Breeding Rats??

[RTGReptiles]

Hey Everyone,

So I have put some thought into this and i'm going broke buying rats every month at the shows. Just wondering how hard it is to breed rats? In the end is it cheaper that buying from the shows? Also I have only about 20 ball pythons but I'm wondering what was a good starting number for breeding rats, I was thinking if I bought a male and put him with three females that would get me off to a good start. I just want to get a few tubs to keep in my basement without having to buy rat breeding racks.

Thanks RTG

[preacher]

Hey Todd,
Not sure this belongs in the balls thread but I am going to answer with what I do!

I have 27 BP’s and 1 Red Blood, I have a rack set up with 24 breeding females. Two females per tub, and I breed them in cycles of three tubs or 6 females per breeding at one month intervals. That means I produce between 60 – 75 feeders per month.

That just barely gets me through a month’s feeding as I feed every week, and of course some do not eat every time. However there are times of the year when everyone eats on a regular basis and I do run short. Thank goodness over ¾ of my collection eats FT, that way I can freeze what extra I do have and use them up before I buy at the shows. The time between breeding allows them time to raise up the babies and also a rest period of one month before reintroducing the males so as not to burn them out too quickly.

I buy my feed from a rodent breeder at $15.00 per 40 pound bag. I use the pine chips from TSC for bedding and under that I use Equine Fresh because it soaks up the urine and really helps cut down on odor. I do not use dog food because they really stink from all the animal protein in the feed. I estimate my monthly cost at $75.00 per month and this includes feed and bedding. If I purchased my feeders from the shows it would rum me about $125.00 per month conservatively.

If you want figures for how many to start with a good ratio that was given to me when I started is 1 female breeder rat per 2 - 3 adult snakes and go from there. You may want to think about how you are going to euthanize the rodents also, I built a CO2 chamber and it works well. I have included a picture of my rack just after I had built it and before I installed the automatic watering system.

Hope this helps!
Preacher

[Blackboxstar]

That setup looks really amazing. What are your experiences with smell overall. I think I need to go get some of that equine fresh.

[MrBig]

smell is fine in my basement with a slightly smaller setup then him, breeding rats and asfs. I have about 50 breeders. I use aspen bedding, feed runs me 17$ per 40lb and bedding is about 6$ per bag. Costs me about 60$ per month to run the feeders. As long as I clean once a week the smell is not bad. I supplement my feeders with a large Frozen order about every 3 months. Well large for me and I'm sure small for some, but I buy about 4-500 frozen feeders of various size.

[Breaking Balls]

If you have more time than money you will save money. I don't have a set it and forget it operation. I use and prefer water bottles. I spend multiple hours a week with my rodent cleaning, treating, and socializing the babies and breeders. I prefer to have relaxed rats when it comes to feeding. Anyone that has dealt with borderline feral rats knows what I'm talking about. Wild type breeding colonies are a pain in the ass in my opinion. I don't like having to worry constantly about me or my reptiles being bit.

I feed 35 snakes and I have 3 x 12 Lowes concrete bin racks and will be adding another shortly. They stay in my garage so smell isn't a big deal. I use a hepa filter to keep dust and smell down. I also have a U/V light/fan ozone generator mounted on the wall. You still have to change every 5-7 days. In the heat I change more often because they drink more and urinate more. I feed close to a couple hundred rats a month. I usually have 200 feeders at any given time at various stages between pinky to weanlings. I also have a mouse rack where I harem breed for a few mousers.

I am on autoship with my orders so I get all my supplies shipped for free from National Pet Pharmacy. I use about two bags of feed per month and two bags of aspen. I feed Native Earth/Harlan 4018 @ $16.80 per bag (best food IMO) and I use Harlan shredded aspen 4.4cft @ $10.89 a bag. I might spend a few dollars more than some brands but having it all delivered to my doorstop is worth it. I also like to feed my rodents the best diet possible because that directly relates to the quality of food my snakes get (Imagine that :yesnod:) Good luck with whatever you decide!

Rat Racks
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/Bd0gs/Rat%20Racks/c2011-08-28205809.jpg

Mouse Rack
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/Bd0gs/Rat%20Racks/2011-12-06190557.jpg

I have DIY threads up on another forum if you want step by steps to create these. Msg me if you need the links.

Regards,

B

[RobNJ]

Great input everyone! I breed rats, mice, and ASF's. I spend about $30-40 a month in food, $25ish for bedding, and probably $5-7 a month in cleaning supplies(gloves, soap, bleach, scrub pads, paper towels). I keep my breeder rats and ASF's in 1:3 ratios, and mice in 1:4-5. I agree with Brian on the importance of spending time with your rodents...your experience will be much more pleasant if you're raising docile rats. Since everyone gave such great info, I'll touch on a few other things...

Breeding rodents for a small amount of snakes can easily get out of hand in a hurry. If not managed correctly, you can easily end up with more rats than you need, which will only end up in more feeding/cleaning and will negate any effort to save money. Separating them by sex when you wean them for the mother is a great way to prevent accidental breeding. Rats CAN start breeding as early as 6 weeks...not that they should or will, but it makes separating males from females important.

Pick your future replacement breeders early and spend more time with them. IMO, this leads to less cannibalism, baby stomping, and burying their babies. And don't start your replacements breeding as soon as you can. Give them an extra month or so, as a more mature mother is likely to be a better mother. Every baby you lose is money not being saved.

Keep an eye on numbers and know when to start freezing them. If your snakes are having a lull in feeding, and you have a good number of rats with more close behind them, you're essentially wasting money by keeping the larger ones alive. Freeze them and feed them off to any snakes that will take f/t.

[oskyle1567]

I am interested in starting a small colony also. I currently only have one ball in the 300g range is it even worth my time? I am currently tight on space and only see myself with 3 ball pythons down the road. I was thinking of 1 breeding pair... Do you think this will be adequate for 1 ball python for right now or is it over kill? I buy from a pet store right now and its running me 20 bucks a month 60 dollars a month in the long run. Also i know someone already covered this but how would the smell be if they were well kept up in a small apartment?

[RobNJ]

I am interested in starting a small colony also. I currently only have one ball in the 300g range is it even worth my time? I am currently tight on space and only see myself with 3 ball pythons down the road. I was thinking of 1 breeding pair... Do you think this will be adequate for 1 ball python for right now or is it over kill? I buy from a pet store right now and its running me 20 bucks a month 60 dollars a month in the long run. Also i know someone already covered this but how would the smell be if they were well kept up in a small apartment?

I don't think it would be worth it at all to breed rats for 3 snakes. Best bet would be to look around for someone local who breeds their own feeders, which would likely get you a far better price than a pet store, and if your snake(s) will take frozen thawed, buy a month or two supply at a time.

[RTGReptiles]

Awesome everyone thanks for all the inputs, I've learned a lot.

[dustinNMpythons]

Good info guys. I definitely encourage using the equine fresh or any other horse stall pellet similar to that because you would not believe how much it cuts down on odor, not to mention it lasts so much longer than any kind of mulch which essentially saves money too.

Another thing that hasn't been mentioned yet I don't think is if you are producing too many rats you could also easily sell them to the pet stores around if they will give you a decent amount for them and make a little bit to pay for the upkeep.

[reptilebaby]

I just got several african soft furred rats for breeding.
Rats, to me don't have enough babies often enough.

[Willow]

I am on autoship with my orders so I get all my supplies shipped for free from National Pet Pharmacy. I use about two bags of feed per month and two bags of aspen. I feed Native Earth/Harlan 4018 @ $16.80 per bag (best food IMO) and I use Harlan shredded aspen 4.4cft @ $10.89 a bag. I might spend a few dollars more than some brands but having it all delivered to my doorstop is worth it. I also like to feed my rodents the best diet possible because that directly relates to the quality of food my snakes get (Imagine that :yesnod:) Good luck with whatever you decide!




I think you just saved me a crap load of money on rat food for the rest of my life.....(screw you local feed store!)

[Willow]

I just got several african soft furred rats for breeding.
Rats, to me don't have enough babies often enough.


Keep an eye on them lol....you can end up with way more then you need very easily with those guys :P

they also seem to eat a lot more then my rats do (or waste more when they chew it to powder, whatever)

but I haven't gotten rid of them yet, so I must kinda like them lol.