Rat Rack ?s

[Mitch21]

Everything is now finished with my rat rack but I just had a couple questions. I know people have said don't worry about the height from the water valve clamped to the screening and that the rats WILL get to it. But frankly, I am a bit worried about it. I'm using the concrete tubs which are about 6 inches (not sure off the top of my head), and the sipper valve only comes down about an inch or so. How are the little weanlings and smaller rats going to get to the sipper? Am I just over-worrying or should I most definitely put a brick in there to stand on?

Secondly, I'm worried about the same thing with the food. I used 1/4" screen as recommended for ASFs but again can the little guys and girls get to it easily? I know they're athletic little creatures, but I typically over-worry things like this with the rats and snakes.

Any thoughts/advice is appreciated!

Mitch

[matt71915]

you can take a piece of the hardware cloth and bend it over the lip of the tub right under the water sipper, like a little ramp.

[nixer]

mine just jump up and drink upside down
oh yes and they will eat this way also

[Mitch21]

Even the little weaners will get food and water this way? I'm just worried they don't have the strength intelligence to follow the older/bigger ASFs...

[Denial]

Mitch I made some little wooden blocks just out of scrap wood so they could stand and get there water and food

[Mitch21]

I don't want to be a broken record or anything, but the ASFs have been in the rack now for the last 24 hours... I put a brick under the gravity water sipper valve so hopefully the rats can figure out how to use that little device!

I noticed that the BIGGER ASFs were somewhat getting the hang of eating the food. The food is just almost out of reach so the adults have to stand on their toes to get it. I haven't noticed anyone upside down eating or drinking. But because I was paranoid they weren't getting enough food, I tossed some lab block into their tubs and it was a FREE FOR ALL!! Clearly the rats were hungry and hadn't quite figured out how to get the food.

I'm just paranoid about the rats dying off very quickly and losing half my colony due to a problem that could have been avoided...

Again, should I change anything? Or simply wait it out and let them figure it out the way you'd let a picky snake wait it out???

[matt71915]

id stick with the bricks of try the ladder method i mentioned. I've tried the wood blocks and they will get pretty nasty after a while. You can at least clean the brick really good. With the ladder method theres not a big problem with that, poop either falls through or is easily brushed off.