This isnt abuse is it?

[SquamishSerpents]

I wish I could keep them inside, but I have 5 room mates including my fiance, so every room is pretty packed with someones stuff. I even turned my dining room into the snake and fish room. When I put the rats in there everyone kind of put their foot down XD rats being next to the dinner table and all. There isnt any room in my room, the basement is another bedroom, and I dont have a garage. Ill be bringing them in during the winter months and keeping them in the living room. Because theyre outside the smell doesnt bother anyone but when I move them in Ill have to change it just about once every day and light candles often XDD.

As far as the diet goes, there is a reason I chose alpo over the nutritionally complete option.

1)I work at petsmart, and a bag of alpo that will last me 2 months with a small colony is less than $20. Normally I would bite the bullet and pay more for better feeders, but all of my balls are still pretty small. the biggest being on medium rats.
2)Because they are all so small I plan on prekilling and frezzing nearly all of the rats that are born as soon as they hit the appropriate weight. I will keep 1 male and 2 females, and prekill the two breeders feeding them to my burmese python whose still small enough to eat rats about their size XD.

By the time I run out of frozen rats, the 3 that I kept SHOULD be well on their way to birthing 2 new rounds. and the cycle will repeat itself.

So yes the alpo can cause liver damage over time and it isnt nutritionally complete, but not one of these rats are going to live long enough to experience that. So alpo is both cost effective and not any more harmful than rat block in the short period of life that they have.

I have considered using chicken wire to kind of cage them in on the underside of the deck and make a little door so I can get in. That would make my room mate feel better about the cats at the very least.

I don't know if it's just me but...I do NOT light candles in my house, ever. Nor do I burn incense. All those nice, warm, pleasant smells are made with harmful chemicals. Your snakes really only have 1 fully functioning lung. So personally, I'm not willing to risk my snakes inhaling those harmful chemicals.

I also stay away from cologne, perfume, scented air freshners (especially aerosol!) because I find them unnecessary and completely obnoxious. Especially when you get stuck in an elevator with somebody who went Axe-happy! (aka, every man who ever wears axe, ever)

Anyways, just thought I'd point that out, since nobody else has.

FOR SURE I'd switch your rats substrate away from newspaper. Just because YOU can't smell the ammonia because they're outside, doesn't mean the rats aren't still breathing it it. Newspaper is not absorbent at all. I use a layer of pine pellets, topped with a layer of shavings.

It sounds like if I were in your situation I'd just stick with buying frozen rodents. The lack of space, combined with the intolerance from your roommates, and the very cold night-time temperatures even at this time of year, just doesn't sound like ideal rat-breeding conditions to me.