Why my rats go through so much food!

[Alex.B]

hahaha trail cams; a million and one uses XD

[Rhasputin]

Good advice - what would you use?

Get a bottle of iver-on pour for cattle from a feed store. The $30-$40 bottles will last you a while. Mix it 5 parts water to 1 part medicine, and spray your rats and their bedding down with it once a month usually but in your case, I might go for once every 2 weeks, since there is a clear and present danger for mite infestation.

[Highline Reptiles South]

Get a bottle of iver-on pour for cattle from a feed store. The $30-$40 bottles will last you a while. Mix it 5 parts water to 1 part medicine, and spray your rats and their bedding down with it once a month usually but in your case, I might go for once every 2 weeks, since there is a clear and present danger for mite infestation.

Thank you. How does that affect my snakes would be my question? I pull rats off for feeding almost every other day with all the hatchlings this year...

[JohnNJ]

I regularly go to a piece of property which is an hour drive from here and probably 20k acres of pristine country. You think they would make it back from that far?

It depends on the obstacles between your house and where you drop them off. It could work at only 1 mile away if there was a very busy highway in between. If it's only woods, streams and back roads the 20 miles won't help. Depending on the terrain and food sources, a raccoon's home range could be 20 square miles.

I'm not big on moving wild animals. Either they're a problem or they're not. If not, leave them alone but if they are resolve it quickly and humanely. In my mind your situation is a health and safety issue and should be resolved.

[Rhasputin]

Womsterr, I am not sure about how this will effect your snakes. Someone who has more info about snakes than me, might be able to help you, as I dont know what kinds of medications might harm your snakes.

Although, I can say that I have fed animals treated recently with Iver-on to my savannah monitor, with no problems. But I cannot be sure this wasn't just chance, or if it will be different with snakes.

[suzuki4life]

switch the snakes to eat frozen/thawed and the mite problem is solved for feeders. Breeders kept outdoors will most likely continously need to be treated to avoid infestation. no way to avoid exposure to other animals if kept outside.

Personally, it will take many many miles to relocate a raccoon that it won't return to a plentiful food source. Good luck. They'd be caps if it was my choice.

[Highline Reptiles South]

Thank you to Siscoreptiles. I took his suggestion to put hardware cloth around 3 sides tonight. Will still need to build a door for the front.

I have also set a bunch of traps i came up with around the front. It's gonna look a lot different. They are soooo smart they will probably know something is up!

[Luke Martin]

I had a raccoon get into my rat room, but she wasn't at all interested in the rat food. What she was interested in was the grow up tub with no lid that had about 40 grow up mice in it. Ate every single one out of the tub.

[SquamishSerpents]

try wolf or coyote urine, i've heard of many people around here (coastal BC) using it to repel the raccoons from their ponds.

[adamjeffery]

ive also heard fox urine.....but it stinks as bad as skunk sometimes! very potent

adam jeffery