Raising your own Rats Question???

[NCary]

I have been feeding both my Bp's two mice every 7 days and they are starting to really grow. I am also seeing my wallet getting lighter and hate having to search for mice in AZ (being so hot its hard to find mice cause many wont produce in warm conditions if a pet store doesnt maintain the proper enviroment or what not). So i was wondering if anyone had any advice to raising rats. I only have two bps one male norm and a female lemon pastel, so im looking at a small amount of rats to produce my weekly meals for my snakes (starting with pups and moving on in time to more mature rats). Also they are getting bigger and would soon like to move on to larger feed what im using now. (mice) Also rats are healthier for bps so i hear.


So my questions are: Whats worked for you? What cage? What ratio of male to female? What should i feed the rats? Breeding cycles of the rats, HOW DO I KEEP THE SMELL DOWN? If i have missed something let me know.

Thanks

Nate

[Tammy]

My advice to you is to switch them over to frozen.
Raising your own is just sooooo impractical unless your snakes will eat nothing but live.
but unless you have a decent colony of rats, you probably wont have the size you want when you want it, and you'll end up with surplus rats, then what? freeze them and save them for later...well, thats allot of work for frozen rodents...
Frozen is the way to go for a multitude of reasons! Have you ever seen what a live uneaten rat can do to a snake?
You should Call Billy @ NERD 603 382 6361 or rodent pro the shipping is pricey when the weather is hot, but in the winter months they will ship ground if you ask (they just won't guarantee anything, but the rodents will be fine if its cold out)
Thats my advice.
I can tell you how to raise rats if you really want to know, but I wouldn't suggest it.

[NCary]

Heres my problem, Im in the desert. Tucson Az never gets cold for one, two I know of a supplier who will buy my excess rats if need be, and three ive tried buying from local pet stores frozen but my bp's are really picky, it has to be alive and moving. I have seen what a rat can do to a snake. (ive seen alot of snakes with scars and that sad pic of a baby ball who was all but killed by a large rat when left alone). I love my snakes more than rodents so i stun my feed before giving it to my snakes and always watch until its dead and the snake begins to eat.
Back to my question, if you could offer any ideas or suggestions raising rats that would be great.

Nate

[Tammy]

ok,

Well, 1 male to up to 5 females usually works well, depending on the size of the cage. pull the pregnant females and allow them to give birth and raise the young in solitary confinement.
lab blocks are fine for a diet, you should be able to order it through a local feed store. Table scraps are good in addition. Raise up your females for future breeding when the old ones get worn out.
Freedom Breeder racks work really well, and are easy to maintain. They are all connected universally to one water source, either directly to a water line, or from a bucket located on top of the rack, and the food all goes in the back. They are pricey, though... http://www.freedombreeder.com/originalcage.php?PHPSESSID=d547d7143b5f2e79e642495 f016d514d
we use the rat cages for breeding, and the mouse size boxes to put the pregnant females into.

A cheaper option would be these http://www.beanfarm.com/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi?user4=Rodent&cart_id=2024335.13867*lo7i-7&xm=off&ppinc=rodent

and then, of course you have the dreaded aquarium, a royal pain if you ask me.

We use a pelleted pine bedding called woody pet, you only need to use very little, and it works pretty well controlling odor.

[NCary]

I was wondering about a pellet cat litter (i believe its made out of old news paper and what not), for bedding and then something they can shred for a nest. I am caught between your idea of that Pro Rodent Breeding Cage C40 (since im probably going to start 1/1 right now and eventually 2/1, since i dont really have a massive need for lots of feed) and just going out and making my own. Ill probably just play it safe and buy one. I have been hearing that the container shouldnt be clear, for one reason or another? I have also heard a high protien dog food with no red dye works great for food. Well Thanks for your help!

Nate

[Tammy]

Whatever bedding you choose, just be careful if the water nozzle is close too close to the bottom, they like to stick the bedding in the nozzle.

[NCary]

Ill let you know how things turn out, and ill take pics of my set up when its finished. Thanks for your help!

[NCary]

I heard about the mixing the water with vanilla (SP?) but i heard it clogs up the water. I have just spent a couple hours twisting annd forming 1/2 inch wire to make a slant feeder with a water bottle compartment. I just need to get some staples for my staple gun to secure it to the plastic lid. I also bought "Yesterdays News Pellets" for bedding, and im still looking for a high protien dog food for feed that has low red dye. Thanks for your input Ill let you know how things turn out.

[DeadIrishD]

NCary have you checked out food made by Nutro?
its a dog food, they also make cat food, and I swear by this stuff when it comes to feeding it to my cats.

[NCary]

Ill check it out, I bought some puppy food as it was high in protien but it falls through the 1/2 wire. So i doubled the wire off setting it but im thinking of taking the puppy chow back and just getting a large pellet dog food.

[NCary]

Quick question, someone told me once but I cant remember, how often do females ovalate, how long are they pregnant? and what is the timeline for separating the pups from the mother and their classifying their maturity. Ive only started a week ago but id like to make sure when the time comes im on track and things are alright with my project.

[diablodragon]

Female rats come into heat about every 6 days. So leaving a male with the females for 2 weeks pretty much guarentees the females get pregnant. Gestation is from 21-23 days. The babys are wiened at about 4 weeks, I personally keep them with the mom till they are 5 weeks old. The will be able to support their own weight on their legs and will be reliably be able to eat solid food when they are wiened.

[NCary]

Its been 26 days since i first started my project and no babies, I read that it usually takes some time for them to settle in before they will mate. About 5 days ago i noticed both the females have very pronounced nipples and showing a bit. Now, no doubt about it I have one female who is about to pop. But my question is my other female who is smaller in size doesnt look as big (overall size and belly), why? I know the larger female is dominate over the smaller one but does this influince the male breeding with her? All I know is i have one ready to pop and the other not even close. Just wondering why?

[j_becwar]

Hey hows the rat colony going? I know this is an old thread but I couldn't help posting. I live in Tucson too and I first started my rat colony about a month after you did. LMAO. Are you going to keep the colony through the summer?


later Jamie

[diggy415]

i raise my own feeders as well and the mice breed freely but for the rats i seperate the males and females and then pair up 1 to 1 or 1.2 depending when i am running low and when one mom is at a certain point of raising her young i breed again with another female and this way i have constant litters throughout the year, not too many and never low. :) i buy the large animal yellow powder form of vitamins and terramycin 343 that works well with the sniffles. i have 6 tanks set up and it's enough to keep me going and supply those around me on a monthly basis. i feed them a variety of foods also like that of zoo animals, vege's fruits chicken etc spoiled but worth it

[glima]

i want to make mi mini-BP-breeding-room so i want to know what are the basics for it.

[glima]

sorry but curiosity invaded me ^^ i just thinkicantafford food from pet stores, so i jus wanna know what to do to raise mice securely.

[CamStatic]

just be kind to the animals, and make sure the females won't go pregnant at all times... every mother needs a brake.

[Freakie_frog]

Ok I'll try and help. First I rotate my females through my males. Any females that are prego I pull out and they go in a birthing tub till the babies are old enough to take away from mom. I run a 1.5 - 1.6 ratio in every tub at all times. I use the jumbo "petmate" litter pans with an ARS style drinking setup. As for bedding I use bulk pine shaving and change it out every week regardless. Food is a Mazzuri (sp) rat block which I get 50lbs for 17.95. The vanilla in the water really doesn't work for me I just make sure they have good air flow and clean bedding and I never have a problem with a smell other than a bedding smell. You'll get that smell when they are over crowded or don't have fresh bedding. Females get a week or three off

And just so you know I birth between 30-40 pinks a week :D every week

[Rafa]

One more thing, when you separate the young ones from the mother, dont cage together males and females, because when males get sexually mature they will stalk the females and retard their growing. That`s what I do, And about the smell, getting used to it is the only thing that worked for me! :newredbig