Breeding Rats

[junglejudd]

Hi just wondering if any body can give me a hint into why my rats are not breeding, i started off with 1 male and three female all around 12 week old but after a few months nothing?(maybe shooting blanks) so then introduced another pair male and female to see if it would get things moving but still no action.Any hints? do they make a rat viagra?
here is a pic of their home.

 

[Mudimans]

I think your problem is "ugly girl" rats, what you need to do is put your male rats on an alcohol based diet. After they have a few drinks, put on some soft music, Lionel Ritchie, all night long works well or any Barry White and watch the magic happen

 

[wranga]

if your sure you have male and female rats, loss the boxes and pipe from their tank. maybe the females are hinding where the male cant get them

 

[junglejudd]

Ok mudimans, if it has worked for you it might work for them aswell i'll give that a go:lol:

 

[melgalea]

when i started breeding my rats. i thought what the hell was taking so long as well. took mine about 4 months after i got them all to start breeding. now there is constantly babies in the cages.
cheers
mel

 

[snake_boy]

may be too hot. i know they wont breed if its really hot. they like the cooler weather

 

[Saz]

If you take the hides out they will be less likely to breed in such an open tank. Same as any animal, rats won't breed if there isn't a decent supply of food, water and shelter.

Although they can get pregnant at 12 weeks, they generally start breeding at 4+ months as Mel has said.

You can't mistake the males for females at that age, they have balls as big as their head!

 

[melgalea]

You can't mistake the males for females at that age, they have balls as big as their head!

LOL thats one way of putting it.

 

[junglejudd]

yeh they have a daily supply of food and fresh water maybe still a bit young,as for the balls yeh i know i have males......................bit jeolous actually:lol:

 

[Saz]

LMAO!!!

They also don't tolerate heat well, so if their tank gets too hot they won't breed.

Terracotta pots make good hides as they keep the air quite cool inside.

 

[wranga]

If you take the hides out they will be less likely to breed in such an open tank. Same as any animal, rats won't breed if there isn't a decent supply of food, water and shelter.

Although they can get pregnant at 12 weeks, they generally start breeding at 4+ months as Mel has said.

You can't mistake the males for females at that age, they have balls as big as their head!

i have 20 tubs of rats all with 3 female and 1 male, all without hides and mine never stop breeding. i dont know of anyone breeding on a larger scale that gives their rats hides so they will breed.
ive had rats breed at 8 weeks of age and find the average between 12-14 weeks.
heat can be a major issue with rats not breeding. i find breeding drops if the temperature gets outside of 22-28deg, mid 20s being the best

 

[Saz]

They feel more secure in the rat breeding cages with plastic sides rather than an open glass tank.

Was suggesting terracotta hides as a cooling mechanism, as a lot of people lose their rats in the summer heat.

 

[junglejudd]

Thanks for the info it does get hot around here and starting to now,all though they are kept inside in the air con it is off when we are not home,i'll give the teracotta potts a go thanks for the info all!

 

[saximus]

Junglejudd how has the breeding been going? I too am having a lot of trouble breeding my rats. I was wondering if you managed to find a magic solution?
Also anyone else out there is it ok to have them just in a cage or do they need some soft bedding to make a nest out of? My cage has a removable try under bottom to make changing the litter easier but it means they don't really have a nice soft floor. I tried giving them an old slipper to use but they just ripped it to shreds and never actually used it as a bed.

 

[junglejudd]

Hi saximus, no unfortunately they still have'nt got jiggy with it, and they probably wont for a while now as we've hit the 40 deg mark here already, and a little lesson i have learned, i was using wood chips ,shavings,as a bedding but have since learned that it give's the poor little buggers respritory problems, so have now changed to shredded paper, good luck with your guy's.

 

[wranga]

Hi saximus, no unfortunately they still have'nt got jiggy with it, and they probably wont for a while now as we've hit the 40 deg mark here already, and a little lesson i have learned, i was using wood chips ,shavings,as a bedding but have since learned that it give's the poor little buggers respritory problems, so have now changed to shredded paper, good luck with your guy's.

so wood shavings arent any good to use as bedding? wow im in shock and dont understand how i breed around 600 rats a month, and month after month. never had respritory problems. theres much more cleaning work using paper instead of wood shavings imo

 

[junglejudd]

Sorry about that wranga sounds like i have pissed you off some how? and good for you that your rat breeding is so successful! anyway with out being sarcastic i'll explain my situation, i was using wood shavings until i heard one of the females weezing,so then Googled weezing rats and learned that the saw dust particals can be breathed into the nasal cavity and cause infection,and that it is a common problem and cause of death so now have them on anti biotics.

 

[Just_Joshin]

Sorry about that wranga sounds like i have pissed you off some how? and good for you that your rat breeding is so successful! anyway with out being sarcastic i'll explain my situation, i was using wood shavings until i heard one of the females weezing,so then Googled weezing rats and learned that the saw dust particals can be breathed into the nasal cavity and cause infection,and that it is a common problem and cause of death so now have them on anti biotics.

Were you using sawmill shavings??

 

[cosmicwolf4]

Wheezing can also be caused by being in a glass tank without proper air flow, it causes respiratory problems especially if they have water bowls and not dripper bottles.
I was told this by my son who is a veterinary nurse and also breeds rats

 

[junglejudd]

Yeh was getting them off a timber supplier