Cost effectiveness of raising feeders

[JenH]

That's if you can get them all to eat f/t. I've got big girls I can't get switched over to f/t so I'm going to start breeding rats.

I don't have a rat breeder nearby - I have to get them at the pet stores and pay 3.00 - 4.00 per small/med rat. So - thats 25 to 30 rats at $75 to $100 a month....

I'm going to work on getting my 1.4 rats to expand to 4 tubs of 2-3 girls apiece with one male to rotate by spring. I can always sell extras....

[littleindiangirl]

That's if you can get them all to eat f/t.

I always read people saying they want to save money by breeding their own rats, but their animals often only eat live, and they have only a few snakes....

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it doesn't end up saving any money breeding domestic rats for a few snakes unless they truly can sell the live extras and make some money back.

If you dont have a buyer that will pay just as much as it costs to raise the feeders, then it's still a loss.

When your breeding domestic rats, they grow too large and too quickly for BP's, and even having only one female, the babies would be too big within one maybe two weeks.

You'd be better off with mice or ASF's if that is the case since they would never grow too big, and you can get away with only 3 breeding rats and always have live rats on hand.

Breed animals because you want to breed them, not for this idea that it's saving money when you only have a couple of snakes.

[Ginevive]

Here's my breakdown (not a nervous breakdown.. lol.)

Feeding: I have 12 adult breeder rats (1 male, the rest are females.) Their feed is a mixture of lab blocks, chicken scratch grains, bagged parrot food, and uncooked tricolor pasta. It is hard to break down the monthly costs of individual food ingredients, as, say, the chicken scratch is in a 50# bag and goes further than, say, the pasta, which is in small bags. And I use the chix food for, well, the chickens as well So I guess, in a year, I spend about $20 a month roughly on feed; this is an over-estimate.

I spend $6 on a bedding bale (shavings) that lasts about 2 months. So.. $3 bedding a month.

$23 per month on rats.

Versus..............!

$5 per subadult rat at the pet store. $3 per hopper rat at said store. 10+ adult snakes to feed, subadults.. '08's.. yeah. And.. that is if I am lucky and they are not sold out! So yea, it is very much more economical for me to breed rats, than buy them retail.

Once in awhile, especially when the hatchlings arrive, I will have to augment my rat supply, as my baby rats get eaten by the hatchlings/juvies. This I solve by trading off normal BP babies to the store, for feeders. So I think that I actually make out, since I get $30 store credit for each snake!

I also live in a pretty rural area, and I do not get into the city often. So, having rats at my disposal here at home, is almost a necessity for me. especially in winter. And I dislike bringing in rats from outside sources, as I have no real way of knowing how they were fed/housed before they got to the store.. and also, they have a high turnover rate, and this leads to stressed rats.. nevous rats.. Mine are born, live, and die here.

Rat breeding has its trials though. Stillbirths. cannibal moms.. And cages Do need to be cleaned.. I do mine about once a week. It takes about 30 minutes.. nothing hugely annoying, but if you don't want to scoop poop and deal with fast-moving rodents, it might not be for you.

[Ginevive]

I always read people saying they want to save money by breeding their own rats, but their animals often only eat live, and they have only a few snakes....

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it doesn't end up saving any money breeding domestic rats for a few snakes unless they truly can sell the live extras and make some money back.

If you dont have a buyer that will pay just as much as it costs to raise the feeders, then it's still a loss.

When your breeding domestic rats, they grow too large and too quickly for BP's, and even having only one female, the babies would be too big within one maybe two weeks.

You'd be better off with mice or ASF's if that is the case since they would never grow too big, and you can get away with only 3 breeding rats and always have live rats on hand.

Breed animals because you want to breed them, not for this idea that it's saving money when you only have a couple of snakes.

I agree with you on several points. Personally, if I did not breed BPs, or only had 2-3 odd snakes, I would not breed rats. They do outgrow the snakes pretty fast.. unless like me, you need rats of all sizes for different-sized snakes. But yeah.. when I had fewer snakes, I was producing too many rats, and had to either practically give them away to the pet store, or freeze them, where they would pile up in my freezer too fast. On the flipside, if I had not bred so many rats, I would have not had enough feeders for my snakes.. which would lead to me having to pay retail anyway!

I also agree that if someone does not have a driving force to breed rats, besides just feeding snakes, it is not a good idea to breed. I enjoy seeing the babies, their color patterns.. the habits of the adult rats, and the satisfaction of producing litters. It is not just a rat-factory to me that is sheer drudgery to own and clean. Great point!

Owning a boa constrictor is another big reason that I breed rats. The used-up breeders are the perfect size for him.. so they don't go to waste either.

[greghall]

my main reason for breeding my own rats & mainly ASF's(alomost exclusivly asf now) were because of proplem feeders/pet shops charging too much & not having the right size.I caused all kinds of feeding proplem by trying to feed too large a rat,ASF's are great & I love keeping & raising them as much as my snakes. I like breeding my own feeders they have a great life till its time.

[Ginevive]

I also agree that ASFs are a good choice, as an alternative to breeding rats. For one, their adult size is perfecr for most BPs.. they won't outgrow your adult BP's feeding needs. I would love to get my hands on some ASFs.. but I can find none locally If I could, I would breed them.. the ones I had did have a tendency to be slightly more rambunctious when compared to the rats, and turned out to be all males.

[hobbyist]

Thanks for all the good advice!
I think I will start raising ASF rats because I think I would enjoy raising them- plus I would be able to trust my own feeders more than I do the pet stores around here. I still think it'll be more economical for me anyway- but that was the main concern, not the reason for breeding them.
You have been a lot of help- now to see how it works out....
oh, and I was just given 1.4 mice someone didn't want, so now off to start 2 colonies instead of the planned one...

[japowell]

I was paying out alot of money for rats.but i save so much now that i breed my own, what i do is that i sale some of my rats to pet stores around here. one store i trade rats for bedding and the other rats i sale to pay for rat food. i order my food from zeigler. so it really pays for its self. and all my snakes get the best food that i can give them.

[Captain23]

Love the detailed math you guys went into! I've been breeding ASF's for about 2-3 years and had never really put pen to paper, so to speak. I've always just enjoyed breeding them and actually KNOWING what's going into my 3 BP's. This gives me inspiration to do my own homework now.

[stickyalvinroll]

If you only have 3 ball pythons there is no reason for you to breed your own rats. Buy bulk rats for $1 each....