Is it posable to breed rats without smell/touching them

[Tony25]

How many of you breed rats and have very low smell and hate to touch them? Also if you have low smell what is your system for cleaning there cage/tub? Any tips are welcome. Also how many rats would i need as breeders to keep up on 4-5 snakes?

[recycling goddess]

um... well... i guess i don't touch the ratties too much, but my daughter sure handles them a lot.

adding some vanilla extract to the water does wonders on reducing the smell... but honestly, keeping their enclosures/cages/tanks clean is the key!

5 snakes... eat 5 ratties per week.

each female can give you approx 10-15 ratties per litter.

litter takes 3 weeks gestation... and three weeks to grow to feeding size... so you could do 3 females all being bred at different times... two weeks apart and that would give your females a little break before being bred again.

(did i do the math right? folks... i'm so tired.)

[adizziedoll]

Hi!

For 4-5 snakes, and with the amount of detest you display for rats, I would just spend the $10 a week and get your snakes on f/t.

Breeding rats is just about as much work as keeping snakes. If you hate them THAT much, breeding rodents would make keeping your snakes unenjoyable.

[recycling goddess]

where did he display "detest" for rats? he just asked a question.

[qiksilver]

i kinda inferred that there was a hatred for rats too not gonna lie, but for 5 snakes I'd try the f/t route especially since there will be no smell and very little touching and with 5 its shouldn't be too expensive each week
*this is of course speaking from my experiences and with 12 snakes I would rather buy them frozen then keep a colony, especially since I live in a small apartment

[adizziedoll]

How many of you breed rats and have very low smell and hate to touch them?

I guess I just figured that he must hate to touch them, or he wouldn't have asked the question this way? I think no less of him, do not judge him for this - it is what it is. I guess I just "assumed" (bad bad) that this question must have stemmed from somewhere., somewhere being his own personal feelings.

[rabernet]

How many of you breed rats and have very low smell and hate to touch them? Also if you have low smell what is your system for cleaning there cage/tub? Any tips are welcome. Also how many rats would i need as breeders to keep up on 4-5 snakes?

I breed rats, and adore them - and snuggle with my breeders - wonderfully inquisitive and SMART animals!

If you're going to breed rats, there's no avoiding handling them - and if you don't want a momma rat to bite your hand when you take babies, it would be in your best interest to handle and interact with her so that she doesn't view you as a threat.

You'll also need to handle them when you move them to clean their enclosures once a week (to keep away the smell).

You can probably do 1.3 rats and cycle the females so all three don't have litters at the same time, and each one will have a companion when not breeding (more handling).

Good luck!

[monk90222]

Breeding rats is just about as much work as keeping snakes.

I find that my rat colony takes far more time/effort to run than my 40 BP's do!!

[TekWarren]

Along the lines of what others said. If your going raise your own rodents you need be prepared to spend as much...or MORE time on them than your snakes. Regular cleaning is the best way to keep smell down, along with the little tricks folks mentioned above. You don't have to touch them all that much if you choose not to but when you clean you have to get them out somehow.

You may consider african soft-furred rats, between weekly cleanings they have virtually no smell. However they do not reach the same size as common rats and if being scared of a nibble...or full on bite is an issue you may not want to try them.

Either way if you have an issue with rodents you probably should not raise your own. As I said you need be able and prepared to put just as much work and quality into their care as you would for any other animal as your snakes health, depends on their health.

[jglass38]

I find that my rat colony takes far more time/effort to run than my 40 BP's do!!

You ain't jokin! I have 5 new litters right now and about 18 prego girls. I spend way more time on my rats than on the snakes. I also enjoy the hell out of them.

To the original poster, if you don't like rats, buy frozen or buy live on a weekly basis. You can't breed rats without touching them (at least that I am aware).