Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone have a care sheet for breeding rats, what is the cheapest, most odor absorbent bedding? How often do you need to clean the cages so they don’t smell?

Thanks

I use pine bedding. It is cheap and not too dusty. They are going to smell no matter what you do. You can change the bedding daily and it will still stink. I go with once a week, but by the end of the week the smell is pretty rough. I keep them in the garage.
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John Vandegrift

I use a finely shredded pine litter. It absorbs better than the litter at most walmarts, etc. that is "chunky". I find it works about one week without the smell getting too "fragrant". Of course, the deeper the litter bed, the better the absorbtion.

Pine shavings is probably the best and cheapest bedding for rats. Kiln dried pine shavings that is.

For smell, it really depends on how many adult rats are in each bin and how big the bin is. I use large RoughNeck rubbermaid containers for a group of 1:3 rats, with pine shavings and the smell isn't that bad at all, unless I dont' clean after a week, then it starts to get stronger from there. So once a week cleaning is the best way to keep odor down. The smaller the cage or the more rats in the cage, requires more frequent cleaning.

If you are looking to breed alot more than one or two groups of rats, then the overall smell may be stronger as it gets closer to cleaning day, so a well ventilated area or isolated room/shed may be the best way to go.

Raising and breeding rats is easy. Once you put your group together (make sure the rats are at least 6 weeks old, or it takes longer for them to actually produce). As rats do take some time to get settled, it may be 2-3 months before your first litter arrives. Though mating may occur at regular 5 day intervals, most females won't have babies for awhile. (they can prevent development or getting pregnant if conditions aren't right...no clue how they do it but they do).

Provide quality lab rat blocks (Hagan, Mazuri etc) or dogfood lacking red dyes and preservatives, but high in protein (at least 19%) and fat (at least 8%) to allow the females to maintain the high demands of breeding/nursing. Fresh water should be available at all times. I like to add soem variety into my rats diets, adding fresh greens, some cooked meats (ie chicken/turkey brests, cooked hamburger) as treats, or mixing in some Large Parrot seed/nut/fruit mix with the dogfood. Variety keeps the rats interested and well, they seem to be happier with it. For large rack systems with hundreds of rats, may be too much a pain to give much variety, so a good quality lab block is the best to use, mixed with dogfood for that variety.

Gestation for rats is between 19-24 days, litters average about 8-12 with both smaller and larger litters possible. Female rats can become pregnant again within the first 24 hours after giving birth, so if the male is left in, she will get pregnant. Back to back pregnances are hard on females, and will eventually shorten their lives.

There is also the feeder forum here on kingsnake that has alot more information about rat breeding, rack building etc.
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PHLdyPayne

I use fir stove pellets. They work great! They are so dry and compressed when they come out of the bag that they can absorb a lot of moisture before needing to be changed. They are cheaper than some of the commercial flake bedding. I do keep some flake bedding to place in a corner for pregnant females, though.

I hope this helps.

Chris Morasky

rats are easy.....how do you get mice to produce when it is over 80 degrees.....I use pine shavings...mazuri rodent food, and an automated watering system is the best investment I ever made as far as this hobby goes..saves me about an hour a day not having to fill all those bottles...