breeder rats

hellosugaree · 04-29-12, 08:26 PM

Where did y'all get your breeder rats to start your colony? I have a local guy that breeds feeder rats that I could get them from. Does anyone have any fancy rats for feeder breeders? I figure I might as well get some cool-looking ones since I'm not super worried about about achieving the highest possible breeding throughput. Who on here has cool rats? Where did you find them?

exwizard · 04-30-12, 04:34 PM

Our rats have a wide variety of colors that we produced, including all black, agouti, siamese, hoodies that are tan, brown or black, splash coat and split hoods, solid cream, albino, blue, rex and part hairless to name a few. Our original stock of 45 breeders + 15 mediums we got from some snake people friends of ours who were looking to get out of rats. This original stock was basically part hairless and hoodies. Later we got another batch of breeders that we aquired by trading one for one from our younger stock. Then we connected with a wholesaler who has 5 semitrailers filled with an avg 14,000 rats at any given time, which we still dip into whenever we need more than we can produce.

Our mice have even more interesting patterns which incliude cow spotted or dalmation, brindle, pearl, albino, black and wild brown. We acquired them from several different sources and blended them together to create 9 separate colonies.

mykee · 04-30-12, 04:37 PM

I got my original stock from Harlan Labs in the States. Rats were $30-$50 a pop, but worth it to start with the very best.

hellosugaree · 04-30-12, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

Our rats have a wide variety of colors that we produced, including all black, agouti, siamese, hoodies that are tan, brown or black, splash coat and split hoods, solid cream, albino, blue, rex and part hairless to name a few. Our original stock of 45 breeders + 15 mediums we got from some snake people friends of ours who were looking to get out of rats. This original stock was basically part hairless and hoodies. Later we got another batch of breeders that we aquired by trading one for one from our younger stock. Then we connected with a wholesaler who has 5 semitrailers filled with an avg 14,000 rats at any given time, which we still dip into whenever we need more than we can produce.

Our mice have even more interesting patterns which incliude cow spotted or dalmation, brindle, pearl, albino, black and wild brown. We acquired them from several different sources and blended them together to create 9 separate colonies.

Quite a collection of rats to match your snake collection.

exwizard · 04-30-12, 07:51 PM

Yeah the numbers went up from there. At one point in time, we hit a peak of over 650 rats and over 200 mice. Our latest numbers can be found in http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/food-...r-rodents.html.

One fun thing about breeding rats is producing the different colors. This serves two purposes. One: since our rats are pet tame, we can sell them as pets. Two: this allows for us to be able to distinguish one female from the next as we rotate them in and out of each male occupied breeding tub.

One other thing I forgot; some of our rats are also dumbo in addition to the other varieties we have.

Our goal from the beginning of breeding rats was to make sure we always have enough rats and now mice to feed our snakes. Any excess gets sold off. It has been quite a rewarding part of this hobby and is something we plan on continuing to do.

KORBIN5895 · 04-30-12, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykee

I got my original stock from Harlan Labs in the States. Rats were $30-$50 a pop, but worth it to start with the very best.

Per rat????

hellosugaree · 05-01-12, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Per rat????

Yep. You can check out their website. You can actually buy adult proven breeders. They are a bit pricey because they are specially-bred research strains--these aren't your average PETCO rat. I guess if you want to get started off on the right foot, buying a trio of proven breeders might not be a bad investment. They also monitor their colonies for aall types of pathogens and parasites so you can be guaranteed clean and healthy rats.

exwizard · 05-01-12, 02:50 PM

Oh man! You ought to see what we produced lately, namely a split hood dumbo. Cutest little thing. I want him to be a future breeder because hes so unique. Next time Im over there, I will take his pic and show you guys.

exwizard · 05-04-12, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

Oh man! You ought to see what we produced lately, namely a split hood dumbo. Cutest little thing. I want him to be a future breeder because hes so unique. Next time Im over there, I will take his pic and show you guys.

I will be cleaning rat tubs tomorrow so I will be sure to get that pic tomorrow.

exwizard · 05-04-12, 08:01 PM

One more thing that just crossed my mind..

Based on our numbers last week, I wouldnt be surprised if we topped 400 rats tomorrow.

hellosugaree · 05-05-12, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

One more thing that just crossed my mind..

Based on our numbers last week, I wouldnt be surprised if we topped 400 rats tomorrow.

Good. Then you can spare a few

exwizard · 05-05-12, 08:45 AM

That would require shipping but I think we could work something out

hellosugaree · 05-05-12, 08:52 AM

Where do you live?

exwizard · 05-05-12, 09:02 AM

Des Moines IA

hellosugaree · 05-05-12, 11:54 AM

Well you better hop in the car and head out before it gets too late in the afternoon. See you in 18 hours.

Head toward zip code 21209 and call when you're in the city and I'll give you specific directions to my house