Advice needed for rat breeding

[dangray21]

Hi all,
Not sure weather its worth doing or not. Cost wise i'm feeding 14 royals an not sure if breeding my own rats would be worth it, some say no others say yes. What do you think?

Also wheres the best place to get info on setting up? Im pretty handy with the power tools an could build anything needed. sourcing rats to breed from I'd need help with or is it easier to buy from the local pet shop?

My royals vary from 70g to 1k so would need to cater for them all from pups to full size.

I would use the net to buy but so far my experiences havent been great with getting what im after and was very dissappointed with the service i recieved.

Any help very much appreciated

[McQuillanX2]

how mmany royals do u have?

sorry just saw it there 14

[corny girl]

I have 8 snakes at the moment & i breed my own mice & rats. I still have to buy the odd ones at the moment but i'm finding it so much cheaper breeding my own. Also when breeding your own you know exactly what they have been fed so know what is going into your snakes . You can use large RUBs like the 64L or 84L ones, cut away 2 holes & put some mesh over it for ventilation & then keep them in a rack set up .

[dangray21]

sounds easy enough lol, i build my own racks for the royals, so thats an easy part, so would you need say 3 tubs if i was going to use the ratio of 1 male - 2 females? an only put the male in when i want to breed more? or possibly have some extra rubs to hold the ones i want to fatten up?

[torch74]

I use 50l rubs and have a ratio of 1m to 4f. I leave the male in with the females and never had any problems. I also have a couple of 18l rubs and i have a ratio of 1m to 2f. In addition to these I have a couple of rubs for growing on

[alanw]

have you got rats yet. im in benfleet and breed rats and mice.ive got lots at the moment if you are near. pm me.its lots of work breeding but i like it i spend moor time with them than reps.

[Repidge]

yea thats the only downfall with breeding your own feeders you spend most of your time messing with them instead of your reps, seeing what colours you can produce and coming up with loads of crazy ways to make your breeding setup more efficiant.
I cant seem to leave them alone

[Ssthisto]

The only way it is ever worth it to breed rats is if you also enjoy looking after the rats themselves. Otherwise, it's cheaper in terms of time cost and space cost to just have a freezer and buy in bulk from a reputable company. You'll spend more time maintaining the rodents than you think, and if you're relying on them as your snakes' sole food source, you need to make sure they've got good quality food available at all times, plenty of fresh water, fresh vegetables on a regular basis...

If you LIKE rats and want to breed them, then by all means it is worth it.

[sunnyskeg]

Originally Posted by torch74

I use 50l rubs and have a ratio of 1m to 4f. I leave the male in with the females and never had any problems. I also have a couple of 18l rubs and i have a ratio of 1m to 2f. In addition to these I have a couple of rubs for growing on

50ltr rubs are not big enough for 5 adult rats