Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok i first got a book called The proper care of fancy rats. i heard this was a great book to get n i did, only cost a buck fifty. ok my ?s are will it be better to get 2 female rats n 1 male rat. i want them to breed so. can i keep the 2 female rats togother or not. how can i keep the kittens small as pinkies or fuzzies. can i just put them all in a bag then stick them in the freezer or is there a better way i can freze them.
Adam

Adam,

Yes it is fine to house 1.2(a male and 2 females) rats together.

The problems occur when there is more than one male in a breeding colony; they will fight for dominance.

There are more humane ways to prekill before freezing.
I prefer a cervical snap or co2.

As a suggestion, even though you are going to form a breeding colony, I would recommend not buying adults.

You may run into difficulties getting them to start breeding.

I would get some small/medium rats (about 100-120 grams) and let them grow up together; you will get more reliable breeding results in my opinion.

It doesn’t take long for a rat that size to reach breeding size.

Good luck, and check out the feeders forum, there are some real nice people over there
TomChambers

thanks for the info, and what can i do to kill them better, you said co2, how can i do that

www.thereddragonsden.com/co2.htm

Just so you know, CO2 doesnt work very well on pinkies and fuzzies. Freezing them is a much faster way to kill them.

Nicole

thanks for the info

I use a cervical snap or dislocation on mice and small rats.
For med/large rats I use co2.

I have never tried co2 on pinks or fuzzies, so I can't comment on its effectiveness.

TomChambers

CO2 is not the most humane way to kill pinks or fuzzies because they can tolerate very low O2 conditions with out dying. Mamma rats and mice like to smother their kids a bit when they nurse, so it is natures way of preventing asphixiation. Freezing them, breaking their necks, or a relatively hard slam against a hard surface will do the job. Personally, I've always frozen them. Once they open their eyes use another method though!

Good luck, and be aware 1 male and 2 females can turn into massive amounts of babies! I have 1 male and 5 females and we get about 50-75 kids a month. I rotate the female breeders with some of my other girls to keep things fresh (I have several cages set up), and dad pretty much stays with his girls all year round.

Amy
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*Amy*