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  1. #1
    Registered User aes1004's Avatar
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    Thoughts on rat breeding

    I personally am thinking about breeding my own rats because I have 4 snakes and I plan to get more. Shipping always cost way more than the actual rodents and I’m wondering what some pros and cons are. I don’t have any local breeder around me so I can only buy online.


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    Ronniex2 (10-24-2018)

  3. #2
    BPnet Senior Member Lord Sorril's Avatar
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    Re: Thoughts on rat breeding

    What would your goal be by breeding rats vs. buying them f/t online?
    Cost saving? Food Reliability? Quality Feeders? - Which of these is most important to you?
    *.* TNTC

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  5. #3
    BPnet Veteran Ronniex2's Avatar
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    I was thinking the same thing lil while ago lol... theirbreeding cycles are quick, I believe female rats can get pregnant very soonafter she has her litter, so you will have a lot of babies in a short amount oftime and won’t be able to feed them hoppers to your snakes (pending snakes sizeand they will grow too and you won’t need hoppers)... I did read a thread onhere or somewhere- if I find it I will attach the link -

    something about 1 male 2 females.. but you will have to make sure their husbandryfor them is good as well .. You could lose babies and that will defiantly be a setback…and you will have breaks and have to buy F/T eventually as the babies will needto grow… so it will be a while before you would be able to build a rotation

    also rodents also poop and pee constantly... so if the smell is not an issue,cleaning their enclosure will be an added chore as well as the snakesenclosures – and you do not want to try to clean your snakes enclosure afterdealing with them rats for sure... To be honest PETCO (NOT THE MART LOL) theysell their F/T sm rats for like $13-$14... I’m in NJ so idk if it varies inother states but if not there may be a local breeder or someone on here who youcould link with possibly to get your supply... but breeding rats will deff banother investment - time, $, stress, etc.

    I mean with 4, if you get a large enough collection yeah that may be the bestoption but for 4 snakes you'll have your year supply in possibly a few monthsso .. idk ..if all that is not an issue .. Go for it! And you can be the next Articmice or Rodentpro lol.. and I supported you so don’t forget about me … ill takea few batches of rats for my troubles lmfao!!


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    aes1004 (10-24-2018)

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    My 2 cents:

    If you want a bigger collection of snakes, start budgeting. Electricity, vet bills, back-ups and redundancy for equipment, cleaning supplies, feeders, etc.

    Then, consider the time, effort, and money that would go into raising feeders. I like my rats, but they are time consuming, their caging and feed and cleaning supplies all cost money (I go through a LOT of paper towels, and am always scrounging for free newspaper), and they do smell, even though I clean and disinfect daily. The output isn't always even either. Even with breeding rats, I am waiting on a frozen Big Cheese order because some pregnancies I thought were assured, didn't happen on schedule.

    Rats will take your hobby from casual to high maintenance with daily chores.

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    aes1004 (10-24-2018),JRLongton (10-24-2018),Ronniex2 (10-24-2018)

  9. #5
    Registered User aes1004's Avatar
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    Re: Thoughts on rat breeding

    I’ve had pet rats before so I’m aware of how much care goes into that. I’ve also done quite a bit of research so I know what they need and how things work. I personally like spending time on my animals and I’m not looking to have a huge amount of rats but breeding seems like a better choice for my future plans with my snakes. I’ll also probably still buy frozen rats until my rats are established and breeding.


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    Ronniex2 (10-24-2018)

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