Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
Raising rats to feed just 5 snakes is an awful lot of work- you'll end up with too many rats the wrong size, or the right size at the wrong time. Expense-wise, you'll probably break even. I used to raise rats (& sold surplus rats, mice & hamsters, actually) & I only use quality name brand rodent chow too, btw. And about white rats versus "hooded"- yes, hooded rats are cuter, so you can sell surplus as pets, and also, you can tell them apart- helps to avoid inbreeding too. I only raise mice now- as I'm "only" feeding 19 snakes, none of which need rats.
I know that I don't have the biggest collection at the moment, but I'm currently paying $7-11/rat every week - per snake.. even one litter could provide me with quite a bit of food. I think with a lot of these tips here, I could find a more cost effective way to do it. That being said, I don't want to seem overly naive here.. I'm aware that there are still expenses involved. I just feel like it'll save my overall food costs - especially when I begin to breed

Another question for everyone.. One feed supplier here suggested that when I separate the boys/girls at 5 weeks, that I put the boys in with the dad and leave the girls with mom. Will the older male rat hurt the little ones though? That's my only concern there, I'm not sure if he'll attack them or not.

On a related note (I can't remember if I've asked this), but can the breeder males be housed together when they're not being used for breeding, or will they kill each other? I know that male rats can live in groups (I own 4 currently), but I wasn't sure if that would change when a female was involved.