (but then they will be too big for Balls)

Hope this helps.

I have a snake that will eventually be eating rats in a short amount of time.. what confuses me is.. why cant u leave the male in with the females when they have their babies?? or is it just a preference for some rat breeders...

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Originally Posted by temec

I have a snake that will eventually be eating rats in a short amount of time.. what confuses me is.. why cant u leave the male in with the females when they have their babies?? or is it just a preference for some rat breeders...

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You can...the risk is that the female will more than likely get pregnant immediately after giving birth...so the risk is your will burn her out quickly. By seperating the male you give the female the most time to recoop and therefore produce more and for a longer period of time.

and when one female gets preggo do i need to separate the 2 females as well?

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Originally Posted by temec

and when one female gets preggo do i need to separate the 2 females as well?

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Nope...I usually have 1:4 and leave the male in for a week then he comes out till all the ladies are done. Usually the females will help each other out.

thats what i thought... thank you for all your help!

Communal nesting vs separate birthing/nursing is a long debated topic. I have done both, but usually communal nesting is our way to go right now. I will be building a maternity rack in the summer, so we will be switching to separate preggo tubs.

On another note, rats like to be with rat company, as they are social creatures. Mom's are fine to be alone for a few days-week before they give birth, but for the male to be alone the whole time the mom is nursing is pretty harsh. I would read this http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=69076

I started with 4 girls and let them each have a tub with their litters. They had over 50 babies! Now I'm rotating the male though all 4. I have some girls growning up so I can make it 2 girls per tub. When the male rotates out, I'll put a young girl in with mom so they can bond. Next go round, the young girl will be old enough to breed....

Let me point out something here, if your animals will only take live, your better off not breeding your own rats, but instead buying from a pet store weekly, seeing as how for a period of two weeks after the pups have weaned, you'll have the correct size rats; but after that two weeks, the rats are too large for a BP, especially when BP's can live on a weaner rat (60-80 grams) for most of their lives without getting FAT.

YOU WILL HAVE TO GAS AND FREEZE THE RATS, or you will be overrun with adult rats in no time.

BP's and most snakes store their fat within the rib cage, right next to the organs. Feeding large meals increases the fat deposits, and those fatty deposits press right against the organs, which isn't healthy. Captive snakes will always have more fat than wild, but we want to make sure what we are feeding is appropriate and best for the animal.

If you are intent on breeding your own feeders, know that you will not be saving any money breeding your own, even if you freeze them off.

Your going to get the most for your money buying bulk frozen online. Check out rodentpro.com, bigcheeserodents.com etc. etc.

If you don't care about costs, I recommend you read this in its entirety. This is the absolute minimum I recommend, and the most I recommend for 1 or 2 snakes.

http://www.metalmonkeyexotics.com/blog/?page_id=331

I sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you time the breedings so that the rats aren't all preggo together so that you have a constant supply without having to freeze any?

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you time the breedings so that the rats aren't all preggo together so that you have a constant supply without having to freeze any?

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To have enough to feed weekly like you asked, at minimum you'd need 12 females to accurately pull it off. There are sticky's here in the forum to peruse through about setting up to have enough weaners to feed weekly. And again, you'd need about 8+ snakes for it to be worth it.

If you were breeding mice or ASF, then you would have no problems, since they do not grow too big for BP's, but domestic rats just grow too quickly.

I get my rats 3 weeks worth (9) at a time for my three snakes $9.00, so no complaints thus far, I plan on breeding asf's here shortly cause I don't think they will outgrow the snakes like regular rats can.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I get my rats 3 weeks worth (9) at a time for my three snakes $9.00, so no complaints thus far, I plan on breeding asf's here shortly cause I don't think they will outgrow the snakes like regular rats can.

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If I could buy rats for a buck a piece, I would not breed. But the cheapest I can get them is $3-5 a piece. I was speading 30-40 a WEEK! So far I'm only spending 30-40 a month on rat chow and bedding. My baby snakes ate most of the first litters before they got too big. With winter I only have 3-4 adults eating so I have enough till the next litter which is expected in another week or so.

If you have 4 bins of rat females and you rotate the male every 3 weeks you should get babies every 3 weeks or so and let mom have 12 or so weeks between her last litter and getting prego again. You just need to figure the female will give you 10 or so pups - if you need 30 rats a month, you need 3 females per tub, etc....

I also have 3 tubs of mice - I think I have 60+ babies right now.....