Low odor rats and mice for new colonies

My local supplier just sold all his rodents out, and will not be breeding anymore. My best option now is to breed our own.

Can anyone help? Smell is our biggest concern. Are there any breeds that are notably less odoriferous?

Nope... cleanliness and air circulation are your best friends when it comes to breeding rodents.

These will be bred outdoors, plenty of circulation. We won't be breeding during the winter, I'm certain I'll have found another breeder/supplier by then. However, it does seem that i'm on my own this summer.

Looking to buy, if anyone has adults for sale.

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Originally Posted by Ben Biscy

These will be bred outdoors, plenty of circulation. We won't be breeding during the winter, I'm certain I'll have found another breeder/supplier by then. However, it does seem that i'm on my own this summer.

Looking to buy, if anyone has adults for sale.

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Outside?? will they be housed in a building out of the heat and humidity?

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Outside?? will they be housed in a building out of the heat and humidity?

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They will be housed under a shaded carport with plenty of air circulation, and no direct sunlight. Temps are always 10-20 degrees cooler there than in the yard. We have had rabbits in the same location with no problems.

We will NOT be breeding in the house. I have been to rat farms, the smell left nightmares. I can't handle that in an enclosed space.

My only warning is to keep an eye out for parasites, Fleas, mites, rat lice ect. Having them outside like that you do run a slightly higher risk of seeing something like that pop up.

I agree completely. I need to do some looking on that part. Hot shot "no pest strips" are available, as is seven dust. We don't have a big problem with fleas, but ticks run rampant. I have a table set up to keep cages off the ground, and can spray the heck out of the table and ground around the area. I will not spray or treat the rodents with anything, as I care about my reptiles more than I do rodents. Prevention will be absolutely necessary, and any advice is certainly appreciated!

Thanks for the help ff!

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Originally Posted by Ben Biscy

I agree completely. I need to do some looking on that part. Hot shot "no pest strips" are available, as is seven dust. We don't have a big problem with fleas, but ticks run rampant. I have a table set up to keep cages off the ground, and can spray the heck out of the table and ground around the area. I will not spray or treat the rodents with anything, as I care about my reptiles more than I do rodents. Prevention will be absolutely necessary, and any advice is certainly appreciated!

Thanks for the help ff!

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I can't say that I know of anything that is rodent and snake safe that you can use to keep parasites at a 0%.

i would surely use sevin5 lawn treatment around the entire yard, but what i wonder is how will you stop wild rodents from eating their food or contaminating the colony with urine or feces. i have got fleas 1 time before keeping them in a garage

I've gotten rat mites by having my rodents in the garage...

Wild rodents would come in and eat the food, drop the mites in, and... yeah.

NOT fun.

Domestic rats and mice do not handle high temps or drafts very well. They are also very susceptible to two airborne viruses carried by wild rodents (Sendai in both and SDA in rats). Both of those diseases will decimate a colony.

'rat farms' smell because they have inadequate space and no air circulation. If you give rats adequate space, lots of air, feed a high quaility diet and clean frequently, they do not smell. Mice have a distinctive odor, but the above will make it tolerable.

The rats you feed your snakes have been domesticated for quite a while; there is a world of difference between a domestic animal and it's wild counterparts living outdoors. I know you said you care for your reptiles more than rodents, but the feeders are sentient living creatures that I firmly believe any responsible keeper should be raising as humanely as possible. That rodent is giving its life so you can keep your herps, is it really that difficult to clean a few cages so you can keep them indoors where you don't have to worry about weather, disease and parasites?

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Originally Posted by nixer

i would surely use sevin5 lawn treatment around the entire yard, but what i wonder is how will you stop wild rodents from eating their food or contaminating the colony with urine or feces. i have got fleas 1 time before keeping them in a garage

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I'm trying to figure out how wild rodents would get into a closed cage (glass tanks and screen tops). NO wild rodents make it too far into the yard, as we have ratters (small dogs) that LOVE to play with them.... For this reason our breeding table is elevated, and will have a "dog guard" surrounding it (sheet metal). The table is not yet fully constructed, as this project is still in the air. As of now I still don't have a supplier.

Anyone familiar with hot shot's no pest strips?

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Originally Posted by cobweb2000

is it really that difficult to clean a few cages so you can keep them indoors where you don't have to worry about weather, disease and parasites?

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Cleaning is a part of life. I have extra enclosures for transferring for cleaning. I would still prefer they be out of the house. High temps in the middle of summer under the carport is about 80-85f. I also won't be starting a colony until the middle or end of may to avoid late frosts. One of the main reasons for housing outside is a family member is deathly afraid of rodents. If they are indoors, she'll be the biggest problem of all.

I keep all my rodents inside, I buy a months worth of rats at a time still. I breed mice and now asf's. I use equine fesh along with aspen for the breeders. I clean tanks twice a week. You wouldn't know I had rodents if you didn't see the tanks.

I use a dust pan to scoop up all bedding, replace with new bedding.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I clean tanks twice a week. You wouldn't know I had rodents if you didn't see the tanks.

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Twice a week? My supplier of feeders told me daily cleanings were mandatory...

This definitely makes me feel better.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I use a dust pan to scoop up all bedding, replace with new bedding.

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Do you use equal parts of equine fesh and aspen? If not, what is your mix ratio?

Thank you lovelace, you always seem to be right around the corner!

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Originally Posted by Ben Biscy

Twice a week? My supplier of feeders told me daily cleanings were mandatory...

This definitely makes me feel better.

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I breed a couple of hundred rats. In 16x21x7 tubs and I only clean once a week. Everyday is totally out of the question. Now I do clean every 5 days during the summer. The higher temps means they drink more which means they pee more and it turn more smell.

only for the breeders 1/2 & 1/2 is good, the feeders get only equine fresh.

I don't know how many snakes you own, but you may want to invest in a trio or two of asf's, low odor, big litters and they won't outgrow your snakes.

Hi,

Just a reminder to cut back on the want ad theme if possible as we do not allow those outside of the for sale/ wanted/ adoption forum.

Shipping live rodents is extremely expensive and complicated in regards to vet certs for each animal and the needed caging to ship in. So you will be very unlikely to find someone willing to do that for a price you would find acceptable.


dr del

I am located in Western North Carolina. Can anyone point me in the right direction? The nearest rat farm I have found is over four hours away, and won't cut a discount for picking them up. Somehow it seems wrong to have to pay full price AND a delivery fee when I am making an 8 hour round trip to pick them up (yes, the delivery fee is required, whether they deliver them or you pick them up).

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Just a reminder to cut back on the want ad theme if possible as we do not allow those outside of the for sale/ wanted/ adoption forum.

dr del

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I apologize if I'm breaking site rules. If so, this thread can be deleted or moved please. Originally posted in the wanted forum, moved to feeders by freaky frog.

What part of western NC are you in?

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Originally Posted by llovelace

What part of western NC are you in?

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Morganton, NC

I can and WILL drive to pick up what we need. Thanks for the help!

I keep my rats in the garage. I open the side garage door most of the time for air flow. I open the main garage door also when it gets hot. I close both in the winter, and run a space heater when it gets below freezing. I have never had any issue with wild rats coming into the garage. I have had some deaths likely due to extreme temperatures, but not too many. The deaths are mostly very young or old rats. I am not saying that this is the best method, but I would never keep rodents in my house, especially the amount that I breed.

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by Ben Biscy

I'm trying to figure out how wild rodents would get into a closed cage (glass tanks and screen tops). NO wild rodents make it too far into the yard, as we have ratters (small dogs) that LOVE to play with them.... For this reason our breeding table is elevated, and will have a "dog guard" surrounding it (sheet metal). The table is not yet fully constructed, as this project is still in the air. As of now I still don't have a supplier.

Anyone familiar with hot shot's no pest strips?

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Everything that can destroy a colony is smaller than your cages.... parasites, viruses.... Why in the world would you keep breeding rats outside?

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Why in the world would you keep breeding rats outside?

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A family member has a phobia and nightmares. The smell is my only issue, and thanks to others' posts I feel better about that situation.

Glass tanks will insulate the heat, and if they are much higher than high 70's, they will not breed for you. Keeping them outdoors does does not seem like a feasable solution to me. You're likely going to have overheated rats that don't produce any babies for you.

I don't know why you don't just get a freezer and buy f/t.

I have over 30 Ball Pythons right now and am feeding f/t for the cost and for the lack of space/not wanting the smell.

I get my mice for 15 cents a pop with free shipping. I just got 700 large frozen mice for a whole $115.00. My snakes could give a crap too, they snatch 'em right up.

Even when these mice aren't on sale, they're only 46 cents for the large ones.

NOT advertising or anything, but I had a good experience with AmericanRodent.com. Might want to give them a try before abusing live rats/mice with extreme weather conditions and most likely death.

If you have under 10 snakes, just get the f/t. So much easier... It took me an hour to feed 30+ Ball Pythons live mice. And it only takes me an hour to feed 30+ Ball Pythons f/t mice. Dump them all in the sink of warm water to thaw. Fill up a bucket of hot water, put mice in, go to snake room and feed.