some rat questions

[mr~python]

ok, cool. like i said... my mom has all kind of organic stuff. all kinds of no-sugar, grain, wheat cereal.

[mr~python]

i've decided to keep breeder rat's. i was thinking of getting some of those shelves with tupperware shoeboxes to house them. are those big enough, have enough ventilation, etc.?

also, if i keep them in my room with my snakes. will the smell of the rat agitate, or stress my snakes out? so far i feed my one rat a little dogfood, mostly cereal(no-sugar, wheat/grain type cereal), and some veggies. im keeping him on aspen in a 20L. is everything right so far?

[Shelby]

A shoebox is waaaay too small. Plus that.. the rats will chew out of any rubbermaid shoe/sweater/whatever box. Do yourself a favor and buy lab style rodent cages. I got mine here http://www.bigappleherp.com/bigapple...roducts/110100

Snakes/rodents in the same room is fine. Feed half dog food (quality! get Nutro brand Lite variety) and half cereal mix. My mix is:

cherrios
puffed rice and wheat
oats
tri color pasta

[TekWarren]

I've never had any mice or rats chew their way out of the tubs I use...rubbermaid/steralite. Sure they do some chewing if they can get a hold of an edge...but personaly never had a rodent go all the way through.

I modify the cover by cutting most of it out and securing hardware cloth (mesh) in its place. Then just use office type paper clasps to keep the cover secure. The only time I've had escapes is when using short tubs with hardware cloth that was big enough for hopper mice to squeeze through so be mindfull of that.

[mr~python]

cool, thanks. i'll try that and see how it works.

[Shelby]

I have found that some individual mice/rats will chew more than others. I kept a pair of rats in a tub for months and months just fine.. I put different rats in the same exact thing, and a few weeks later there's a 4" hole chewed in it. I have 8 tubs with holes chewed right through them.. try it if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you.

[mr~python]

yeah, i know what you're saying. the rat i have, i have'ne seen chewing anything yet. could it be cuz he's a small rat?

[Shelby]

He probably just hasn't figured it out yet.

[mr~python]

i noticed he licks me a lot too. he's so cool! do your rats lick you?

[Shelby]

Yeah tame rats love to lick and groom you. Sometimes you can make them 'melt' by scratching their back and their ears.