good day got better with first rats

[pbjtime8908]

i picked up 1.3 breeder sized rats at a show on the 6th of this month and put the male in with one of the females right away and kept him there for 2 weeks. i know thats longer than ppl usually do it but i dont need that many rats all at once.

well i was thinking that she was just fat because i didnt remember how big she was when i got her i just remember she was the biggest.

well i went and just checked on them all to make sure food and water was ok and before i got to them i heard a bunch of squeeking and wondering WTH was going on. to my surprise when i looked in i saw i had 12 little pinkies with a big momma running around in what i guess was protection mode.

now ive got a bunch of rats and the schedule is kinda messed up as theyll be too small for my smallest snakes but then if i let them all grow out theyll be a little too big. im thinking i might just have to feed them small prey so i dont have to go buy mice from the pet shop so i can stop switching them back and forth and just keep them on rats.

let me know if its a bad idea to do that or not.

[wolfy-hound]

I'm not sure how you figure "if I let them grow out they'll be too big"?

Just use them when they reach the appropriate size, right? That's what I do. I'm pulling babies at weaning size and putting them into a grow out bin, then feeding them until they reach appropriate size. If you feed once a week, they won't outgrow your size in a single week.