questions about breeding feeders. - Page 2

annieb_mice · 08-10-10, 10:34 AM

You CAN keep a colony together in ONE cage without ever having to remove a female. Removing the female simply ensures they don't get bred again right away. If you provide a high quality food, rats can easily be bred back to back with no ill effects on the females. I keep my rats in a colony of 1 male to every 4 - 5 females and have found that the females aren't always pregnant if kept together with the male. The males will also help a LOT with the babies... cleaning them, keeping them warm while the females go off to get food, ect.
IF you can afford the room and extra cages, feel free to separate them. Some breeders have several bins going at the same time with one male for each bin of females and simply rotate the male every 2 - 3 weeks. This provides a good rotation and easily provides a constant supply of rats needed to feed your snakes, without overloading you with tons of babies at any given time. The litters will be spaced far enough apart to allow you to feed off the babies in the first litter as the second litter is being raised, when they reach the appropriate size, you have finished feeding the first litter off and are ready for the second litter.

Be warned though, that you will have to buy food and bedding for the rats (I prefer wood stove pellets as bedding as it is very cheap and absorbs much of the odour). If you are having a hard time buying a few rats now, how do you plan to care for a couple of breeding colonies of rats?

kayleegrace · 08-10-10, 05:00 PM

now its just a matter of getting my folks to let me....

percey39 · 08-10-10, 06:24 PM

annieb mice i have had males turn canabalistic on the babies before. This is why i seperate, they always have plenty of food available but still ate a litter.

annieb_mice · 08-10-10, 08:29 PM

Percey, what type of food are you feeding? And were the males the fathers? I keep all my colonies together and the only (rare) times I have a problem is when it is the females first litter and they simply don't know what to do... and THEY are the ones who kill the litter, not the males.
Years ago I had problems when I was feeding a cheap dog food (at the recommendation of another feeder breeder) and there simply wasn't enough nutrition so the rats ate some of the babies. Once I realized what was going on and switched foods, no more problems!

Take care
Annie

percey39 · 08-10-10, 09:15 PM

I feed everything from cereal, almonds, sausage mince, dog food and rat pellets. I have heard they eat the young for protein, but i have since never kept the males with my females after they drop a litter and have had no problems what so ever.

totheend · 08-10-10, 09:44 PM

I agree with Annie, the males shouldn't eat the young. I would say that they were lacking in nutrition possibly. I have never had a male eat their young.

kayleegrace · 08-10-10, 10:31 PM

well if i do get some breeders goin i will get two tanks. with 3 females and 1 male. i will put the female into the male cage and let them do their thing. after about 24 hours i will put a barrier in the male cage for the mother to nest.

i think that will work. however i have a few questions.

when should i start the next female and so forth. to feed three snakes. my carpet eats pinkies. bp well he he adult mice but i am going to move him onto rats. i don't know what size quite yet. if u have any suggestments that would be great. and finally my pastel bp eats 5 in rats.
so maybe i should put a barrier in both cages allowing each female and male to have their own space... wait but then where do the pups go... oh so very confusing.

kayleegrace · 08-10-10, 10:32 PM

it is possible i am over thinking this. i tend to do that quite often.

percey39 · 08-10-10, 10:37 PM

I would put the 3 females straight in with the male. I would seperate when the females are heavily pregnant but thats just me. I would breed all three straight away so you can get some pinkies straight away and get another lot on the go for your bp's. When breeding pinkies its a very quick process as you just throw the female straight back with the male after dropping then wait a few weeks and repeat the process.
In the end its very simple to breed both rats and mice and ends up saving you lots after the first few breedings, as you make the initial outlay back you spent on the rats and cages.

emseeKAY · 08-10-10, 10:44 PM

are you feeding live? or f/k? or f/t? thats something to look at as well, someone on here had a very good tutorial on how to make a cheap co2 chamber for the feeders etc. i think it was Mykee on his website. just a suggestion

kayleegrace · 08-11-10, 08:08 AM

i feed live. but all this was for nothing because my mom....wont let me. and i still have to pay for ones from the pet store. goodness. i don't understand.

kayleegrace · 08-11-10, 02:05 PM

my dad and i are going to try to convince her. but i don't know what will happen. ill keep u guys posted

percey39 · 08-11-10, 06:32 PM

I hope you can convince her as the savings are incredible

kayleegrace · 08-11-10, 11:27 PM

Yea me too. But she thinks it is tourturing them. I don't see how. Theyvprobably get better care with me than at the pet store

Paradise · 08-12-10, 04:10 AM

I spoke to feeder breeder that I know and he actually tested a few of his trios with different food types and he found that the higher the protein content of the feeder food (specially mice) the higher his rate of cannibalism was. He now feeds mice mouse food (dry pellets much like rabbit pellets only smaller) with selected greens and the odd fruit and his rats eat pretty much the same thing but they don't seem to be affected by a high protein content foods in the same way as the mice.

but that is hear say I have absolutely no proof of this being the truth.