mouse/rat care

[DeesBalls]

So I guess a lil weird thread, Friday I will be attempting to feed my ball python again... she just shed and pooped so I'm hoping she is ready! My question is that: if she dont eat I am keeping the rat as a pet. I know for a fact if she don't eat it and I hold on to it, I won't be able to feed it to my snake, so I'm keeping it lol. Any who I'm getting just like a like 5 gal tank with a wheel. What else do they need? What do I feed them? And i will be keeping it on aspen. The rat will be also kept in my lil snake room will that be okay? Obviously my ball won't mind is se dont eat, and my cones a small and so is my brb.


Lil help will be nice! Thanks guys.

[infernalis]

That small of a tank is not good.

Rats need like a 30 gallon tank to run around in.

Wal Mart sells great rat/mouse food for $2.88 a box.

anything else??

[DeesBalls]

Sounds good. What about temps? Will it be ok if it is by my snakes?

[infernalis]

I keep 8 colonies of mice and 3 colonies of rats, at ordinary everyday room temps.

Your rat will be fine in the snake area, but the snakes will smell it 24/7 and it increases your chances of getting bit.

My BP would pace his cage all day long, until I moved the mice out to another room.

[DeesBalls]

Okay, I will keep the rat outside of the snake room. Thanks so much!

[Nafun]

I keep rats and gerbils in my snake room, and it hasn't made my snakes any more nippy, and they haven't been more active (my snakes move? pfft.) Though reptile rooms are generally poorly ventilated (to keep the heat and humidity in), which can be a problem with rats... cause they stink.

[infernalis]

rats seem to have an ammonia type smell, the mice just plain ol stink.

Keeping the cages fresh is a must.

[shaunyboy]

Sounds good. What about temps? Will it be ok if it is by my snakes?


i dont know if the rat will sense its living in a room full of snakes.if it does i'd imagine it will be a very nervous rat.

your snakes will smell the rat 24/7 as infernalis said that ups your chance of being bitten as your snakes will be in feeding mode.

i only have to walk into the room with a tray of rats and every snake i have is up and pacing about in antisipation of a meal.

i personally would'nt keep them in the same room as my snakes would be constantly smelling them.i suppose it would be like you sleeping in a restraunt kitchen smelling food all day long would make you feel like eating all the time.
cheers shaun

[infernalis]

i dont know if the rat will sense its living in a room full of snakes.if it does i'd imagine it will be a very nervous rat.

your snakes will smell the rat 24/7 as infernalis said that ups your chance of being bitten as your snakes will be in feeding mode.

i only have to walk into the room with a tray of rats and every snake i have is up and pacing about in antisipation of a meal.

i personally would'nt keep them in the same room as my snakes would be constantly smelling them.i suppose it would be like you sleeping in a restraunt kitchen smelling food all day long would make you feel like eating all the time.
cheers shaun


Anyone here live close enough to a Burger king that the smells from the broiler drift into the windows??

I used to live next door to a pizza hut restaurant once, I hated it, I was buying stuff from them every day multiple times a day.

[shaunyboy]

Anyone here live close enough to a Burger king that the smells from the broiler drift into the windows??

I used to live next door to a pizza hut restaurant once, I hated it, I was buying stuff from them every day multiple times a day.


my mate lives above and to the left of a thai restraunt kitchen.it always has the kitchen windows open.so everytime i walk up the stairs to his house i get a sudden urge for a curry.i honestley could not live in a house with all that lovely cooking smells floating in my windows.i'd be in a constant state of hunger or extrtemely larger than i am at present.:yes:
cheers shaun

[mykee]

I breed rats and they (over 200 of 'em) share a large room with all of my ball pythons. I have never had an issue, and the feeding response of my balls is exceptional.

[infernalis]

I breed rats and they (over 200 of 'em) share a large room with all of my ball pythons. I have never had an issue, and the feeding response of my balls is exceptional.


That explains itself.

My BP has never bit, except during a feeding when the F/T was cooler temperature than my hand. It was not the snakes fault at all, I immediately got longer tongs.

[BlindOne]

rats seem to have an ammonia type smell, the mice just plain ol stink.

Mice are nasty, period. Hate 'em

My animals are on rats, which I produce, except for one picky kingsnake which still takes mouse pinks

[marvelfreak]

Anyone here live close enough to a Burger king that the smells from the broiler drift into the windows??

I used to live next door to a pizza hut restaurant once, I hated it, I was buying stuff from them every day multiple times a day. I live a block from a Mc Donalds and a block an 1/2 from Farmington Pizza Company. Sitting on my front porch i can smell both with a light westernly breeze. Dam it now i am craving onion rings and pizza.

[Nafun]

Only mouse in my house is "Chloe"... the very first feeder mouse I bought for my ball python. I went to feed my python, and my wife said "You can't! I named her!". So now it's a pet.

[DeesBalls]

i dont know if the rat will sense its living in a room full of snakes.if it does i'd imagine it will be a very nervous rat.

your snakes will smell the rat 24/7 as infernalis said that ups your chance of being bitten as your snakes will be in feeding mode.

i only have to walk into the room with a tray of rats and every snake i have is up and pacing about in antisipation of a meal.

i personally would'nt keep them in the same room as my snakes would be constantly smelling them.i suppose it would be like you sleeping in a restraunt kitchen smelling food all day long would make you feel like eating all the time.
cheers shaun

okay, i understand... i will keep the rat in a diff. room.

anyone have advice to get my ball to eat? any lil tips i could try?

[Nafun]

Put the ball in a tub in a warm dark quiet room. Leave it over night with a prekilled rodent.

If that doesn't work.

Try the same thing, only expose the brain of the rodent (sounds gross, but really works.). It will make the rodent smell better.

If that doesn't work, get an unweaned live rat (eyes closed!). Take a brown paper bag, and punch some holes in it, put the snake, and the live unweaned rat in the bag. Put the bag in a tub. Put the tub in a warm, dark, quiet room over night.