Considering Breeding Rats Again

[Chaoticpythons]

So I had been breeding my own feeders from July-November. The feeders were a CONSTANT arguement starter because the smell. I had had them in the basement. There were four tubs. 1 for males, 1 for females, and two for moms with babies as I tried to keep only one or two rats together when there were babies in the picture. Not to mention I only had 2 really good moms out of like 15 females. The others would have babies and eat one every day until there were none, wouldn't care for them, didn't produce milk, or just had there babies all over and never wanted to care for them. So I did breed these bad moms along with the good ones and I would give the good moms all the babies. That worked for me. I don't know where I am going with this.. Anywho. The issue is that when I was breeding I also had a lady by the name of Jackie that brought feeders to my house every weekend, she was a very friendly lady who had helped me with feeders and getting snakes for me, long story short she was a lovely lady to have around and converse with. After a while I was getting more feeders than I needed, I put them on Craigslist, ebay, everything. NOBODY wanted/needed them. Literley 2 days after I got rid of all my feeders I had numerous people wanting to buy them from me on a steady basis, every week! So now my feeders are gone and the lovely lady I had always gotten mine from has dropped off the face of the earth. I don't know what has happened.. I plan to take a drive next weeekend and stop by where she lives and try to find any info. She isn't the kind of person that would've up and lefted without saying anything.. So now I cannot for the dear life of me find any rats within a hour of me. It isn't realistic for me to drive 1-1 1/2 each way for expensive feeders that are aggressive and dirty. I have one snake. But I am seriously thinking about breeding rats again. Does anybody have any tips for the odor? This time they would have to go to the shed. The smell in the basement will cause to many fights. The shed has no windows though. I can open the doors during the day to let it air out and such. When breeding them before I put imitation vanilla in the water, used pine bedding, and cleaned tubs every 5 days. I just need some tips or ideas of what to do. I have maybe 6 rats in the freezer for my girl and she is fed every 5 days.

[satomi325]

What kind of feed are they getting? Diet impacts odor.

I also suggest putting a fan to circulate the air in the room. Maybe even an air purifier. Stagnant air is bad and actually makes things smell worse. Circulating air makes a pretty big difference in my opinion. If possible, the best would be to install an exhaust fan.

Also, look into odor absorbing plants to put in the room. Some people have had excellent results in odor control with just a few plants.

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[Chaoticpythons]

What kind of feed are they getting? Diet impacts odor.

I also suggest putting a fan to circulate the air in the room. Maybe even an air purifier. Stagnant air is bad and actually makes things smell worse. Circulating air makes a pretty big difference in my opinion. If possible, the best would be to install an exhaust fan.

Also, look into odor absorbing plants to put in the room. Some people have had excellent results in odor control with just a few plants.

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They get fed dog food, veggies, fruits, and rabbit food.

[satomi325]

They get fed dog food, veggies, fruits, and rabbit food.

Ah. That's probably your issue.
Dog food makes rats stink. I would try getting a rodent block diet like Mazuri 6f or Native Earth(Harlan Teklad).

Also, I suggest cutting out the rabbit food. The rats don't benefit from it nutritionally.

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[Chaoticpythons]

Ah. That's probably your issue.
Dog food makes rats stink. I would try getting a rodent block diet like Mazuri 6f or Native Earth(Harlan Teklad).

Also, I suggest cutting out the rabbit food. The rats don't benefit from it nutritionally.

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Okay, I just threw some rabbit food in with the rats off and on when I had them last for some variety. But if I start again I will just avoid that. I will also look into mazuri.

[Marrissa]

Check with your local feed store. If they don't have it, they usually can order a bag for you. I think I got mine for 32 for a 50 pound bag. I read that you need real vanilla for it to make a difference. I put a bit of baking soda underneath my aspen shavings. I don't know if it really makes a difference or not. What has helped is a small air purifier with a carbon pet filter in it. I keep that right next to the tubs. All I really smell is the bedding. I dump and clean the tubs every week.

Maybe there is a rat breeder on the forum near you? I got mine from Satomi and they're sweet as can be. I got my other (biter) group from Petsmart and one from the feedstore. They've never really seemed to like me around and when they had babies one bit me, which taught the other mom to bite. My newest group though seem to actually enjoy my presence. They'll come up for me to give them pets and scratches.

[Chaoticpythons]

Check with your local feed store. If they don't have it, they usually can order a bag for you. I think I got mine for 32 for a 50 pound bag. I read that you need real vanilla for it to make a difference. I put a bit of baking soda underneath my aspen shavings. I don't know if it really makes a difference or not. What has helped is a small air purifier with a carbon pet filter in it. I keep that right next to the tubs. All I really smell is the bedding. I dump and clean the tubs every week.

Maybe there is a rat breeder on the forum near you? I got mine from Satomi and they're sweet as can be. I got my other (biter) group from Petsmart and one from the feedstore. They've never really seemed to like me around and when they had babies one bit me, which taught the other mom to bite. My newest group though seem to actually enjoy my presence. They'll come up for me to give them pets and scratches.

I may have to look at different feeding options. I can't justify 50lbs @ $32 for rats. That is more then horse grain, and almost as much as the food I give my dogs. I would rather the smell of them in the shed with some fans then spend all that on rats. For that it would cost me more then it is worth. I can't find anybody local who has feeders that are clean and decent priced. I am sorry but I am not paying $1 for a pinkie, $1.50 for a fuzzy, $2.00 for a crawler (eyes not open), $2.50 for ones with eyes open but not weaned, $3.00 for weaned, and so on. That is too much. At least for me. I paid a lot less then that. Not to mention that the guy who has them priced like this, breeding them as strictly feeders still charges $1 more if they have color. That is crazy. It is food. And color isn't going to make it better of a meal and so forth. Didn't mean to seem rude or anything. Just fed up with people around here.

[satomi325]

What you pay is what you get.

The Mazuri and Harlan are specially formulated for breeding, nursing, and growing rats. Some folks even claim to see production double compared to other diets.

The rats also eat less rodent block because it is formulated as a balanced diet for rats. They eat more dog food to achieve the same nutritious value, so you probably go through more cheap dog food than a bag of more expensive rodent block. You're probably not really saving that much in the end since they eat more dog food at a time.

And gotta remember that good food in rats, mean healthy food to your snakes.

Take a look at pet360.com
They sell Harlan(Native Earth) food for $86 shipped for 5 bags of 40#, which is the cheapest I've found.



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[Marrissa]

I may have to look at different feeding options. I can't justify 50lbs @ $32 for rats. That is more then horse grain, and almost as much as the food I give my dogs. I would rather the smell of them in the shed with some fans then spend all that on rats. For that it would cost me more then it is worth. I can't find anybody local who has feeders that are clean and decent priced. I am sorry but I am not paying $1 for a pinkie, $1.50 for a fuzzy, $2.00 for a crawler (eyes not open), $2.50 for ones with eyes open but not weaned, $3.00 for weaned, and so on. That is too much. At least for me. I paid a lot less then that. Not to mention that the guy who has them priced like this, breeding them as strictly feeders still charges $1 more if they have color. That is crazy. It is food. And color isn't going to make it better of a meal and so forth. Didn't mean to seem rude or anything. Just fed up with people around here.

Too add to what Satomi said, if you're breeding on a small scale that 50 pound bag lasts a long time. I put mine in big baggies in the freezer. I don't think I'm finishing that bag off for a long time. Some people say their rat mommas look very skinny while their nursing when they use dog food. My mommas still look nice and healthy. Gotta give them the proper nutrition to make good babies for your snakes. Even if they're feeders or feeder breeders, nutrition is still important. I find that will all pets, it's a big upfront cost and then a small (ok horse's aren't a small cost) maintenance cost from then on. Buy/make the tubs, buy a bag of food, water bottles, and a large bag of bedding and you'll be good for a while.

[KING JAMES]

If you can find someone local that sells Kents products you are in business. Kent 19% rodent diet is what I swear by (at less than $16 for a 50lb bag) I have not noticed any odor issue since I switched to that. If you are pushing your females really hard you might want to go with the 23% stuff but its a dollar or two more.

http://kentfeeds.com/products/other-...dent-products/