Does This Rat Breeding Setup Sound Good?

[Bellabob]

Tommorow I'm going to Wal-mart to buy tubs for my rats that I'm going to breed. Heres what I plan to do:

I'm going to go to wal-mart and buy 5 Sterilite 68L (10g) tubs. 2 tubs are going to be for breeding and a male and 1 female will be in each tub. These will be "The Breeding Tubs". Then 1 tub is going to be "The Holding Tub" and will house the 2 females are are waiting to mate. When the 2 females inside "The Breeding Tubs" are knocked up (exuse me) they will go into the birthing tub, and the 2 females that were in the holding tub go into the breeding tubs to get prego.

Once the females in the birthing tub have given birth, I will humanley euthinize each litter for my little cal king and corn. By this time the other females will be prego and will go into the birthing tub. Then the 2 females who have already given birth will go back into the breeding tubs to get prego again...and the process goes on.

Now, my real question is, what do I do when I DON'T need any more rats at the time? Do I house all 4 females in a tub and the 2 males in a tub and just wait until I need more or what?

I would really like some input on this...thanks.

[jasbus]

Get one big tub...
Put in 3 females, one male, and let em go at it. The females will help each other take care of the pups(if you keep them long enough). the male could care less about the pups, as long as they are his....

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

^ I agree.

When you don't need any more rats to feed, either get rid of the breeders if you have a large supply of frozen, or take care of them as pets, so to speak, for a while.

I'm also unsure of what kind of tubs you're using.. what's the demensions? I use rectangular 90qt bins that are about 33 inch long, 10 inch wide, and 10 inch tall or so.

[zues]

What size rats do you need? It sounds like you are just using pinkies. If that is the case I would think buying frozen pinkies would be a lot better option for you with only two snakes. Between bedding, food, time , and having to deal with the smell you would come out ahead just ordering online.

[PghBall]

You can save space and money by leaving the male in with all three females. As was stated already, the other females will usually help out raising the young. I run 1.3 or 1.4 tubs and leave the females together with the male. I only remove the babies when they are weaned.

[blowgunsgalore]

If you dont need any rats at the time its still usually a good idea to keep them together and breeding because gestation takes 3 weeks or so and by that time you might need babies again. And plus you can always keep a stockpile of frozen ones.

[Bellabob]

Right now I got 1 male with 2 females in one tub. The females tits are starting to get bigger, they sleep more, and they are starting to build a nest. I'm guessing babies are on the way right?

[snakesRkewl]

The rats that I have that do "nest up" do so 3-5 days before dropping litters, but each rat does it's own thing.
I have numerous females that don't nest up at all, just drop em and push them into a pile and lay on them and nurse them

[jason79]

The female will swell up noticeably in the last week of pregnancy. if you pick her up by the tail you will see it for sure.

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

Just want to note that you need to pick up at the very base of the tail and support the female's body with your other hand.

The tail or skin WILL snap off. And that's not something you want to see.