Live Rats Edmonton???? - Page 2

nita · 03-10-04, 03:54 PM

Mike is that the Mary who was previous treasurer?

Big Mike · 03-10-04, 04:13 PM

That's her. She is a member here at sSnakeSs.com...Vanderkm

Slannesh · 03-10-04, 05:01 PM

Sorry to hear that your ball is so picky Nita. Hopefully your quest for live works out for you. I assume you've tried F/K or stunned with poor results?

My GF worked at the University for years and was concerned that anyone would be selling frozen rats out of their labs. It's very against regulations. Not to mention that you may not know what sort of project they were working on. I forget the name of the regulatory body but the GF said that all live animals that are euthanized as a result of research are supposed to be frozen and then incinerated according to the regulations. I assume she knows what she's talking about since she did work with live rats on several of the projects she's worked on over the years.

gonesnakee · 03-10-04, 05:42 PM

You claim someone you know has seen them in downtown EDM? I say B.S. lets see the proof. Anyone you know that keeps them as pets is very foolish based on the upto 1 millon dollar fine. I have lived in AB my whole life (as has my Dad) & no one I/he know(s) has ever seen one live or in the wild either in Cities or in buildings at farms, acerages, ranches etc. EVER even when looking for them specifically. I'm talking feedlots, barns, grain bins & elevators, everywhere. I think your friend has a very vivid imagination. I'm not saying its impossible but very unlikely indeed. If Alberta did have live Rats Edmonton would be the City to find them in though, heh heh LOL Mark
P.S. "Stupid" BPs anyway eh, mine are the same DOH!

vanderkm · 03-11-04, 03:34 PM

Hi Nita - sorry to have missed this thread until today - have been out of town for work. I bred gerbils extensively as feeders (for troublesome ball pythons when we had them) and while I don't have any live stock any more, you can certainly get in touch with me for breeding information. Gerbils are quite different from rats or mice in terms of breeding set ups but they have almost no smell - very easy to breed but expensive - they waste a lot of food and have a slow growth rate. I would encourage you to get more advice on converting your ball pythons to killed (perhaps fresh killed first) but know how hard that can be - if you want more info on gerbils let me know.

I agree with those who have posted about rats being illegal and the fines being taken seriously - not worth the risk to keep them here -

mary v.

Slannesh · 03-11-04, 03:38 PM

I'd actually be interested in getting some breeding info for Gerbils myself Mary... I used to keep a small colony of mice for my ball when she was smaller but she's long outgrown mice now...

nita · 03-11-04, 11:08 PM

Thanks Mary I would like to get some info on Gerbil breeding my older sister has them as pets for her kids but has had no luck breeding them. I also would never keep rats, my mom's friend from when she lived up north on the farms used to keep them as pets. I'm a stickler for the law myself

Most of the time :P

I have tried FK and FT but they don't take them, although Isis and Osiris will take stunned Demetae won't touch it unless it is moving she ignores it until it starts crawling around and then zeros in on it.

vanderkm · 03-14-04, 07:54 PM

Finally getting back to info on gerbil breeding - they are monogamous and highly territorial - will kill other gerbils they are not familiar with so it can be a long hard process to set up breeding pairs if you start with adults - they need lots of time to get to know each other from separate cages close together.

Start with some that are newly weaned and put one pair per 10 gallon tank. They chew a lot, so plastic tubs are risky - they will chew their way out. A metal water bottle guard is a good idea - they don't drink much, but should have access to water. I had better luck with aspen than pine bedding - babies have leg problems if kept on slippery surfaces, and eye and respiratory problems occur with pine or cedar bedding. Paper products like carefresh work well but are too expensive for feeder rodents.

They need a wheel - have tons of energy and if they don't have a wheel, they will take it out on the corners of the tank. Lots of bedding for digging is a good idea. They chew and dig a lot, and actually chew up food blocks - not eating them - just turning them into dust! Quite expensive in feed costs for gerbils.

A good pair will produce 4-8 babies every couple months. Wean the babies when they are 4-6 weeks old - that is about the only age you can safely mix gerbils that don't know each other. I put males from one litter in with females from another at weaning time and could pick my replacement breeders from those tubs without fear of inbreeding. The youngsters will not usually start breeding until a pair is removed and isolated. This works well because you can grow them to quite a good size without worrying about girls getting pregnant, and you can pull replacement pairs from your feeder tub if you need them.

If the babies are left with the parents, the parents will usually tolerate them, even when they are raising another litter, but the youngsters will not breed, and they won't establish colony breeding very readily. Some parents will try and drive the youngsters away and they can be very aggressive - they will kill them - so best to wean to separate tub.

They need only spot cleaning weekly - they use the corners of the tank - very clean and not smelly, but the growth rate is slow and they are dusty to keep around due to all the chewing and digging. I really enjoyed keeping them - we had Siames and Burmese - sold some to Neil and Michele (Snakey Acres) and he may still have some of those lines. They had good temperaments and were very productive - some lines have small litters and are too aggressive,

best of luck,

mary v.

Slannesh · 03-14-04, 09:45 PM

Great.. thanks for the info Mary!

Toirtis · 03-15-04, 12:27 AM

Amusing point....gerbils are technically illegal in Alberta.

Slannesh · 03-15-04, 02:56 AM

Toirtis: How so?

Toirtis · 03-15-04, 04:12 AM

When the Alberta F&W regs were written in late '97-early '98, Jirds (Genus Meriones) were listed under the controlled species schedule, but due to an oversight, someone forgot to exclude Meriones unguiculatus, the common gerbil. So technically, since March 1998, gerbils have been illegal in Alberta.

Another interesting technicality is that all animals (and their young) of any species whose adults commonly exceed 10 kg are illegal to possess in Edmonton (under the most recent Edmonton bylaws), which could, technically, include common boas, blood pythons, large tortoises, etc (even red-tail catfish, for that matter).....even if the spirit of the law was to restrict large mammals and birds.

nita · 03-15-04, 07:39 PM

can you tell me where I might find a listing of edmonton bylaws for animals??? Thanks.

Toirtis · 03-15-04, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nita
can you tell me where I might find a listing of edmonton bylaws for animals??? Thanks.

Here:
http://www.edmonton.ca/portal/server...9702/13145.doc

The herp-relevant sections are: Part V, 27(1)(a), as defined by Part I, 2(f); and Part V, 27(1)(d).

nita · 03-15-04, 09:24 PM

Boy that knocks the selection for edmontonians down a bit. They certainly don't carry out the bylaw with respect to reptiles anyway. BCC are one of the most commonly sold snakes in Edmonton, I see them in the pet stores all the time. I've seen Bloods on the rare occasion too. Scary thing is if we try to bring it to light to get it changed all they would probably do is crack down and enforce the stupid thing!! Politicians for ya.