I've talked to my fiance and we both have agreed to try and breed rats. We have had some success with mice but its not great. We've been trying to breed mice since November and have only gotten two litters, one being a pregger feeder that we decided to keep and let her have her babies. So I have a few questions.

As far as breeding, are rats pretty dependable as far as having litters? I would go with a rotating schedule where the females would spend a certain amount of time with a male, then move onto a place of their own to have and raise the babies, then she would get some time off before going back in with a male. Sound like a good way of doing it? Is there risk of aggression from re-introduction?

About how much food should they be given per day? I feed Mazuri lab block and Becky's mix to my mice. I usually buy the 5lb bags from Petsmart but will go with a bigger bag if I get rats since they probably eat a lot more. Basically, how much do you feed your rats per day? And what kinds of human food can they eat. Sometimes we have extra veggies, fruit, pasta, and such that we can give to our rodents.

Lets talk space. What is a good sized breeding group and what sized enclosure would they need? I plan on using tanks and tubs until I can get a rack either built or bought. Currently I have 2 10g tanks, 1 5g tank, 2 20L tanks, and a 3 tubs, each equaling the space of a 5g tank.

Where to get breeders. I know you are not supposed to breed a rat until they are a certain age. However, no store around here sells rats of that age and if they do, they are always male. So I would need to get some rats from someone who breeds them. Anyone willing to let some of their rats go so I can start a breeding colony? Name your price. (Preferably not albinos because I like the females to be different colors so I can keep track of them)