Help me with a breeding rats "how-to"??

[Dar1stheory]

Hey guys,

So I am expecting a shipment of rats to arrive tomorrow to my remote location, and despite having been initially advised that the task was simple and the cost reasonable, I am sadly out of pocket over $250 just in transport and shipping costs thanks to "rules" not made known to me in my initial enquiries before committing to taking my snakes with me and taking no food assuming I'd soon receive some in freight...

I've since been offered a breeding pair of rats from a friend of my wifes in Weipa, but I need some advice on what I'd need to do to successfully breed my own food for my pythons in my current circumstances...

If we were in the city, I'd just walk in to a pet store and get a nice big cage etc & store it in the shed , but I'm currently backing onto thousands of acres of what is currently rainforest, but will soon turn in to dry and dusty bushland...

We live in a caravan here between April and November, then pack up for a few months before returning again same time next year.

We've got a caravan (which my wife will never share with rats), a tent (souvenir shop), two open shipping containers, and for want of a better explanation, a carport...

The concerns I have for keeping them in/under the shelter we have on the site are that they will surely attract more wild snakes than we can afford to have around... I don't have to walk far to spot BHP's, chondros or carpets, but I'd prefer the part where I go to them...

The concerns that I have for keeping them away from the site, are that
a) snakes and other wildlife find a way in and clean up
b) setting up a temporary "snake proof" and weather proof cage in the bush may exceed the cost of importing them
c) the set up will almost certainly be destroyed during the wet season, every year we have to rebuild our picnic tables and toilets after the hunters use them for firewood whilst we are away for those few months...

So I'd very much appreciate a bunch of idea's, proven idea's would be great!

I've got an endless supply of trees and bamboo at my disposal, also found a decent size roll of chicken wire in our stuff, a few large sections of marine ply and other timber sections, and most importantly, spare time...

And also just a bit of a "how-to" about breeding rats, how often would I expect litters, how many per litter, at what age do they reach each "life stage"/size eg. pinky, fuzzy, hopper etc...

Next year I'm totally buying 8 months worth and storing them on dry ice for the drive back here from Brisbane...

Many thanks guys!

 

[tomc1992]

hey mate i have bred rats a few times over the last 3 years for my snakes
iv simply used storage containers (like ones from kmart and target and stuff )
besides simply sexing the rats i would stick to one male and female per cage to start off but it is possible to get two females to co exist in a cage with one male
once pregnent tho (quite obvious) remove the female and place into her own tub to allow safe birth (they will munch babies if things go wrong)
as litters id suggest u breed ur first litter and see as iv had some wack as numbers come out rats and very small numbers from others
in answer to ur life stage question this depends on the conditions of foods and the female as to how fast they mature i generally found that i could get a pinkie to a nice adult(breeding size) in around 3-4 months with no problems
hope it works mate and the outdoor setup could be alot harder to organise and keep away from hungry kritters

 

[tomc1992]

oh and yeah the rats will just go ate it hardout and generally with the starting of having 3 rats, 2 females 1 male in around 6-8 months i had around 150 rats (various sizes) excess to what i needed to feed all my snakies (5)
good luck

 

[Dar1stheory]

Thanks tomc1992, good info!

 

[Lonewolf]

The only problem with storage containers though, is they need good ventilation. Rats overheat very easily and also stink. So they'd need to be in a cool area under shade.

You'll be expecting litters roughly every 21 days if left together. They reach sexual maturity at 5-6 weeks. Mother comes into heat directly after birth.

Pinky - At birth
Fuzzy - One week old
Hoppers - Two - Three weeks old
Weaners - Four weeks old

^That's how we do it. Others may do something different.

Average litter size is 10. Though it can vary a lot. From as little as one to as many as 20+.

 

[Fuscus]

Sounds like your WAY up north! In which case keeping them cool would be your main problem. Also expect very few litters during the summer, rats don't breed well when hot.

 

[Dar1stheory]

The only problem with storage containers though, is they need good ventilation. Rats overheat very easily and also stink. So they'd need to be in a cool area under shade.

You'll be expecting litters roughly every 21 days if left together. They reach sexual maturity at 5-6 weeks. Mother comes into heat directly after birth.

Pinky - At birth
Fuzzy - One week old
Hoppers - Two - Three weeks old
Weaners - Four weeks old

^That's how we do it. Others may do something different.

Average litter size is 10. Though it can vary a lot. From as little as one to as many as 20+.

Thanks Lonewolf, more great advice, much appreciated!

Sounds like your WAY up north! In which case keeping them cool would be your main problem. Also expect very few litters during the summer, rats don't breed well when hot.

Yeah Fuscus, I'm 17kms south of the very tip of the country at the moment, currently my snake enclosures are sitting at an average 29-30 without any heating in the shade of our caravan annex (Under a set of monster mango trees so there's plenty of shade around us)... And we leave for summer, will drive back to Brisbane in late October, and come back mid April again, so we'll at least miss some of the more intense weather...