Breeding rats on small scale.

bailey · 12-29-04, 11:09 PM

I have 2 snakes and a beardie. I'm a hobbyist not a breeder.(YET). We've had our rats for about 7 months. The same 3 we started with. The mothers and father are producing large litters still and taking wonderful care of their babies. The parents have never been aggressive or bitten us or hurt their babies. We feed them a healthy diet of dog food, the same prepared salad as what I give my beardie plus more fruit and cheese as treats. I was just reading that some breeders only let their males breed 3 times and then they feed them. Mine have been living in harmony and producing at a great rate for our need. Now for the questions. I assume the original breeders are related. We bought the 3 of them together at a reptile show. We've got a real nice litter of 3 month olds seperated from eachother. I was reading where some people inbreed without deformities. Can I take the litter I have and make them breeders? I think it's 2 males 2 females. We have friends that live near us that are helping us raise them for their reptiles. Just hobby no business really. Can anyone direct me to a site about keeping and breeding at small scale? Also can I breed the one I'm keeping as a pet and remove the male after I'm sure she's conceived? Will this change her personality as a pet? Thanks for any help.

Steve · 12-30-04, 12:21 AM

I breed my males way more then only 3 times. I keep mine is 1.4 or 1.3 groups. The males is with the females 24/7 without problems. Don't see why you would only breed the male 3 times. I replace my females every 6 months or so and replace the male when he needs to be replaced. I try not to inbreed but sometimes it happens. Never seen any deformed rats in 6 years of breeding my own rats. It can happen, it will happen some day but so far it hasn't. Long as your not doing tons of inbreeding it should be fine, especially since they are just for feeders. I used to breed my pet rat seperatly too for a long time and it never made her aggressive or anti social at all. I don't see why not breed your pet rat

Jayson · 12-30-04, 08:49 AM

I have had males breed for up to 3 years. and i inbreed them for about 5-6 generations with no problems. Usually they are father/daughter breedings because the males will out last 2-3 sets of females and i usually replace the females with thier daughters.
I have raised and bred 10's of thousands of rats and i have never had a temperment problem with any of them, outside of opening their bin and startling them.

bailey · 12-30-04, 11:09 AM

Thanks so much guys. We're gonna keep the "pretty" litter and give my pet rat, which turned out to be male, a wife.

sapphire_moon · 12-30-04, 01:09 PM

Pregnancy *can* change a females attitude. I had a sweet loving, playful female, she got pregnant, and turned absolutely evil, going so far as to lunge at the side of the cage when I walked by.

Personally I didn't want to breed her anymore because soon her daughters started showing the same traits.

People do use closed line breeding to make certain color varieties better, and unless done for several generations usually doesn't show any problems (if from a bad line it might show more myco, tumors, or cancer)

Also do not feed your male rats anything orange, there is an oil in the skin which can give them cancer.

d-limonene in the orange skin oil, which gets into the orange juice during squeezing can cause kidney damage and kidney cancer due to a protein that only male rats have in their kidneys

And never feed bleu cheesse, the mold in it is toxic to rats

Linds · 12-30-04, 03:21 PM

On the subject of what and what not to feed, does anyone know of a list of these things? I've never seen one on any of the rat sites. I've generally erred on the side of caution and not fed them anything I know not to feed humans, cats, and dogs, however I realize that they are none of the above.

sapphire_moon · 12-31-04, 09:59 AM

Sure thing linds, I go to a pet rat forum, and website. They have a "forbidden foods" type thing.

(here is a good page for a good mix as well might want to up the proteine/fat for nursing/pregnant females though)

http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html

Here's the website.

http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

just scroll down the website, you will see a header that says "forbidden foods", and under that is a "foods to feed with caution.

Rats can have mostly the same things we would eat. Just in moderation.

annieb_mice · 01-01-05, 01:34 AM

A partial list of foods to avoid feeding your rats....
Chocolate
Garlic
Bell peppers (any colour)
Onions

There are several other foods which aren't considered "healthy" to feed your rats like cheeses and other dairy products like yogurt, but I have fed some of my "pet" rats bits of chedder with no problems. The foods I listed above are considered to be REALLY bad for rats and I have generally avoided them completely.

Some things that are good for rats include:
noodles (like spagetti, macaroni, ect)
whole grain breads
eggs
peanut butter (in moderation)

For the most part, rats can eat whatever you eat, with a few exceptions, but give "treats" in moderation.

Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

sapphire_moon · 01-01-05, 07:30 AM

Chocolate in small doses actually acts as a brochilator for rats that are having breathing problems and I have seen many people say to try to keep some on hand "just in case".
Garlic is an Immune booster
bell peppers aren't bad for them, and they can have onions.

You might want to watch giving them peanut butter or anything sticky, as it might stick in their mouths and make them choke (give it to them in SMALL portions)

As with anything high in fat or protiene, (such as chocolate) give in MODERATION.

Linds · 01-02-05, 06:17 PM

Sapphire_Moon,
Thanks for the links! I've also read that about chocolate as well.

Annie,
Conflicting info

Why do you say that garlic, onions, and bell peppers cannot be fed? I've never offered mine onions or stright garlic, however I've offered them peppers from time to time. Garlic and onions are listed on the site as safe, and actually beneficial to feed

annieb_mice · 01-02-05, 07:28 PM

The info I got was from my vet, which I have taken my animals to for years. But after reading your response, I decided to do some more online research and realized that these are much of the same foods which are usually avoided by dog breeders. I called him up and asked him some more questions and shared my findings with him. He said that while he knows most of the common rodent illnesses, he's not really a rodent doc. (I've always used him for my dogs and cats and other warmblooded critters) LOL! Oh well... he's always been great with my animals and treats them all with kindness and respect.

Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the new info!

Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

Linds · 01-02-05, 08:20 PM

Do you have any links offhand that has any info on why dogs shouldn't be fed peppers? I've never heard of or read that before. I've been looking through google and have been unable to come up with anything (yet). LOL... lots of info on hot dogs and bell peppers though!!

sapphire_moon · 01-02-05, 10:22 PM

No problem, I have been doing tons of research on pet rat info. I just got 3 dumbo boys from a HORRID "breeder". So have to give them things that will boost immune and have to be carefull not to give them something that will hurt them anymore.

Plus, soy baby formula

soy milk, baby cereal, and plain yogurt work as good treats to.

bailey · 01-02-05, 10:41 PM

Well that's great I have plenty of that now that my 5 month old twins are eating all in that list except yogurt. What about the baby food??

Linds · 01-02-05, 11:36 PM

I try to avoid soy, both for myself and my animals. There was a study last year in Sweden? that actually linked soy to a certain type of cancer, as well as it may inhibit absorption of certain nutrients.

Not the study, but a few 'unofficial' links I found quickly anyways

http://www.mercola.com/2000/feb/13/more_on_soy.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2000/apr/9/s...arch_update.htm