Cheap & Easy DIY Rodent Breeding Tubs

[nor_cal1980]

Well I've been breaking the bank feeding all my snakes (not really) and finally broke down and started breeding my own food. I came up with a really cheap and effective way to do so here in my apartment. I started out with 31 quart rubbermaid roughneck tubs.

All i did was cut out two openings in each lid and cut out two pieces of half inch hardware cloth to fit on the underside. I used 1 1/2 inch by 1/16 inch thick aluminum flashing ( found at lowes or home depot) and 5/8 inch rivets to hold the hardware cloth in place.

Here's the underside of one of the lids



It's really simple to do. The measurements don't have to be exact. I pretty much eyeballed everything. I used a dremel for cutting the lids but you can use a key hole saw and drill by drilling holes in the corners then cutting from hole to hole with the saw. I cut the hardware cloth with wire cutters and also used a dremel for the aluminum flashing. The aluminum is easy to cut by hand. It just has to be scored with a hack saw then it easily snaps right were it was scored. Once I had the hardware cloth cut I sat it in place and laid a piece of flashing over it and marked where it needed to be cut. Once everything was cut I set the hardware cloth and flashing where it needed to be and drilled holes through the flashing and the lid with a 5/8 inch bit and riveted everything together. I found it worked better to drill one hole at a time and rivet directly after drilling.



The thing I really like about them is that they use the same concept as a rodent rack where the food is kept on top of the hardware cloth where it can't be pee'd and poo'd on by the rats. You could also set them up on a cheap plastic rack from wallmart or home depot and plump in a watering system. I hope this helps someone out. If you have any questions PM me.


Some of the food on there looks like dog food but its not. It's actual rodent breeder food that I bought straight from a seed and grain factory near my apartment.

[Powerspythons]

I use the same rubbermaid tubs with a similar concept. Watch for chew outs tho, I've had to cover two holes so far, but that was an easy fix with a small piece of hardware cloth and a hot glue gun.

[nor_cal1980]

I use the same rubbermaid tubs with a similar concept. Watch for chew outs tho, I've had to cover two holes so far, but that was an easy fix with a small piece of hardware cloth and a hot glue gun.

How many rats to you keep in each tub?

[Powerspythons]

How many rats to you keep in each tub?

I do 1.3-4 breeders, or 3 pregnant/nursing mothers, or up to 20 after weaned (I wean at 3.5weeks), but they dont last long after weaning so they're only that crowded for about 2-3 days..If I was growing them up to small/medium size, I'd say more like only a max of 10 per tub.