Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I used to breed mice, but it kinda got out of controll... I ended up with almost 200 mice and I only had 7 ball pythons... I only have one BP now and I switched him to rats... I love reptiles AND rodents, so I keep them as pets and breed them, so I would be spoiling the rats before they have to die LOL. But mom dosen't believe that rats are not as stinky as the mice... I will only have probably a 1.3 group and that up against my cages upon cages of mice should be TOTALLY 1000% better! LOL but someone pease post your experiences with rats vs. mice smell wise and any pros/cons betweent the two. Thanks in advance!
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~

Funny to run into you on this forum, Krystal.

My experience is that rats do have less of an odor compared to mice.

However, when I bred rats there were several other factors that likely contributed to their less offensive odor.

1) I only kept one male and rotated it through several cages with 2-3 females. When I produced a similar "mass" of feeder mice I had several male mice. Later I only kept females, would occasionaly buy a male, breed it to my females, and then feed it out. Male mice really seem to smell worse.

2) My rats cages probably had a higher ratio of pine surface area to rodents.

3) I was only raising the feeder rats to the size of a large mouse. I think raising a rat to 40 - 50 grams is a less messy process than a similar process with mice.

LOL yeah ... this is my first time posting on this forum... usually just in ball pythons and caging ... ocasionally I read a few of the others, contemplating how many herps I am going to end up with LOL. Anyway, thanks for the info, I will make sure mom reads yours. I am still looking for as many opinions as possible, anything to pursuade her to believe me... she agreed if my ex takes the one dog like he is supposed to, that I can start breeding them, but she is really reluctant because of how bad the mice smelled. Thanks Chris... you know everything I ask LOL. I appreciate it!
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~

dear krystal's mom,
your daughter is correct in saying that rats have a less offensive odor.it would seem that rats are bigger so they must smell more,it doesn't work that way.i live in a one bedroom apartment and i HAD mice and no matter how many times i changed the bedding they had a foul odor.i now have 4 trios of rat breeders and when someone wants to see my snakes i ask them what they smell (i want to make sure i'm not use to the odor) and every time i'm told it smells like wood,i use pine bedding.also i've found that adding one teaspoon of IMITATION vanilla to two liters of drinking water helps odor control.if you handled the mice you'll have no problem with the rats.regards,TIMOTHY

I have bred both mice and rats for food and have to admit the rats have alot less offensive odor than mice. I could smell the male mice all over the house, even if i just cleaned the cages. The males have a strong musky scent.

Male rats don't produce the same musky odor. They do however have a noticeable scent but it's more of an oily smell and not as intense. You pretty much have to be standing beside the rat cage or holding the male rat. Only adult male rats have this smell, before weaning they don't smell at all. With regular cleaning of the cages and if the rats are not over crowded, you won't have much of a odor problem.

Hi Kristal/ Mom

Firstly i'd like to say that i breed both mice and rats and to tell you the truth they both stink like heck but it can be controlled by:

1. Keeping them in a well ventilated area( if not the smell will be magnified x10)

2. Weekly litter/bedding changes

3. Never keep more than one male to a group

4. Never keep more than you need alive i.e freeze excess animals especially males.

5. Keep a scented candle in the room where you keep them

6. Add vanilla abstract to their water

7. Sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the cage then add litter

Now thru 4 is what works for me!! The others are incase those 4 don't work to your liking.

Good Day.
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James Grigsby - " When you try of all your forces to make your own way, you will help some of others and will be helped by others. As long as you do not make your own way, you cannot help anybody, and nobody can help you. " (Shunryu Suzuki)

she thought it was funny that I actually posted it just to make her believe me, but I think she is a little less worried about the smell now! LOL Thanks again!
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~