For those breeding rats, am I a fool?

[Griz]

I ran out of luck this past week. For the past few years we have had a lady in our town who bred rats as a side job. I could go there and the most expensive rat was $1.50 and it is what RodentPro would call a 3xxl. So, needless to say I was spoiled.

Well, long story short, she stopped this past week. She is no longer in the rat business. So, I had to place an order with RodentPro. While their prices were not bad, the shipping was horrendous! $120 for shipping alone. I fully understand why but I would like to avoid this.

So, I am contemplating breeding my own rats. A good buddy of mine is interested in going in on this with me. We can make our own racks without a problem. However, what I am worried about is the smell.

Ideally, I would like to keep the unit at his house but I have a feeling that is not going to work. I have a 40x40 barn with a full loft on my property that I can use. My questions are this:

1) If I decide to keep the rats in my mudroom (attached to house but seperated by a steel door), how much smell would it produce?

2) If the rats will produce an offensive odor that one simply cannot combat, then how would keeping them in the barn work? I live in Illinois and we can see winters that have temps in the 20's (sometimes lower but rare for any period of time) and summer temps in the 90's. Would I have to build a seperate room and then heat that room for them? Could I simply put flexwatt on the bottom of their cages to keep them warm enough?

Any suggestions you can give me is appreciated!

Griz

 

[shrap]

Bob,

I have bred my own rats for 3 years or so. There really is very minimal foul odor with rats if you keep them right. If there is a strong odor it is because you are not cleaning the tubs frequently enough. I keep 1.3 in each of my tubs and I clean my tubs once a week. On that 7th day is really the only day you can smell the rats without poking your head in a tub. And even then it is not a strong over powering odor.

Mice on the other hand..... are foul putrid stinky little critters. The amount of ammonia in their urine is overbearing. Rats dont even compare, their ammonia levels are minuscule compared to mice. You should have no problems keeping them in your mudroom.

Temps are important with rats. Too hot and they will not breed and some will die off prematurely. Too cold and they start to catch colds and RIs. Which can also lead to premature die offs. Ideally 70-80 degrees is the range you want them in. They are really no different than any other mammal. Once it gets 85 plus they are usually pretty uncomfortable.

 

[shrap]

Oh, two other things that are vital to keeping odor down.... ventilation and substrate. Need lots of ventilation (typically just a hardware cloth top is enough) and a substrate that is absorbent, dries easily and that has a pleasant smell to begin with. Rats smell like their substrate. Be it clean or dirty, they only smell as good or bad as their substrate does. Aspen is my favorite choice.

 

[Mike Greathouse]

Griz,
Shrap covered it pretty well. One thing that I will add is the use of ozone generators. A good friend of mine had a pretty extensive rodent colony (mice and rats) a few years ago. He utilized ozone generators in the rodent room and they did wonders controlling the odor. bear in mind, the room was primarily mice. They definitely produce a stronger odor.

One other thing I'll point out. Although he (this is John Schmitt of Suncoast Herpetological that I talking about) was very successful breeding the rodents, it didn't take him long to come to the realization that in the same space he had allotted for the rodents, he could set up snake racks and produce more then enough babies to offset the food bill for both the existing and the new animals. This, plus he was able to work with the animals that he really wanted to work with. Rodents are not fun!

 

[darkbloodwyvern]

If you are into rats and enjoy dealing with them, i know a lot of people will breed so called "fancy rats" and sell any extra rats as pets because they have hand tamed the animals since birth- like snakes, this seems to make them the best pets.
Depending on how many you end up producing, you may be able to do some interesting things with rat morphs and hairless rats, etc. Seems like it's your call as to whether you think it is worth your time. Personally, I wouldn't because i don't like working with live rodents, but i feed mice and they are just gross. I think all my rats would end up as pets if i bred them

 

[Bill & Amy]

I agree with Sammy on what he said about the rodents. Here is a picture of the racks I used for my rats. I also use imitation vanilla in their water which also helps keep down the urine smell. I used to keep them in the basement when I first started breeding rats, but since I also breed mice they have been moved to a seperate building. If the room you are going to keep them in is very smal you can run a dehumidifier which helps the bedding stay dry.