Rat are, in my opinion, way easier to breed and raise for feeders. The females seem to be very naturally attentive mothers. Rats are communal creatures and usually quite friendly if they are handled when young. We currently have 6 adults (2 are females just reaching their first breeding age at 4+ months) as well as 2 litters nursing (one of 15, one of 12 and another litter ready to be born in the next few days).

All of our breeding stock came from the pet store though I am now going to be raising my own future breeders. We have mostly hooded rats with one albino and one solid colored one. My best female so far is a beige hooded, my most nippy female with young is an albino. I use the same homemade rat mix Becky (SatanticIntention) does for my colony. The best part is rats do not smell awful like mice do.

We use Rubbermaid Latchable tubs (#3C91), 50 QT clear, 26.1" x 10.4" x 15.6" - $8.97 WalMart - cut out a center rectangle and then zip tie in some 1/2" wire mesh or such like to allow for good ventilation. There water bottles are also zip tied outside the tub with the nozzle fed in. These are pretty roomy tubs but I like giving the rats a bit more room to move around in. I got a great plastic rack from WalMart for $17.88 - DuraShelf (#9144), 4-Tier Free Standing Shelf, 300 lb capacity (75 lbs per shelf), no tools required to assemble, hard white plastic, 35.25" x 14.25" x 55.25". Holds 4 of these tubs beautifully, sets up in about 2 minutes lol. I'll try to post a pic later of the new rack and a close-up of one of the tubs.


~~Jo~~