question about rat breeding

TeaNinja · 02-23-11, 08:50 PM

so, my dumerils hasn't been hungry for 2-3 months and i've had the rat in a birdcage on my floor the entire time and he's pretty calm and domesticated. my friend used to have a rtb that died and he had a rat for it that he ended up keeping as a pet and that was a WHIIILE ago. he told me if i wanted, he would take the rat thats at my house, and i could get a female and breed some rat pups. i'm thinking that way i could bring her to his house to get impregnated then bring her home to have babies and i could do that whenever i need more rats. also it would be good to switch my ball python to rat pups instead of mice so he will be ready to eat rats later on when he's bigger.

to make it clear, he would have 2 males at his house, and i would have a female at mine.

my questions are, would it be worth it to house a female and breed some pups whenever i need them for a BP and a big dum?
and how long does it take them to get big enough to be a good meal for a 5-6 foot dumerils?

if anyone has opinions on this, lmk.

kinggill · 02-23-11, 09:04 PM

I bred rodents for a many years,fed rat chow from the local COOP ,i cant remember how long it takes but they grow fairly quick but not as fast as mice....one cage aint bad...more than a few stink like crazy so you need a room with ventilation.Fun at first so try to control yourself..gets very addictive....for me 1 cage grew to 100 in no time at all...saved alot of $ but took alot of time,b4 i knew it i was spending more time on my chickens,rats and mice than my reptiles.If you have room for a cow tank,take your weened pups and put them all in there...males will fight like hell when they grow,so feed them off,they are real easy to sex.Take your females out of the cow tank when they are pregnant put them in seperate cages until the cycle repeats itself..before ya know it youll have a 1000 rats breading and you be RICH!!!!!!

TeaNinja · 02-23-11, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinggill

I bred rodents for a many years,fed rat chow from the local COOP ,i cant remember how long it takes but they grow fairly quick but not as fast as mice....one cage aint bad...more than a few stink like crazy so you need a room with ventilation.Fun at first so try to control yourself..gets very addictive....for me 1 cage grew to 100 in no time at all...saved alot of $ but took alot of time,b4 i knew it i was spending more time on my chickens,rats and mice than my reptiles.If you have room for a cow tank,take your weened pups and put them all in there...males will fight like hell when they grow,so feed them off,they are real easy to sex.Take your females out of the cow tank when they are pregnant put them in seperate cages until the cycle repeats itself..before ya know it youll have a 1000 rats breading and you be RICH!!!!!!

will it work with the males being at my friends and the female at my house?
should i just leave her over at his house for a few days then take her home and wait and see if she's pregnant or what? i've never bred rats.

kinggill · 02-23-11, 09:26 PM

not sure...i left mine together...im sure ya could do that...i dont think theres a science to breeding rodents...its pretty much hammertime for the male if he is around females as long as the cage aint too cold somewheres around -40 or real hot +80ish any wheres over or under they didnt breed good for me.....im not an expert but it was easy!!They might fight a little when you interduce them and there will be some sqealin goin on ,but it never bothered me because mine were not pets...Give it a shot man,thats the only way ya learn..if you can raise healthy reptiles... rats are easy...they basically do everything them selves...just feed and water...

TeaNinja · 02-23-11, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinggill

not sure...i left mine together...im sure ya could do that...i dont think theres a science to breeding rodents...its pretty much hammertime for the male if he is around females as long as the cage aint too cold somewheres around -40 or real hot +80ish any wheres over or under they didnt breed good for me.....im not an expert but it was easy!!They might fight a little when you interduce them and there will be some sqealin goin on ,but it never bothered me because mine were not pets...Give it a shot man,thats the only way ya learn..if you can raise healthy reptiles... rats are easy...they basically do everything them selves...just feed and water...

yea, thanks.

infernalis · 02-23-11, 09:56 PM

The females do have a "heat cycle" and if you miss it, she will not be receptive to males.

I do too many to time it, but it seems like I have litters every few days, it does take a couple weeks before they are weaned.

Right now, my buyer has not asked for any rats in a while, so I'm getting stuff around for a gas chamber.

I have a few paint ball gun canisters, the big black ones that hold quite a bit of C02, then I can gas them and freeze the rats for later use.

I have never kept the males and females at different locations.

I don't notice the smell unless the cages are nasty, keep the cage clean, and they don't really stink.

2 males raised together from birth usually get along without fighting.

TeaNinja · 02-23-11, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

The females do have a "heat cycle" and if you miss it, she will not be receptive to males.

I do too many to time it, but it seems like I have litters every few days, it does take a couple weeks before they are weaned.

Right now, my buyer has not asked for any rats in a while, so I'm getting stuff around for a gas chamber.

I have a few paint ball gun canisters, the big black ones that hold quite a bit of C02, then I can gas them and freeze the rats for later use.

I have never kept the males and females at different locations.

I don't notice the smell unless the cages are nasty, keep the cage clean, and they don't really stink.

2 males raised together from birth usually get along without fighting.

how many pups do they normally birth per litter?

would it be alright to have a female in with 2 males?

should i just leave the female at my friends with the males until she's noticably pregnant then take her home?
i don't know how else to catch the heat.

infernalis · 02-24-11, 05:50 AM

First litter is usually 4-6 pups, up to double that afterwards.

two males will fight over a female unless they all grew up together.

Why not borrow a male for a few weeks, then keep a male pup and let it grow up.

TeaNinja · 02-24-11, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

First litter is usually 4-6 pups, up to double that afterwards.

two males will fight over a female unless they all grew up together.

Why not borrow a male for a few weeks, then keep a male pup and let it grow up.

can you inbreed rats without consequences?

infernalis · 02-24-11, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeaNinja

can you inbreed rats without consequences?

Never had a problem yet.

Wild rodents do it all the time.

presspirate · 02-25-11, 04:51 AM

I'd like to throw a question in here. How long does it take for a rat to grow from a pinkie to a jumbo?

infernalis · 02-25-11, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by presspirate

I'd like to throw a question in here. How long does it take for a rat to grow from a pinkie to a jumbo?

several weeks.. and not all of them will get "jumbo". some will be huge, some will not.

TeaNinja · 02-25-11, 05:01 AM

only a few stores carry females around me. a petsmart around 30 minutes away from me has exclusively females but they are only around 2 months old, so i'd have to wait a month but i don't think it matters.

kinggill · 02-25-11, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by presspirate

I'd like to throw a question in here. How long does it take for a rat to grow from a pinkie to a jumbo?

Rat pup too large or jumbo.....I Would say more like a few months

TeaNinja · 02-26-11, 01:45 AM

i went ahead and went to petsmart and got a super cute little hooded girl. i named her Margo and now that i've come to terms that the big black male rat is no longer "death row" i've given him the name Merlin lol.

Hopefully Margo and Merlin will make beautiful babies

my dog has been in that exact position staring at that cage for the last 30-45 minutes lol.

/i'm gonna get some real bedding soon too -.-