# process of breeding rats



## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

iv read the other threads about breeding rats and setting them up but havnt seen much about male/femal ratios and how long to put them together for.

what i wanted to know; how often/long should the male be in with the female (is it a day, a few days or maybe until they seem gravid then seperate?) and how many male and females would i need to feed 3-4 snakes without exhausting the female, obv excess can be frozen so a few to many are no bother. i know some people say its not worth breeding them for a small amount of snakes but lets forget the cost side of things for the moment 

cheers all


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

I only have 3 Royals on rats at the moment & i have a trio of rats, 1.2. My male is in with the females all the time (i'm new to this too). I will probably keep 2 females back & run the male between the 2 groups of females. I'd be interested in any replies you get to know if i'm doing the right thing or not :whistling2:.


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## torch74 (May 6, 2009)

I have a ratio of 1 male to 4 females and they are doing fine. I swap the males around to keep up the interest aswell


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

torch74 said:


> I have a ratio of 1 male to 4 females and they are doing fine. I swap the males around to keep up the interest aswell


 
how many snakes are you feedimng and how often do you have llitters? i was thinking a simialr number to start off with aimingt o get them eventually so i end up with a litter a week (may have 5 females to give them a week off between weaning and breeding.

im thinking of having two main tanks one with females in and one with males then one to put male and female int o breed. should i seperate the female from the other females when gravid or would it be ok to leave them together with other females if the enviroment is big enough?


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

while theres a few people milling about could anyone advise me here to cheers once again


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## Haggis (Jun 7, 2010)

when i bred rats i left the females together and they were fine they helped look after the babies

justkeep an eye on them that they aint being agressive


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

Haggis said:


> when i bred rats i left the females together and they were fine they helped look after the babies
> 
> justkeep an eye on them that they aint being agressive


That's great cheers, does anyone else do this? Would save alot of room and make things easier. Gonna have a look at enclosures and options this weekend so I can get started when I get back from hols


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## torch74 (May 6, 2009)

I leave the males in with the females all the time. With new mums it might be an idea to seperate them for their first litter. This because I've found that if they don't kill their own pups they might kill any others that are in the same cage. I suppose this is just their survival instinct:devil:


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

Ah rite,do you not take them out to give female a rest at all? What size and what enclosure do you use for the 4females the male and the babies then? As I'd imagine it must be huge to get all them in one place? I was thinking a 3foot by 1 by 1 for 2 females the same for the other 2 and another for the males and then rotate the males to the females then have another couple of tanks the same for growing on the young. Does that sound ok?


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

Also at what age can you tell male and female babies apart? Il be culling down to babies per litter at most (how soon should tthis be done? On the day or a while later?) and would be keeping mainly males as they grow quicker. Il only keep females back when it's time to retire the mother


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

*ratties!*

If you supliment your female ratties diet with dog food prior and during gestation it will lessen the chances of the mother eating her young. Or other high protein food.
If you can remove the buck @ the time of birth it will give her body a chance 2 rest. Some bucks r good fathers, other's not.
The female is fertile again @ the moment of birth.
If you want a good supply, simply cull he bucks and keep the females. Buying a new buck with each generation will keep your stock strong and free from deformities and reduce the liklyhood of weakness.


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

*ratties!*

Rats naturally live in a clan of related individuals, females, dominant buck and offspring.
You can keep quite a large amount of rats 2gether in this way. Just keep culling the bucks as they cum up 2 weight. Then get ur ladies a new husband 2 share. :mf_dribble:
If your rats start fighting u know u hav 2 many in [email protected] 1 enclosure. A plentiful supply of food will reduce the likely hood of fighting.

a 3' tank is fine 4 4 rats and raising they're offspring.

If you look @ the breeding racks [email protected] are available 4 rodents if gives u an idea of the minimum space required.

A wheel 4 the rats 2 run on will stop them getting bored and gnawing they're way out, and will make ur rats more meaty!


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

Sounds good, at whatage should I trim the pups down and when will I notice the sex? I'm keeping this small scale for now so I won't want to keep many females back and will introduce new lines of males as each male retires. I think I'm rite in thinking males grow quicker so keeping males back would be best to get up to size for culling the quickest?was gonna supply a wheel and chew blocks in each tank as well as toilet roll tubes. Will a tank of just males be ok for when I'm growing them on as long as I keep an eye out for aggressive males? And what's the usual ratio of boys and girls in a litter?


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

*ratios n sexing*

sexing rats is easy, compared 2 mice [email protected] is! Sexing Rats
Culling depends on what your feeding.
Avoid n e interfernce with the nest as it risks canibalism. Or a good bite! I've learned my lesson there! Although u can pinch pinkies when she's not looking if u need them as meals.
Even a rat will notice if u steal half her babies @ once!
I raised mine 2 weaning, as n e un-needed animals can b sent on as foundation stock or pets.
Ratios vary from litter 2 litter, and will even out over time.
I've never had n e problems with a tank full of brothers living 2gether. There r always more squabbles in a tank of ladies!


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

so at what age would you thin her littler down then? For now il only be keeping 4 females 2 males for breeding then the babies will be grown on for food so need the best quality and sized babies as they will be goin in a retic a burn and a boa (all young) 
Obv a smaller litter will get me better offspring but if it effects the female I don't wanna do it to early lol so at what age would be best?


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

Difficult question.
If your set on thinning I'd do it from birth picking out unwanted kits. Try and mask ur scent by rubbing your hands on soiled bedding, or use salad toungues or chopsticks. Either remove the female or distract her a large fixed food item, otherwise she'll just try n take it straight back 2 the nest.


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

*rats*

If you keep several females 2gether they will sumtimes share babies, (related females) or worse fight ova them! Unrelated females were carting babies backwards n 4wards, all the while the babies were not getting fed and getting colder.


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

I was going to use large tweezers/tongs I use for feeding snakes to pick them out then cull there and then with a flick. 
Good idea on miskng smell. Do you not thin yours out then as I heard they don't grow as well in big litters?


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

I was not worried about size of individuals as i was making up 4 it in numbers. Even runty male rats will bulk up on a diet of human food. Rats fed on a rat food mix will struggle 2 gain weight, they stay slim and lithe.


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

what do you feed them ont o get good weight and quality out of them? being a small breeding set up i want to get them up to weight asap. i dont have the room for large numbers i have a 1/4 of a not very big shed to work with lol


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

*rat food*

Rats r omnivores so can eat n e thing, they even eat stuff [email protected] has no nutrional value.
As feeders I'd use a composite rat food as a base. Dried dog food 4 the protein. Topped up with kitchen scraps 2 add variety and really boost up their calorific intake.
Baby rats love scrambled egg and porridge. Boiled egg is another highly nutritional tasty treat 4 them. Rats will demolish the remains of the sunday chook, bones n all!


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## kniterider (Jan 9, 2010)

value ailse at tesco then, always old meat there. would sprinkling protiene powder on food be beneficial to get weight on them to? like what people use in gyms? as i have a load at home.

considering 80llitre RUB's for males and breeding females then putting the offspring into the 3 foot tanks so i have the room to add more and lety them grow on.

so potentially there will be 2 males in a rub 4 females- 2 per rub where they will breed and have offspring in then 3 3foot tanks for the babies to go in 1 for males, 1 for females and one for growing on the bigger males.

does that sound ok?


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## SlinkiSnake (Jun 5, 2008)

*splat the rat*

You'll only need 1 stud buck unless I misunderstood u. The latter part sounds fine. Sounds like u got a nice firm plan in your mind. I'm glad I can b of sum help. 

My 1st exploites in2 rat breeding was putting my sisters boy rat in with mine n my other sisters does. Needless 2 say u learn alot from mistakes. Baby wars. N sickness in my rat as she was a bit on the old side.

I was raising guinea pigs until the fox stole all my pigs!

As for the protein powder, it's easy do a controlled experiment feed 1 set with the other without. Weigh 'em n see.

Just remember what eva u feed ur rats will ultimatly end up in ur snake.


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## koyotee3 (Aug 8, 2009)

:2thumb:for cages i use indoor guinie pig cages for the babies the same but with chicken mesh round it all over workd fine,dont like the lab cages to small:2thumb:


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## Demon9374 (Apr 22, 2009)

In terms of breeding for feeders.. What's the growth rate like? ie How long does it take for a rat pup to become a weaner, then small, medium etc?


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