Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK-- I'm looking at all these different sites and plans for building rat breeder and grow out racks.
I am only seeing people using Van Ness cat litter pans and Mortar mix tubs from Lowes/Homedepot.

I'm wondering why?

I'm measuring them...
Mortar tub ----- 26x24x6
Sterilite tub ---20x14x6
10 Gallon tank---20x10x13

Sooo--- They are all close to the same size--

the mortar tub is bigger but solid black- they can't see out (is that a factor- should they not see out? not sure why I care?) Thick plastic- most expensive and seem to be commonly used...

The sterilite tubs are bigger than the 10 gallon tanks they are in now so for space that would be better... These have relatively thick plastic-- I have read that they will NOT hold ASFs- so they can just stay in tanks-- Can mice and rats go in these?

The Van Ness litter pans I don't have a measurement for but it would only be for holding one mom and her litter until they are weaned. This plastic is thin and rather cheap-- so wouldn't it get chewed up too?
they are used on more than one site with no sign of problems...

help plz

Are there reasons ppl are NOT using sterilite tubs for feeder rats-- like what we use for snakes?????

Thanks!!

~Beth
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Until there are none, Rescue One! Get ready to welcome the new and improved Oklahoma Animal Rescue Group -- Just a few weeks away from getting our 501c3 status!!!!!

We currently use the mortar/cement tubs and will use nothing else. Everything else out there except the tubs made for rats are just too thin. We still have the occasional rat figure out how to chew through even the thick black plastic. Sterelite tubs wouldn't last and you would be buying 3 for every one of the mortar tubs.
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

When we had rats we kept them in the Van Ness and those worked just peachy - never had a chew through.

Never seen anyone use sterilites for rats -- have seen them use Iris tubs tho - I would think if it were thick plastic and completely smooth inside with no ledges or indentations, handles, etc. it could work. IDK.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
Toshas Blog

Herp Medicine does not equal a bottle of Baytril - Dr. Scott Stahl

rat will chew anything soft enough they can get their teeth into. Sharp edges and corners, indented 'feet' edges, will all get chewed eventually by rats. Most sterlite tubs have little indented feet which gives the rats and nice something to chew. smooth rounded corners etc, much harder to chew and rats don't bother to try.

I have raised rats in large rough neck Rubbermaid containers (these measure about 42"x21"x16" in size and I typically keep a trio in it. I also let them raise their young till weaned size before moving into a grow-up tank). These last me a few years before corners end up being chewed, usually around the indented 'feet' though it depends on the rats. If they get really bored, they will chew anything just to relief the boredom so I toss in paper towel rolls, toilet paper rows, odd sized small boxes, to keep them entertained. I only have a trio as I don't need a huge amount of rats to feed my collection.

These tubs are not really that beneficial for large collections as they take alot more room than even the cement mixing tubs and are not idea for rack systems, but I find I get much better production out of a small group of rats than if I had the same trio in something smaller. Though if I needed more than one or two trio's, I would get the cement tub sized rack to house them as I don't have room in my apartment for a bunch of rat cages.
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PHLdyPayne

I use the large concrete mixing tubs and I prefer them although I still have chew throughs on most of them. The smaller mixing tubs I use for birthing have never been chewed through so you may want to consider those for your mothers. They run about $5. I have a couple that tend to escape but the others are content to just use the holes as a lookout.
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I built a 4 tier out of the concrete tubs. They're awesome. The rats can see out of the top of the rack system, so they get plenty of light...
my rats are breeding like mad. I open one drawer and it's a wave of rat babies.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

I have only been breeding rats for a year. I have never had a rat chew through my mason tubs. They are only around $6.00 each and I would never try the others only because mason tubs are rounded on the bottom which make it a breeze to clean and SCRAPE.

Good luck, Justin.