Whoa! what are you running a zoo!



First, figure out how many of what sizes you'll need per month. That depends on your snakes, temps, etc.... so I'll let you figure it out.



I raised 1.3 rats in mortar tubs (19"X26"X8" I think). I count on 10 pups per mom on average. If you have freezer space available, I would recommend that you shoot for 20% over what you need and freeze the rest. That way you are covered if something goes out of whack for a while. If you get too far ahead (3 or 4 months or more), shut down your colony. Then you'll feed your colony without cleaning any tubs.



You will also need grow out tubs if you need larger sizes. Since I only have corn snakes, I didn't need to. When rats are big enough to wean, they're just right. Retired breeders went to a rescue group.



With 3 to 4 tubs, you can just stack them with wooden spacers. A rack would be better if you need more than 5 tubs. They save space and time. Satori has posted a pic of his very nice one.



If you need mice, you'll need help from others here.



Be sure to read thru lots of posts here. While I fed lab blocks, others feed dog chow ( no red dye ) or mixes of grains. Some use water bottles, some automatic water systems. I've used both, automatics systems will save ALOT of time if you have more than a couple of tubs. Folks bed their rodents on pine, carefresh, rabbit pellets (my choice), even newspaper (labor intensive but free).



The link will take you to some pics. I no longer use the sterlite tubs or tops due to chewing problems. Sorry I didn't take pics of the mortar tubs. I used 1"X2" frames covered with 1/2" hardware cloth (for mice 1/4". If you are going to stack them use the drop in feed hopper. In a rack system, the feed goes right on top of the hardware cloth. There are lots of rack pics posted here, look them over...



Good Luck,



DeMak
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• help with starting a breeding colony - sjs, Thu Jan 22 18:16:29 2004
• Planning a breeding colony - DeMak, Thu Jan 22 21:08:30 2004