Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had posted this on the Feeder Forum, but was directed over here.

For a feeder-rat breeding set-up what is an appropriate, humane, cage space allotment per rat? My small rat colony, now, must fit completely inside of the master bathroom, and not extend into any other part of the house.

At the time of my rat housing troubles 16 months ago, my largest cage which, not counting the small mortar tub base, is eight (8) cubic feet (17 in wide X 24 in long X 34 in tall); housed six (6) related male rats (who always had looked happy - not stressed - to me). According to the Humane Society that was much too crowded, at a mere 1.3 cubic feet per rat. The Humane Society Lady took away two rats from that cage with her. That left four (4) rats at two (2) cubic feet each, which was pushing the limit. I was also scolded for not having shelves or a wheel for the rats in that cage. I later added two (2) shelves to increase the square footage of space availiable to the rats, and a larger water bottle.

I have since built a hardware-cloth topper for a cat-litter pan, giving that cage about three (3) cubic feet of space, total. By the two (2) cubic foot rule, that cage should only hold a maximum of 1½ rats; or, since you can't have half a rat, one (1) rat. It currently houses two (2) rats a male, Remi, and a female, Ms. Goodie Hoodie; giving each one-and-a-half (1½) cubic feet of space. This cage is not tall enough for added shelves, but I do have hammocks hanging from the ceiling for them, which they enjoy. I am hoping for babies, but I fear that all ten (10) of my rats may be too old for breeding.

I need to build some new cages, because all of my remaining cages are too small. So, what cage sizes would be appropriate for the very small rat colony needed to feed two (2) snakes? And how many rats should supply my snakes' need, since I am probably going to have to start my colony over with some new breeder rats.

Buying feeder rodents, on a regular basis, from a petstore is not a viable option for me; since the nearest petstore is over one-hundred-thirty (130) miles away, each direction.

Snakey Lakey

1 Great Basin Gopher snake (W/C), unknown gender
1 Wandering Garter snake (W/C), unknown gender
10 rats 2 males 8 females

Number one, screw the lady from the humane society. She knows nothing about rats and is an idiot. You should be asking yourself why she was in your home in the first place and why you let her take two of your rats.

I keep breeding groups of 1.4 rats in a small mortar tub that is 26"L x 20"W x 6"H. That is PLENTY of room for five adult rats.

I move the pregnant females to their own tub when they become visibly pregnant. The tub I use as a birthing/nursing tub is a cat litter pan that is 18 3/8"L x 14 7/8"W x 5"H. This is plenty of room for a mother and her babies.

My holding tubs are large mortar tubs which are 36"L x 24"W x 8"H. They have some modifications for feeding and watering because of their height, but the floor space is what it is.

The number of rats that you can house inside these tubs depends on their size, but it is a lot.

Rats are on the list as nuisance animals, not livestock or pets. I don't know what the lady from the humane society thought she was doing telling you how to house yours. She had no legal right to do that.

Kick her ass next time you see her.