Need opinions on getting rats as big as possible

[marmie]

One thing you might look in to is breeding guinea pigs. I really don't know much about it, but my limited understanding is that they are easy to breed. I know they grow up pretty fast. Their litter sizes are much smaller than rats though, so you might not really come out ahead.

Cassandra, Guinea Pigs are F-U-N. They have the most adorable personalities, don't spray like some rabbits do and they are born full of fur with their eyes open, about the size of a small rat and running around like a small rat. They grow quick and are very gentle but the litter sizes are not as big as rats and I believe the gestation period is a bit longer. Our daughters had them as pets when they lived at home so it's been a while but I don't remember them stinking as bad as rats or bunnies (yes, we went through the pet bunny phase too).

Still got those dumbo's for me???

[cassandra]

Still got those dumbo's for me???

You know I do! They are so cute...=D

[frankykeno]

Best thing I can suggest Cass is to haunt the pet stores looking for the biggest body male rat you can find. Not fat but just big all over. One of my breeder males will sit at 550-600 naturally (depends on how much energy he's using breeding females). Not fat at all, he's just a nice big boy. Unfortunately he's also a bad tempered male with other males so he's being fazed out aka fed off and one of his sons will take over for him.

Just find a big male even if he's older, put him to the naturally biggest bodied female rats you have and try to push that genetic line so you are producing from rats that naturally mature bigger than most. As far as feeding you would want healthy gain not fat but basically loads and loads of food with very little competition for it, that sort of thing.

[SatanicIntention]

www.bigcheeserodents.com sells rabbits too. They are 2.75 per pound. I feed them to my boa and she is nice and slim, slight fat cover, and stays fuller longer. Rats don't do a thing for her.

DO NOT feed GPIGS. Too fatty, and will likely cause fatty liver disease if fed more than once every 2-3 months or so. Not recommended.

[marmie]

www.bigcheeserodents.com

DO NOT feed GPIGS. Too fatty, and will likely cause fatty liver disease if fed more than once every 2-3 months or so. Not recommended.

Good to know. Thanks Becky!

[kc261]

DO NOT feed GPIGS. Too fatty, and will likely cause fatty liver disease if fed more than once every 2-3 months or so. Not recommended.

I had no idea. The zoo I used to volunteer at used to feed guinea pigs to some of their snakes, but it is possible it was part of a varied diet, and I just wasn't aware of the details. Thanks for the info.