some questions

[reptile boi]

Hey everyone,

I have got rid of all my mealie colonies because of "woodmites" 1 or 2 months ago and it appears that there are no more mites left (after i sprayed my carpet with a bleach and water solution) and i was wondering, if i started new colonies will the mites come back? Also, what is a good substrate to use for mealies that will not get infested by mites or any parasites? Also, how do u breed superworms? Are they as easy as mealies to breed? Like, do you just keep a couple beetles in a container with some oatmeal and wait? Also, i was wondering if dog food plus mice seeds are good enough for breeding rats and if itll produce healthy pinks to feed to baby boas? Oh and how many adult rats can you keep in a 10 gal glass tank?




Thanks,
Ben

[Linds]

Rats:
I raise my feeders almost exclusively on dog food. What you are feeding your rats is perfectly fine and should provide the proper nutrition ;)

Mealies:
I keep mine in a substrate of white bran, red bran, fish food flakes, rye flakes, oat bran, rolled oats, 12 grain mix, wheat germ, pablum (mixed fruit variety), quinoa, etc. IMHO the more variety, the better - after all, you are what you eat :) Wood mites are not commonly found in grain so I wouldn't put too much concern on that. Grain mites are more common however, and there isn't any grain substrate that is immune to them. I never had problems with them until this past year, and pretty well gave up on irradicating them since I don't feel like scrapping all my existing colonies. They are harmless.

Superworms:
Different from breeding mealies. These will not pupate on their own like mealies, so you need to seperate each one in their own container if you want them to turn in to beetles. You can put them in to grain substrate and let them lay their eggs and then rotate them between several containers as is, or you can place a big huink of old wood and/or bark in with them. I hear this is the most successful way, although I just started using bark in my colony a couple months ago, so I cannot yet form a complete opinion, although I have been noticing more worms and sooner :)

[marylyn101]

only 2 inthe 10 gal. cause to little space will might provoke the mom to eat her baby's, that and it is just better for them

[Linds]

Yeah missed that part... do you mean how many adults can you keep in a ten or what size colony? I wouldn't run a colony in a ten, but if you must, I agree with Marylyn and no more than 1.1, but I do use a spare ten gallon for my overflow of adult males if I need extra space, and will toss 5 or so in. Doesn't give them much room, but they aren't in there for too long :flick: I also don't like to give my feeders too much room in the first place... more room = more excercise = more calories burned = less meat & more food consumption = more money. Sounds pretty bad I admit, but they are meat rats not pets, and they seem content and that's all they have ever known.

[reptile boi]

Yea, i meant how many adults can u keep in a ten. Also, how long are a rats gestation period? And do u use a water bowl to supply your rats with water, or do you use a water bottle? If you do use a water bottle, how do you position it upright so the water will get to the rats?




Thanks,
Ben




Thanks,
Ben

[Linds]

Waterbottles are the only way to go with rodents of any kind. They will kick shavings in to the dish in no time at all. You can get the kind that are meant to hang inside aquariums/cages.

[Lisa]

I'm saving up for a watering system that uses tubing and a bucket. kind of like a giant waterbottle to handle multiple bins/tanks. I'm sick of filling waterbottles. thinking of trying to use some of the "float" parts from the back of an abandoned toilet to make it so i don't even have to fill the bucket.

[reptile boi]

Would a rat be able to escape a 10 gal tank if i were to just give them a thin wire lid?




Thanks,
Ben

[Lisa]

they are pretty good at chewing through things. they easily chewed through the steel screen on one of our lids, thankfully we had hardware cloth on the other side.

[reptile boi]

hey,

Im using harware cloth too.. well...something like hardware cloth except the squares are twice the size.




Thanks,
Ben