Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I just finished up my first rat rack that holds three big sterilite tubs and measure 31x13x12 (floor space). I made the rack out of 6 2x4's and the rack stands 50 inches high and each level is 40 inches long. The design is very simple and it only took a friend and me 1 1/2 hours to put the rack together. I figured the cost for everything (water bottles, food, raw materials, 12 rats, etc...) to be about $160.00. I wish I had a digital camera so I could post a picture or two.
I have two BCI's that eat large rats, a ball python that eats rat pups, and a sand boa that eats rat pinks. Do you all think that with 1.3 rats in three different tubs will be over kill? I feed each snake once a week. Thanks in advance.

I'd start off with 3x 1.3 to get ahead of the game, then back off to 2x 1.3 or whatever after you start freezing as much as you need on top of what you feed off already. Remember that everyone has a hard time breeding in the summer (unless you have them in AC), so get ready for that too.

Last summer I had only 4 litters between June and Sept. from 4 females. Most of them were in their prime too, just too hot in the garage.

Cheers
Jon

Thanks for the reply. I have them in my room right now but when it gets really hot in the summer I will move them to the basement and they should not get too hot down there. How many rats per month can I expect to produce with 1.3 in 3 tubs? I have talked to two pet stores in town that said they would probably buy the extra rats, so I would not have to freeze very many. I will be feeding my snakes and getting paid (a small amount). Maybe I can make at least what it costs to keep the breeding colony going.

>>Thanks for the reply. I have them in my room right now but when it gets really hot in the summer I will move them to the basement and they should not get too hot down there. How many rats per month can I expect to produce with 1.3 in 3 tubs? I have talked to two pet stores in town that said they would probably buy the extra rats, so I would not have to freeze very many. I will be feeding my snakes and getting paid (a small amount). Maybe I can make at least what it costs to keep the breeding colony going.

Freezing is a good thing. It lets you get ahead in case of a disaster like disease destroying your colony. It's better to freeze a rat for later than sell it for 1/3 of what you may have to pay to replace it.

My rule of thumb for production is 10 pups a week from each mom.

What is a BCI?

DeMak

Well I just saw today that my pregnant rat had babies!! This is the first time I have tried to breed rats and with in a few weeks they had their first batch. I didn't see how many babies there were but I would guess no more than 6. Now if I can just get them all growed up

DeMak:

10 pups per week or month?

Ben