rodent breeding
I just started breeding my own rats for my ball python collection and they are starting to take off! Ok, to do it on the cheap, I bought a bunch of those 66 quart plastic storage containers (under $5/ea), cut a big hole in the lids and bolted a heat return register ($6/ea) over the hole for escape proof ventilation. The only problem is a few of the rats tend to gnaw on the molded bottom of the container and create holes. I plan on epoxying metal screen over the holes to fix that. A hanging water bottle ($6), ceramic food dish ($3), and pine bedding ($11/40# bag) for litter completes the setup. This will hold 1 male and 2 female rats comfortably. For food, I buy Mazuri/Purina rat chow in 25# bags ($11) at my local feed mill...or Harlan chow in 33# bags ($19) at my favorite reptile store. Look up Maruzi.Com for locations near you to buy. I supplement the rat chow with a blend of premium bird seed ($10/50# bag) and rabbit chow ($15/50# bag). I think I got a very nutritious mix because my female rats regularly throw litters numbering 12-15!! The largest was 17 pups!!
For mice, I use 10 gallon aquariums with metal screen tops....same food, same litter, same water bottle setup. Only with mice, you can go with 1 male to 4 or 5 females. Mice seem to fare better if they are in small groups. I never had much luck with the 1+1 = babies formula....1+4 works better.
Euthanasia is acomplished with CO2 gas. I bought a 10# tank with regulator at a local welding supply store. The initial outlay was expensive ($179), but the gas refills are cheap ($17). I also bought a food vacuum bagger ($70) to vacuum pack the rodents after gassing. I don't have a quick freeze freezer, but haven't had a problem tossing the still warm vacuumed packed bag in a normal freezer. Works well for me.
Most of this stuff can be bought at WalMart or PetCo pretty cheap (except the CO2). I'm sure there are other ways of doing this, but for me, it was cheap and it works well.
Scott Nellis
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