Rats are so cool!!! :)

[Pixie]

I've been breeding mice for a bit over a year for my snakes needs but recently started breeding rats as I'm feeding them more and more. I purchased a ginea pig enclosure kit and 1.3 adult rats, the females surprinsingly weren't very easy to find!

My first female rat gave birth a little over a week ago to a litter of 18 pups! I had never ever had such a big litter with my mice, the biggest being 13 and the usual being 8-9, this with over 20 females going at one time!

3 rat pups were eaten but I don't know who was the culprit. Don't matter too much to me cause I still had 15 nice plump ones left :) Now, another female gave birth this morning to what looks like at least 14 babies!!! This is great!!! The 1 week olds are looking so darn cute and they are really fat! They are already the size of small adult mice and probably weigh already more than them!

The most amazing thing about rats though I have to say is how much cleaner they are and less stinky!!! By far less stinky than mice, you can't even compare it! When others used to mention this I had a hard time believing it as the size difference is so big and they are both rodents. It's surprizing that mice stink so much for their small size, you can bet that my mice colonies have greatly been reduced!!! LOL, I only have 1.2 now and they will be fed off this evening most likely :)

I've switched all but my BP's over to rats, the corns love them! I'm hoping that the balls will be tempted by some plump fuzzy rat pups!

Pixie

[wyz]

How big of a cage or encloser do you need for a 1.3 group ?

I'm fed up with mice and might be swithching over to rats..

In the meanwhile, I'm buying frozen mice, wich is also a real charm :)

WYZ

[Pixie]

wyz: I bought a guinea pig starter kit just like this one (http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/small/product.cfm?CAT=63&SUBCAT=6302&PROD_ID=06004000010101) for my 1.3 rats and they are doing well. I got it in Montreal at an Animal Expert shop for 59.99$. I took the guinea pig kit, they also had a ferret kit that was the same size, because I would be able to use the food that was included. I think it was a decent deal and I didn't have to bother with getting everything I needed separately, just got the kit & some rats and voilà!

I have only one snake left that is switching from live to prekilled mice, one other that is switching from prekilled to f/t mice. I hope to switch them to rats soon and then I'll be completely done with mice, woohoo! lol

As for choosing between which to breed, rats win hands down for me. I'm quite happy to be rid of my stinky mice :D

Pixie

[Kyle Barker]

I agree with everything but the clean part. They generally are cleaner but i have never seen blood from a mouse giving birth. When the rats give birth there is blood everywhere, SICK! I like the fact that they actually care about their babies, unlike mice that just run when you cough.

[unknownclown]

Im with you Pixie :)
I was planning on switching my BPs to gerbils and strange enough both my rat and gerbil had babies today. The gerbil so far only had 3 and I don't expect any more outta her since she wasnt hardly showing. And then there was my rat who just popped out 15 babies.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1365baby_rats_003-med.jpg

Now Im thinkin to myself that I may have to hold that thought with the gerbils, if not nix it. I know, I know you all told me that gerbils dont produce as much, I cant help it though Im hard headed. :p

Oh and about that blood thing... how long do you all usually wait to clean that up?

[reptilesalonica]

I am glad reading all these about rats since i never before have bred rats. Now i have 50 mice breeders and i am waiting for my first 1.3 rats. (That damn breeder took so long to send them,i'll wack him in the head) lol...
Pixie, It is very strange for me reading that rats smell less than mice!..!...This is amazing!
Also is problem for me with rats. I keep them in a separate room and maybe the fact that they don't see me very often made them scared a lot from me. The result is 2 from 18 babies were eaten.
~Greg~

[Foxy320Red]

I have 7 rats and 7 mice....as pets. I love 'em

[Kyle Barker]

I wait about 5 days, untill i clean them. I used to try and do it right away, but mommy dont like that and after she tries to eat me she eats the babies. I just dont like blood i guess. But i have far better success with rats, thats why i keep them.

[Linds]

Congrats on your first litter! I find my rats have much larger litters than mice as well. Just a heads up on the cage, you may want to convert the wired part, perhaps cover it with hardware cloth, the babies can <u>easily</u> get through those bars :eek:

[snake_goth]

ok now ive keps a breeding par of rats be fore thay only just died a few months ago (i didnt have kurt then,my snake) and 1 thay smell ok u get used to it 2 try to clean up the blood fast as the mum goes a bit nust and thats y that eat babys, ig u clean it up cwik u will c a improvement, also if mum trys to EAt u get a bit of strong card and carfuly move her out of the way and clean it, and finely the baby cant get thro there (how big is the gap) its only wen thay get fur and open there eyes that thay might if you need fuzzys or older just buy a rat or hamster cage kind of big a liter of 10 a cage 15inc by 20 inc i floor and thay will be ok in there allso if u giv them a bit of french bread thay go nuts thay luv the stuff

[snake_goth]

sorry ime a bit dislecsik

[snake_goth]

and i dont realy look at what ime typing i just look at the keys