# Breeding rats!



## Phill Robinson (May 15, 2012)

Hi guys!
Im thinking of getting into breeding rats for my snakes to save money, learn new things and so the hobby keeps me just a little bit more busy..

My question is can you house say 3 females and 1 male group per 33ltr rub? Ive heard people say that they have rats in the tubs but im wondering wouldnt they be able to chew through and even possible escape? 

Thanks for any feedback! if i can put them in rubs i might buy a few 33 ltrs and maybe just start with 3 females and male like i said before! :2thumb:


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## verity123 (Sep 1, 2010)

Phill Robinson said:


> Hi guys!
> Im thinking of getting into breeding rats for my snakes to save money, learn new things and so the hobby keeps me just a little bit more busy..
> 
> My question is can you house say 3 females and 1 male group per 33ltr rub? Ive heard people say that they have rats in the tubs but im wondering wouldnt they be able to chew through and even possible escape?
> ...


technically you could, and im sure people do, but rats are very active animals and even though you are ultimately using them as feeders, they should still have a decent amount of space to live in.
wait, arent the 33ltr ones the really shallow ones? in which case no, i wouldnt put rats in them, they will barely be able to stand up surely?!


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## raptortastic (Jan 12, 2010)

I'm with phil on this. Been looking at buying a rack, making a rack or getting cages to start off a colony. I'm with verity on the height, probably fine for mice. The 64 litre depth is probably fine, just wondering if you could get or should get smaller rubs with the same depth?


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

you will need to be able to seperate the male from the femals as he will kill the babies, i found this out years ago.


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## verity123 (Sep 1, 2010)

mitsi said:


> you will need to be able to seperate the male from the femals as he will kill the babies, i found this out years ago.


Not always...: victory:


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## Rowena (Mar 9, 2012)

I was thinking of using RUBs for raising feeders also. You could wire the outside somehow so if they chew through the plastic then they won't escape.


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

You could probably just get away with using 32L rubs but preferably use the 64s.
Think carefully when you choose the tubs, if they have ridges then they might be able to chew, if there are no ridges, they cannot chew. Ridges are okay providing the gradient of the ridge is slow and gradual.
Take yourself for instance, you could not chew a flat wall or chew a corner, you could only chew something you can get your teeth around 

We've been keeping in rubs for a good 2 years now and had no escapees (apart from rubs I bought with a sudden ridge at the bottom, (not gradual)).

We don't have a problem with males killing the babies, neither do a lot of people, it sounds like a bit of a tale to me. The only reason I suspect males would eat young is if food is scarce or the diet is simply too low for their expectations and they thought the babies would be tasty meat that they don't have in their current diet.

We have also kept multis in rubs and never had a problem and they chew EVERYTHING and anything they can get their teeth near. 

Rat Care Sheet | Royal Pythons | Red Hot Royals


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

Also, Just to clarify, you need an open top (mesh or similar) for the lid of the rub. Mesh ideally no bigger than 13x13mm say : victory:


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## jb1962 (Sep 21, 2009)

When I had a female royal I bred mice, they were fast to breed,cheap to buy a pair of,and had three small hutches.
Rats are way smarter then mice and if you feed live could find a dead snake.
Also I think the law states to only feed live "if" it is a matter of the snake being close to death or it's wild.
My royal wouldn't take dead or pre-killed so I had to breed and got a male mouse for 50p and then a female for 50p and just let them get on with it.
In two month's I had two hutches on the go and I would keep an eye on the kill to make sure it was over fast ...


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## verity123 (Sep 1, 2010)

jb1962 said:


> When I had a female royal I bred mice, they were fast to breed,cheap to buy a pair of,and had three small hutches.
> Rats are way smarter then mice and if you feed live could find a dead snake.
> Also I think the law states to only feed live "if" it is a matter of the snake being close to death or it's wild.
> My royal wouldn't take dead or pre-killed so I had to breed and got a male mouse for 50p and then a female for 50p and just let them get on with it.
> In two month's I had two hutches on the go and I would keep an eye on the kill to make sure it was over fast ...


Who said anything about feeding live?:gasp:


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## Lucy1980 (May 10, 2013)

Just remember to put mesh on the top of the RUB's, as placing food in the rub's leaves it dirty 24/7. I found this out myself!


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## LEXCORN (Feb 9, 2007)

Keep colonies of Mice / Rats & Multimammates (Gerbils in past years).

All are housed in the NKP Racking System.

Agree that you will definately need a mesh top if you are thinking of using a RUB as these rodents radiate heat & a plastic RUB with insufficient ventilation will be unsuitable.

Absolutely NO history of Male Rats killing their offspring, however, that's not to say it's impossible should you purchase a bad-tempered animal or do not provide sufficient food.

Rats are both intelligent & sociable animals - females will raise another's litter no problem. That is not possible with other rodents!

Regards. Lex


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