Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Also, can someone tell me what a good breeding group size for rats would be per cement mixing tub?
Thanks,
Mike

You can breed all species of rodents in the same room, but you absolutely cannot put them together in a cage. In the case of rats and mice, if a mouse gets into a rat's cage, the mouse is dead, dead, dead. They won't adopt pups of other species, either, and will kill foreign pups within minutes. The odor triggers a kill response.

As to your question about space requirements for a rat group, I generally allow a minimum of one-point-five cu-ft for a pair or trio (height being the smallest dimension, and being about seven or eight inches), and add AT LEAST a half sq-ft of floor space for each additional animal.

tricia

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tricia

I've heard that all commonly available rats have, (or carry and don't show symptoms of) mycoplasmosis and if you put your mice in the same room with them the mice can also get it. I do not remember where I read this, sorry. Looking up mycoplasmosis on the internet will tell you about symptoms, etc.

Hope this helps
MissHisssss

but its a naturally occuring thing within the rat.. as long as the animal is healthy and robust.. it doesnt effect the rat..

but when they get run down.. or weak.. then it becomes a problem thats when you notice sneezing, sniffling, coughing and the like

dan

that might be YOUR rats.. but ive had rat mothers (2 so far) foster of HAMSTERS in the past with no problem..

i even had 1 breeder female foster of a baby squirrel

so it CAN happen.. but you really have to know your animal, and know the dangers involved with cross species fostering

That reminds me...I forgot to add the second part of my post. I don't have rats but I've seen them foster mice at the reptile shop I supply mice to.

MissHisssss

I suspect the male rats would be more inclined to kill and eat any smaller animal that gets within reach. Rats are ominvorus like we are but have a predatorial streak. They will certainly kill and eat anything they can quickly overpower or doesn't respond threateningly enough to stop them. Rats have attacked dogs and human babies in heavily infested homes before.

I have had my female rat, when younger around one of my adult mice and they seemed inclined to play with each other more than anything but I certainly wouldn't put any of my mice with my male rats, especially when both are over 500g and my mice are probably no more than 50g.

I sold a bunch of live pinkies to a pet store. The shop owner tossed them under a nursing rat so they could nurse while they waited to be sold. I couldn't believe it so when I got home I took 10 mice pinkies that were about 3 days old and put them in a pile of rat pups that were about a week old. In the cage were 3 nursing moms and the dad. They raised all 10 mice pups to weanling without a hitch. I have since done it a couple more times when I've had a mouse mom die or if it looks like she need help nursing a large litter. I think a mom rat would nurse anything smaller than a pony.
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Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

I think a mom rat would nurse anything smaller than a pony.

LMAO!! That is soooo true!! I've given my rats mice and more. They always take them!

Also, I frequently rearrange all the babies to try to keep the same sizes together so that the younger rats wont get pushed aside when nursing too. I've lost whole litters of rat pups because they were born in the same cage with an older litter. They'll take anybody's babies...they're excellent mothers!

I'd read often enough that mommmy rats were good foster mothers for all kinds of other rodentia. When I had two momma rats with a juvenile group of babies, a hopper group of babies, and some pinkies, I was cleaning mouse cages and had to nuke an entire colony due to problems they had. (the momma mouse who was lactating died, no more lactating mice, don't remember the exact circumstances). There was one "super cutie" baby in the group, a bit too young to be weaned, a bit too old for any mice to take it on as a foster baby, so I dropped the little fuzzy mouse in with the rats, expecting to have no more mouse. The next time I cleaned cages I found this tiny hopper mouse amongst the rats a very funny situation! I left the mouse in with the rats until he was about 7 weeks old. His largest handicap was that the momma rats continuously treated him like he was a little pinky rat. Even as an adult mouse he would be picked up and shunted back to be with the baby rats. Finally, when I had some girl mice to put with him, I took him out of the rat cage and put him with the mice. He is now an expecting papa, and doesn't seem to have noticed the change from rat cage-mates to mouse cage-mates.

So, that's my story. Can't say for sure how things ALWAYS are, but can say how they were the once I gave it a try.
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~Sasheena