I used to breed pet rats, I stopped over a year ago when I became pregnant while my husband was in the military. Long story short, it was more than I could handle on my own at the time! I've missed the rats, regret losing the hard work I put into them and the progress I made on those bloodlines, but do not regret the decision. When I added snakes to the household last year, I wasn't planning on breeding my own food, but now I'm reconsidering...

All of my snakes are on f/t. No desire to go to live, this works best for all of us. Easy for me, and the snakes are accepting their food without problem, and growing. HOWEVER lately I've been having a harder time sourcing my f/t. The store I've been going to has been having an inconsistent and unreliable supply lately. So far I have been able to get the food needed (buying quantity ahead of time and before I run out so I DON'T run out), but it is making me nervous. I have looked into ordering online, but the cost and quantity I would have to order to make it worthwhile is just too much. If worst come to worst, local stores can provide me with live that can then be p/k, but I really don't want to have to pay $4 per rat on a regular basis when frozen costs $1 each.

So here I am actually considering breeding rats again. I kept pet rats for some 20 years or longer, and I bred pet rats for 10 years, so I'm pretty confident I know what i need to in order to successfully produce and raise rats. No problem there. There is however going to be a difference in HOW I do this. Before I had no need for quantity nor consistent quantity. I only needed a few litters a year to maintain my lines, and if a female refused to breed, that was ok, I could try again later. I realize with breeding for my snakes I'm not going to have that luxury, because their food supply will depend on successful production. (Not unlike my chickens who are producing eggs - if they don't lay I have to go buy eggs while still paying to feed them.) Another difference is going to be efficiency in time, space, and money. So I'm looking into the various options out there, including a rodent rack. After all those years with strictly pets, it is a little foreign (although I know there ARE pet/show breeders who use similar rack systems... I've been in their homes and seen it). And then there's the matter of sourcing quality rats to start with.

Anyone have any tips for me?