Building a Colony - A few questions

[sassy-pants]

I found some tubs at work that are only $5. They are 56q tubs. I was wondering how many female rats I could house in a tub that size comfortably. How many mice? I need 11 rats every week, of varying sizes. How many breeding females should I have then if I wanted to produce enough to cover that. I did some math and came up with 18 breeding females, getting 2 litters every week. I might end up some some surplus but I'd rather have too many than not enough.

I have the mortar tub racks 6 tubs high with 3 females/tub. This produces roughly 40 rats/month, so that should be about right for what you need, it sounds. You'll want to have somewhere to grow out your pups too, if you need any larger than weanling size. Do make sure you separate at least the males from mom before they hit about 5 to 6 weeks old, they'll impregnate their mother and your schedule will be thrown off.

Mice are different, and I'm not very knowledgeable about those, so I'll let someone else take over there. Make sure that you use 1/3 inch or smaller hardware wire for the tops because they can squeeze through the 1/2 inch when they're juveniles.

Also, I might be able to get Mazuri lab block ordered in at a local pet store. I can get it online/delivered for $55 but I'm going to see if I can get it any cheaper here since they already order it in for their own rodents. I'm supposed to know tomorrow how much I can get it for. How long will 50lbs last 18 rodents. Give me an idea of how much a rat eats in a day (in grams). I just need to know what my feeding bills are going to be like.

Do you have a feed and tack store near you? Check and see if they are a Purina dealer. If so, they can order in the Mazuri for you. I get mine at $17/50 lb sack. I use 2 per month and I have quite a few breeding rats. Just make sure you're using a hopper. 1 sack should last you probably 6 or so weeks with just 18 females. Possibly even longer.

One thing I like to do for our rats is when I'm making something in the kitchen using veggies or fruits, I'll take the scraps down and give them to pregnant and nursing momma rats. Things like carrot peels, apple cores (careful with seeds), celery tops and other such food remnants are great for them. I find I get healthier, larger babies when they get something fresh to supplement their diet. Check online to see what is safe/not safe.