Rat Questions- Please Help

[Chris Rossi]

Latteron down the road Im thinking of breeding rats, but Im not sure of a few things. My first question is if I kept rats in a tub wouldent they chew through it? I was kinda thinking of keeping them in a 10gal. tank, would that work? Any suggestions? I really can use some help thanks guys.

[dracovolans]

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[Chris Rossi]

I dont think Ill need somthing that big. I figured 1 male and 2 females is all Ill need. that is why I was wondering if I could use 10gal because thier small and t othe best of my knowledge rats cant chew glass .

[SatanicIntention]

You cannot keep 3 adult rats in a 10 gallon tank. The build-up of ammonia in such a short period of time would kill them.

Your going to need another male anyway, to keep the breeder male company while the females are resting or rearing their offspring. The females need to be separated from the male before they give birth as they go into heat right after having the babies, and can become pregnant again right away. This is not good for her or the developing or nursing babies, and can result in small litters, debilitated female rats and thin pups. SO, you'll need another female rat too, to keep the resting female company when she doesn't have a buddy. You will need 1 tub for the males, 2 tubs(one for each female while they are birthing, since baby stealing can occur and babies can get hurt and even killed), a resting female tub, and 2 tubs for separate sex weaned babies. They can get pregnant as soon as 5 weeks old, so it's best to wean them at 4 weeks and separate by sex so this does not happen.

So no, 10 gallons do not work unless you're using it for ONE female rat and her offspring(but even then, that small of a tank cannot be used for long, only until the babies are 2 weeks old or so, then they need a bigger enclosure).

[Jenn]

I raised rats for a while. But I made a huge math mistake. I didn't have enough hungry snakes to keep up with the rats. I quickly became over-run with rats. My entire living room was filled with rats. And they are very hard to get rid of when they reach adult size. (which happens very very fast)!!! I was fortunate to find someone to help me out. I posted on Craig's List and recieved only ONE response. The enormous space requirements and cost of feeding dozens of rats was not something I planned very well for. I breed mice now for most of my snakes and just buy rats as I need them. Another problem I ran into was that baby rats are just so darm cute that I became attached to them which made feeding them off very difficult for me. If you do proceed I would caution you to keep things managable.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Latteron down the road Im thinking of breeding rats, but Im not sure of a few things. My first question is if I kept rats in a tub wouldent they chew through it? I was kinda thinking of keeping them in a 10gal. tank, would that work? Any suggestions? I really can use some help thanks guys.

10 gallons tank can only be used for birthing and nursing (Aka maternity tank), however you cannot house a breeding trio permanently in a 10 gallons tank.

You can build a rack or you can house them in a tub without any issue if well done.

Here is what I use when I quarantine new rats





Just make sure there are no ridge in your tub that rats can start chewing, also avoid putting holes on the side as it can be ground for them to start chewing their way out.

[Chris Rossi]

WHat I was thinking of doing was keeping one male in a 10, and hten have a female in a 10 when her babies are wenned Ill put them in thier own 10 and then seperate the sexes into 2 different 10. Or if thier are any tubs like the one showed on the link but smaller. My main consern is the rats chewing through the tub and getting out. If that happend you wouldent see me on the fourms anymore because my parents killed me.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I have been breeding for over a year and no one ever chewed anything or escaped.

How will you keep a breeding trio? Y

You will need something bigger than a 10 gallons for a breeding trio (It is recommended to start with 1.2)

Males are also larger than a females and I would recommend something larger than a 10 gallons tank to keep a male.

Babies grow very fast and will not be able to stay in a 10 gallons very long either.

If you plan on having different setups male, females, babies I would recommend a rack.

[Chris Rossi]

WHat type of Tubs should I use? WHat should I do to keep the rats from chewing on the tubs? Also hou should I have the rats put together, 2 Females in one tub and a Male in his own tub? Then have 2 other tubs for the babies?

[littleindiangirl]

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