Rats and mice

[saikrett]

I am planning to breed either mice or rats.
And i was wondering if there was any advantages from one over the other.
I have a Jungle Carpet python and know it will start needing rats soon.
Are rats similar care to that of mice?

 

[Slateman]

I would reccomend you to start Rats. They are easy to breed and more economical, They smell les then mice.

 

[saikrett]

Thanks

I decided i'm going to go with the rats, mainly for there size.

They smell les then mice.

feww, thats just one of the added bonuses.

 

[Guest]

yeah, rats are a lot nicer than mice in my opinion... If you keep them well fed you'll have no problems and probably end up with another pet or 3

 

[almaron]

Go with rats. No doubt about it.

 

[Gregory]

Yeah Rats are the go. Unless of course you have something that needs to eat tiny little mice pinkies. Rats are as easy, if not easier to keep than mice. Plus if you get the right type of Rat they can grow HUGE.

 

[Magpie]

I prefer to keep mice. But if you got a jungle, you really need to keep rats as they will eat probably 5 or more mice in a feed once grown.

 

[olivaceus71]

Rats are awesome, heaps smarter than mice, like was said the smell factor and even when they are going to be snake food they are still glad to see you.............but like BD said make sure you give them good quality food, fresh water and veges and you won't have a problem.

cheers
meg :roll:

 

[rodentrancher]

Rats versus Mice

Hey, we have quite a growing hobby business of breeding rats and mice for reptile food. We have 120 pregnant female rats in boxes of 4 to 1, and also about 50 boxes of breeding mice in an insulated container. The rat urine smell nearly knocks you over when u walk into the container. Phew!!!! Even tho we change all the nesting boxes once per week. Darn smelly, but I'm getting used to it. I guess it depends on how many rats and mice you have hey? Cheers Cheryl. PS we are also really interested in snakes, we've just gone the other way to provide the tucker. LOL

 

[olivaceus71]

Know what you mean, I have a few hundred boxes, but find it helps if you have an exhaust fan and I have to clean out cages at least twice a week, stops the amonnia building up
cheers
meg

 

[rodentrancher]

Know what you mean, I have a few hundred boxes, but find it helps if you have an exhaust fan and I have to clean out cages at least twice a week, stops the amonnia building up
cheers
meg

Thanks Meg, we are putting in an exhaust fan this weekend. I do like rats heaps better than mice for handling tho. Cheers Cheryl

 

[python_guy44]

hey rodenttrancher,
You have got a fairly big enterprise going on aye lol....
Well i am actually getting some rats this weekend off greg for snake food and maybe ill take a likeing to them as pets...............We will see ill keep ppl updated once i have bred my first batch of rats lol
Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[Guest]

yeah, mine get cleaned out twice a week, takes forever

 

[rodentrancher]

yeah, mine get cleaned out twice a week, takes forever

Tell me about it, we both work as well. LOL

 

[olivaceus71]

haha thats why we have kids, water bottle duty gets them a few bucks or giving them the profits when they serve the guy that visits twice a week for a hopper mouse :lol:
My ratties and mice are pretty spoilt even for feeders, heater is on all night, they stay warmer than us.

 

[rodentrancher]

haha thats why we have kids, water bottle duty gets them a few bucks or giving them the profits when they serve the guy that visits twice a week for a hopper mouse :lol:
My ratties and mice are pretty spoilt even for feeders, heater is on all night, they stay warmer than us.

Yeah Meg, all our ratties and mousies have infrared lamps for these cold months, but definately have to get the exhaust fan working this weekend. Do you use a timer for your exhaust fan? If so how often do you have it coming on please? Also do you have a light on at night to give em some daylight hours to do all their business? I'm asking this as our 30ft container has no natural light unless I leave the door/s open during the daytime. cheers Cheryl

 

[Magpie]

I have 22 tubs (between 100 and 250 rats and 50 mice) and it takes me about 3/4hr to do the full clean out once a week. I have no pet rats but have bred some great colours just recently. I actually prefer the smell of mice to that of rats, although weight for weight, the mice definately smell more than rats. Mine are outside on the back verandah atm, but will be building an insulated room for them soon. They will have an exhaust fan to remove smells, but fresh air will be drawn from under the house so will be cool in summer and warm in winter.
Light is not really necessary for rodents, but like all animals they will benefit from some UV. They will live and breed without it, but some is beneficial for them.

 

[rodentrancher]

Thanks for adding your reply to my post magpie. Its nice to get some different output from different people re rat and mice breeding. I've just spent about 2 1/2 hours out in the Rattery/Mousery doing some harvesting and cleaning boxes. We don't use water bottles, but have header tanks. So that is a bit easier for me. Just got heaps of orders in for rats, so hope our back up people can help us out. Cheers, Cheryl