Keeping Rats In Unheated Garage During Winter?

[CloudtheBoa]

I used to keep my rats in a big wooden cage with a wire front outside in a carport. Here in NC, especially up in the mountains, it can get below 0F. My rats had a good 4"+ of bedding, and I never lost an adult to the cold (just babies). Enough they could completely bury themselves and their babies if it got cold. Keep in mind, once it gets below a certain temperature, rats will either have a harder time keeping litters alive or may not reproduce at all. I believe my rats still produced litters down to freezing temps, but I'd have to be very careful checking on them so that heat didn't escape the nest and had a lower success rate. They would literally completely cover the babies and uncover them as needed to nurse.


I used a water bottle that I'd just switch out with a fresh bottle during night, but I only had a 1:2 breeding group of rats, so it was fairly easy. I wouldn't even consider keeping them outside without a weather-proofed building now, with all the animals in the colony and the hairless rats.


As others have said, if they're in your house, they're in your garage. In addition to diseases (and parasites) mice can also chew up the wiring in your house, so setting up traps may be a good idea. I know people who use poison, but I'd avoid that if possible.