Alot of impotent rats

[Doxster]

So I seem to have alot of impotent rats.

I have 6 breeding tubs with 1.3 in all except two wich holds 1.2, I have had them for about 3 weeks now and I have yet to see a fat belly on any of them.

They are located in my snake room, ambient temp around 80F. They are in a rack, cat litter pan sized tubs, always access to food and water.

Am I doing something wrong? I mean breeding rats is pretty straight forward? My mice breed like crazy, but my rats do not...

Do rats need time to acclimate to their new home or something? Do I need to be patient?

Appreciate any help
Thanks

[Stewart_Reptiles]

How old are those rats?

[Jenn]

Rats don't "show" quite as much as mice. My first litter took me by surprise! Not sure how many rats you need on a regular basis, but you may want to consider rotating your breeding schedule. You are going to have hundreds of rats all the same size!

[Doxster]

It varied a little, at least 3-4 weeks when I got them about 3 weeks ago.

I will rotate when they start producing, I want to switch over my entire bp collection on rats so I can get rid of the damn mice. So I will need 24 rats every week.

[BAD Morphs]

It varied a little, at least 3-4 weeks when I got them about 3 weeks ago.

I will rotate when they start producing, I want to switch over my entire bp collection on rats so I can get rid of the damn mice. So I will need 24 rats every week.

Females take 4-6 months in age till they can have litters. And it took me 2 months to get my first litter when I started. Just depends.

[Twisted Reptiles]

It varied a little, at least 3-4 weeks when I got them about 3 weeks ago.

I will rotate when they start producing, I want to switch over my entire bp collection on rats so I can get rid of the damn mice. So I will need 24 rats every week.

24 rats a week? 17 female rats? I don't think you have enough breeders to be honest.

[Doxster]

Females take 4-6 months in age till they can have litters. And it took me 2 months to get my first litter when I started. Just depends.

I see, I thought they reached breeding size as fast as mice... Hmm that would explain alot.

24 rats a week? 17 female rats? I don't think you have enough breeders to be honest.

I will hold back as I go, don't want to overdo it at the start.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I see, I thought they reached breeding size as fast as mice... Hmm that would explain alot.
I will hold back as I go, don't want to overdo it at the start.

You want your females to be at an optimal weight of 250 grams before starting to breed them.

[Doxster]

You want your females to be at an optimal weight of 250 grams before starting to breed them.

What happens if they are below 250g?

Thanks for all the help

[SlitherSister]

Worst case scenario, you risk the life of the female carrying the litter.

Often the young Mother isn't very good at doing her job & rejects a litter.

Sometimes nothing at all that you may visually notice goes wrong but physically you are putting a heck of a strain on their system. You won't get the best production if you work with animals not quite ready. Back to back breeding will wear them down even more. It sounds as though you were going to breed them up to build up breeding stock as your need is higher than what you can cover right now.

You may need to continue your current method of feeders to a point as you grow your home production & then gradually move yourself over to your own.

Good luck with it all.