Breeding Rats and Mice - My Problems!
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- Опубліковано 25 жов 2019
- In this video I'll cover some of the issues I face when breeding rodents for my snakes.
Enjoy!
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Bobby is such a character!
Just found your channel, and I'm super picky about who I watch in regards to reptiles on UA-cam, but I really like yours. Your happy personality and passion for your animals is awesome! Looking forward to your future videos. :)
Chris I want to thank you for your videos I've learned the most from your Chanel all the morphs and morph market thank you for your videos there very enjoyable and educational
Love your “question of the day “ Your channel is one of my favorites and has been a great resource for my first ball python that I got 2 months ago. Thank you for all the great content!
Bobby just wants to give kisses and you lean your head awayy 🤣🤣
You're literally my go to for all my animal questions...I appreciate it man!
Bobby is amazing!!!! He’s so sweet, looks like he’s got the best personality too!
Yea, he's pretty awesome!
@@ChrisHardwickanimaladventures are most balls cool with hanging out like that for a while?
I'm usually thinking the same thing with my snake. I check her all the time and almost thinking if shes alive or not because how much she sleeps.
I've only a 5 tub rack in my mud room. Used to produce plenty to keep the snakes full and slowly stock the fridge. Now...... 25 more snakes later ... I'm going to have to step it up. I have a rather nice insulated building that may turn into a rat room soon. It's just not to profitable in the middle of nowhere Texas for me to produce a ton. I've sold a good deal to local falconers though.
Great video Chris. You hit this one on the nail. Keep up the good work.
I love when I am out in my breeding room and your rats start breeding or making other noises and I have to turn down the volume to see if it is yours or mine. Lol
Apparently the mouse who escaped was the Brain from Pinky and the Brain.
**Mice watering**
Take the plastic water's and get some black plastic tubing. Get enough T fittings and 2 90* fittings. Drill holes approx the same size as the tubing.
Insert your tubing aprox 2 inches into the drilled hole. Use Non toxic hot glue Or 100% silicone to seal up the tubing, personally I prefer hot glue due to it setting faster. Then get a quick detach fitting to connect the hose to the bucket/container.
This way they have access to water incase something comes up and you can't refill them.
Give this some like so Chris will see this comment.
Btw love watching your video's, and appreciate the time and dedication. You put out a lot of educational and informative content.
That's funny my daughter Emilee just wanted to go out and do a video on rats and the different sizes
LOL!
I prefer the lab style rat cages now, too many issues w chewing and escaping from home made rack system. I use pellets under the littler which makes the odor and freshness of littler last longer.
I was cleaning MICE tubs and thinking witch is never good lol Just wanted to say I got a TGR rodent rack for my MICE and have never had a problem with the water valves ... Not sure what kind they are but they work excellent for me ...Take Care & Stay Wild!!!
I'll have to try those!!
Thank you for answering my question ,I asked because i have a super picky fire pied female (narcissa) she just started eating after a 5 month fast shes at 1765g i need to get more rats into her . i watched almost all your videos you deserve 1 million subs keep up the awesome work
I recently got a leopard pied about two weeks ago and Ieft him alone for a week then tried feeding him.
He wouldn't eat after a week with me passed and you'd think having 30 BPs I'd of known the reason was because he was in shed mode I forgot to rule that out lol.
Two days ago he gave me a full shed, so he should be ready to rock and roll come feeding day!
Hey criss great video, have ever had a problem with A respiratory infection in your rat colony, thought it could be a good idea for a video about how to prevent and treat I actually just discovered my rats are sneezing
Great video you should do a video on how low the temperature can go. Because I been out of power for 24 hours an the temp is getting low I got a hand warmer in there now
Hey I got my first bamboo today and you're the one who introduced me to that awesome gene so thank you! ((;
Awesome!
My 1.5 year old male just ate after his first hunger strike, 8 weeks. It's videos like this one that kept me from having anxiety attacks every week he refused another meal. Thanks for what you do dude
Dang I do maintenance on my mice every day and it takes a while every day for just 13 mice
I put a valve on my mice watering system to slow the flow way down at each tub before the nipple
I've been bit by a rat when I was trying to treat it's broken leg, hurt so fucking bad. Next day, had an infection and had to stay in hospital for a week. Don't underestimate them, scared rats will bite if they feel like it.
Did you just made that up ?
I am dominicano from the Bronx. I have one year albino ball python. I love you job. God bless you brother
I use coconut coir together with some activated charcoal and springtails. I never had to clean or replace them, no smell. Nothing
For the mice waterer you might try taking the part they drink from and sliding it into a tube instead of each having a bottle
Great idea!
You should try checking out America's Choice Eco flake a softwood kiln-dried multi-screened Works awesome
I had to start breeding rats because I couldn't afford 400 per week to feed my snakes. 36 colonies is a lot of work seeing I have individual racks and I don't use auto water.
Trust me in my room after feeding and watering the bottle noises are very loud.
Hey man love your channel. What’s the best snake book to by about morphs for a beginner
Thanks
Phillip Shutt
This is a great book, costs about a hundred bucks though. I actually got this book when I bought a ball python but decided to sell it because I needed the cash at the time LOL.
amzn.to/2MR7ogJ
(This is an Amazon affiliate link)
I know just what you mean. My rats are kind of taking over much of my time. I get the Kaytee 8 cubic foot Aspen bedding. It's about $30 a bail.
I agree with you about power feeding. I have a male that goes off food intermittently and so when he is on food I try to make use of it to get him a little on the heavy side to make up for the times when he goes off food again. I've had a hell of a time keeping him at breeding weight.
What kind of tubs are you using for your rodent racks and on average how long do tubs last for before the rats chew through them??
Videos like this with Bobby you could do chat bubbles of him talking to his hooman. You know like those Husky funny videos. Something for the little ones watching with the addicted to your channel adults.
The question of the day music is something else
Hi Chris, I want to know how many days does your bucket of water last for rats in your rack? Thanks a lot for your video. Greetings from Paris
Depends on how many rats I have in the rack. Usually if they drink down a third of the bucket in a day it means I have way too many rats in my rack and I have to thin them out LOL. Someday I want to make it over to Paris!
Question: With the possibility of pending shipping issues. Me and my herping buddy are gonna start breeding rats to help us and others with rats for snake food. Where did you get the water nipples for your rat water system?
I get them from Reptile Basics or from ARS Caging. Actually in China they breed rats for people to eat, could be a thing as food supplies dry up with this virus outbreak LOL. Or maybe you can feed them to dogs, just need to figure out how to filet a rat HA!
What do you do to keep the dust down? It gets everywhere.
After babies are born (mice or rat) can you keep other females in the cage besides the mom? You remove the male correct? When do you remove the male. Thx
Wow there are so many things to consider with breeding rats/mice
the cleanest tub ive seen were double the height and only had 2 female with a rotating male. otherwise you waste more and it take more work for little return
Loosen the rat nipples a little it’s pressure off the spring it makes it easier for the mice to drink from the nipples. And in fresh grow outs I put a small water dish for them till they learn how to drink from them.
There is a fine line though you losing it too much and then the spring doesn’t hold it and it will start leaking but slightly will make it easier for the nipple to deliver water
My big male has been of food for about a month
Hey Chris. If you had to choose one size, which size?
50 series or 70 series to breed rats.
I'd go for the bigger one.
Y dont u get the recycled paper.ish kind?? My rats hate the thin dusty stuff and any wood stuff isnt the best and I use to wonder y they would always b sneezing... till I changed. Not so smelly too!
How do you kill them? Or do you live feed? Good vid and rack set up dude 👌
I euthanize with CO2. The only rats and mice I feed live are small hopper mice or small rats that are harmless. I tried feeding live for a bit, one snake took a big bite, I'll never do that again...
Excellent channel. I'm starting a breeding of rats and mice for snakes but I've had a hard time getting the wateringies for the mice by size. Any body to recommend me or where could I do? Greetings and thanks
I still use small water bottles in my rack system for my mice. The nozzles work good for the adults but are useless for hoppers. I tried more sensitive nozzles and I get flooded tubs. Water bottles are a bit more work but are foolproof.
@@ChrisHardwickanimaladventures Thanks a lot Chris. Good advice 👍
I love your videos
FIRST!
whats the best way to clean out my mice tank when they have babies iv been told they have to be left and just spot clean but i want to make it all fresh ??? dont want them to get eaten if i touch them tho?????
I move them to fresh bedding, it won't hurt them.
ahhh okay then , thanks chris 👌👍 awsome vid btw man
I use to use that cat litter tubes
Maybe for the very young mice try shallow non tipping water dishes, like you would use for a small cat or dog, and keep a flat rock in the bowl so they can climb out if they fall in. Or, probably more expensive, the bowls for cats and dogs that eat too fast with the raised lines this way they can walk on it and drink from it too. Hope this helps.
I just looked it up, they are called slow feeders. But i think most can be used for water.
Thanks
What prevents the rats from gnawing through the tubs?
The tubs are super thick and heavy, I've never had any bite marks on any of the tubs.
Tubs should be absolutely flat in the sides and bottom. No edges should stick inwards if you go with cheap storageboxes.
Hey I am from India and having problems in feeding ball python is it bcz of the heat bcz it's 32 deegre Celsius in normal pls help
That temperature should be fine as long as you don't go much above 32C. Ball pythons can be real picky feeders for no reason at all. Just keep offering food once a week.
What part of Colorado are you from i live in pueblo
New sub...nice vid great quality
Thanks! I've really upgraded my video quality in the last few months, my old stuff is pretty rough LOL
Chris Hardwick understandable I’ll be doing the same
What do you do with the old bedding. My trash man im sure hates me
I have a dumpster now LOL
Great video! Question: Can you start hatchlings on baby rats instead of hopper mice?
I tried it, doesn't work.
Hi Chris, 90% of my hatchlings eat fuzzy rats right out of the gate. I only feed mice if the hatchlings refuse to eat after 3 to 4 weeks and once you feed mice, you're often stuck with it for weeks until they can be weaned onto rats. ARP constrictors had over 700 hatchlings this year and he never feeds mice. Everything gets rats. So I would say there isn't a hard rule here. For me, it's simple logistics. My ball pythons will eat rats for the rest of their lives and I only need to keep and breed rats.
@@Trumpy6 yes, live is generally what hatchlings want at least for the first few meals and i know its regulated in some places. If you do have mice as well as rats, for the difficult ones i put some dirty mouse bedding in the tub then put a rat pup in. That sometimes fools them. Why is it important rather than just give them mice? I feel hatchlings grow faster on rats. I also find hatchlings on mice can be difficult to switch onto rats later on. Before selling a hatchling i feel it only fair that it is well established, has a good feed response and is eating rats. The last thing a new snake owner needs is to have to do all that themselves.
I have never fed my hatchlings mice I have always done rats never had a problem ever but you will have picky eaters
I would pre-mix the food 30% Missouri or pig pellet, 10 to 30% dog food. 10 to 30% super cheap dog food. And at least 10% different every time rabbit pellets or something.
Of course it looks like something that is in the block will fall through the grate, you might have to avoid pellets. But I would do your own research on pig pellets because some brands are extremely similar to Missouri because their dietary requirements are the same.
Hi Chris, what do you do with all the soiled bedding? Thanks
The rat bedding I throw in the dumpster LOL. But I use my coconut bedding from my snakes as landscaping material around the house and in the garden.
Chris Hardwick thanks!
Hi Chris. What’s the difference in price between buying frozen rodents and breeding rodents?
Depends on how you set up your colony. I tend to have a bunch of older males that I grow up for my retics, they just get big and fat and eat up a lot of food LOL. If you keep and breed all younger females that produce more I'd say you'd come out ahead quite a bit more.
Do you ever have to deal with any of your rats eating their young? I just came home to 9 fewer pinkys... I can’t tell whether the female(s) or the male ate them. I suspect it was the male, he was new to the cage. I’ve heard of male lions eating the cubs of a new mate if he’s chased off the father... but never anything about rats. Any thoughts?
I have mice eat their young once in awhile but I've never had a rat do it.
You should check out Freedom Breeders new rack system for rats and mice.
How many adult male and female mice can u keep at one tray?
You can only keep on male but can keep several females. Depends on if you are breeding and how often you clean the tub, I prefer one male and 2-3 females max.
Old food is fine I’ve only seen grain beetles develop from it
Do any of your mice eat the babies? What kind of food do you feed the mice and rats?
I feed Mazuri 6F, and yes sometimes they do eat the babies, especially new moms.
Hey Chris just want to say Hi, my wife and I watch your channel regularly and would also like to thank you for the information you share will all of us watching and congratulations on going full time on you tube!! So with that all said I'd like to share with you what I have been using for bedding for my breeder rats and mice. I may give you a week or two of your life back to do other things in life like make more videos, play golf, nap, or something. lol
So we own a pet store in eastern Oregon and when we opened the store one of my main goals was to keep the "pet" smell down as much as possible with as little maintenance as possible. Basically I didn't want it to smell like a pet store period!! Keep in mind the store is fairly small too so it doesn't take much to stink it up quick.
I have 18 breeder rat tubs 2 females 1 male per tub. Mice 6 tanks running 3 to 1. Right now I am cleaning my rats and mice cages ONCE a month. Sometimes 40 to 45 days but that is about the limit to bedding changes before the smell starts to get noticeable. Usually when the babies get to weening size the tubs are getting pretty smelly. Also depends on how many litters are born in the time period, number of babies, etc. Rarely do I ever clean before 30 days EVER!
We have had several people come in our store that are familiar with rat and mice breeding and snake breeding as well, and their in the store for like 20-30 minutes before they notice the rat racks and mice cages in the back room and say, "I didn't even know you had breeders in the store," because they couldn't smell anything leading them to it. Nice right?
So my secret is: Naturally Fresh Walnut Cat Litter. I order it off chewy. It costs about 55 dollars (free S&H as well over $49) for 2 (26 lb bags of single cat (green bag) multi cat (red bag) depends on which is cheaper/sale at time of order. And 2 (14 lb bags (purple bag) of the Walnut Pellets.
I have the black contractor tubs from home depot in my rat racks so I will use 5-6 cups of the pellets first, spread them out evenly across the tub, and then I use the ground up walnut about 3 cups to fill in the gaps between the pellets. Then I put 2 or 3 good hand fulls of aspen bedding in the back of the tub for them to nest in. And that's it!! It cost's me about $3.00 per rat tub and about $2.50 ish for the mice per 30 days.
I've found that using much more than 3 cups of the ground up walnut seems to create more dust from them scattering around in the tub. And you'll just end up wasting it anyway because they typically don't urinate all over the tub just in certain spots. So if you want to spot clean your tubs like a cat box daily or every other day and get the urine clumps out, I believe you could possibly get 2 months between full cleanings. The rat poop doesn't smell like the mice do so it's usually the rat's urine I notice smelling first. We also feed Mazuri 6F to btw.
Also since I have 18 rat tubs, I usually split them up like clean 9 and two weeks later do the other 9 so as to keep the work spread out and also keep the weight down in the garbage can bag too.
The KISS philosophy is a great way to live, and life is to short to be cleaning one kind of animals homes all the time. lol. And all the compliments I've gotten that our store doesn't smell like a "pet" store makes it even more satisfying to find something so simple, inexpensive, safe for the animals, and you only have to clean ONCE a month or so you can't beat that!! Give it a try, You can thank me later! ;)
Again Congratulations on your new "full time" en devour here on you tube and we definitely look forward to seeing more of you and "Bobby n Gang" in the future!! :)
Thanks for the tip!
Please talk about rats sneezing and sickness
Does anyone know where I could buy live rats? I live in Connecticut and all I can find are frozen. I would keep some adults as pets and feed the offspring to snakes. Shipping for frozen costs so much more than the rodents.
I'd check your local Craig's list, here's some in Eastern Connecticut.
newlondon.craigslist.org/for/d/waterbury-large-fancy-rats/7002018611.html
Where do you order you Mazuri 6F? Thanks
I get it from a local feed store.
How much do you save? Seems like it's worth the effort.
The thing I like the most is that I can euthanize with CO2 and if the snakes don't eat the rodent I can freeze them and sell them to the pet store as a frozen rodent. If I were to use frozen and the snake doesn't eat I basically have to throw out all the thawed out rodents, that's a huge cost saving right there.
I line in NY. If I decided to breed rats. Do I need to provide heat for them? Cause in NY we see rats all year long with no heat
If you don't provide heat they usually won't breed.
@@ChrisHardwickanimaladventures thanks for the tip!
How long does it take for a ball python to lay her eggs once the lock
Usually 4-5 weeks I believe
About 5-6 months.
Ok thanks and really love your videos
I've been wondering this. Can u feed your dead mice that died of natural causes to your reptile?
Not unless you catch them right when they fall over dead LOL
@@ChrisHardwickanimaladventures oh ok so like if they drop while you're watching them haha
@@ChrisHardwickanimaladventures What about sick mice can u feed those off
@@theanimaladdiction I would not feed sick rodents to my snakes. Self breed mice are cheap, it is not worth the risk.
@@andreheise1170 ok thanks
I'm curious, you breed rats for feeding snakes?
Yes.
Less mice and a bigger cage will fix the smell, also a drop of two of vanilla in their water.
Thanks for the tip!
No problem!
Chris Hardwick would a female white mouse and a male brown mouse able to produce some White babies or are they gonna take after the male brown?
Not sure...
Is it possible to get white tho or you don’t know at all....
I've been bit by a rat when I was like 12 or so...it was my fault...I had a super sweet rat so I got him a friend...that guy was a jerk and beat up my other rat and I tried to stop it. I knew nothing...
Our rats will bite our fingers real easy. Doesn’t even hurt at all. They could easily take a hunk out.
The only time I get nibbled on by my rats is if I try to take babies away from a female and I get my fingers too close. They just gently bit, but I know they could do some real damage if they wanted to. Now I move the females to a new tub first, then move just the babies I don't need back to the females, works good that way.
Do you sale your feeder rats
I actually just sell them at wholesale to a local pet store, just the frozen ones.
It only takes 4-5 weeks to lay eggs but 6 months to get her to produce follicles? Do the snakes just mate with everyone they find in nature? That sounds like the wilt chamberlain theory of breeding lmao
No, they lock when breeding, then it takes about five to six months to get eggs.
The tubes on the mice are not deap enough
Are wild rats attracted to the ones you keep? That's a nice way of asking if they bring more rats into your house lol
No, there's no wild rats up here in the mountains. No snakes either LOL
Number one problem, It is kind of a big problem with breeding rats on a 5 - 10+ tub scale is you need space and are you perfectly ok with that space stinking like crazy, may want to have a room with an exhaust fan IDC how much you clean the smell never really goes away definitely a deal breaker for alot of people.
I actually use a bunch of air cleaners, I have one in almost every room of the house. Just put in a couple more with carbon, UV and ionizers, my wife was wondering why the house suddenly smelled so fresh! I think it was the UV that really does the trick.
Even a female not up to breeding size will go off food... My femal is about 840 grams she hasn't ate in like 2 months frozen thawed plus tried live rats. And live mice nothing
Your heart has to work harder
You’re supplier is lying to you mice are escape artist they can squeeze through a tiny hole. You know he has heard of that before
I've got a solution for your mouse water
You sell frozen afs
Imagine if the rats were people and the snakes are aliens wow man it super baked man valid parking ticket valedictorian
👽
Mice sleepover at Chris hardwicks place. Invite your friends lol
Your late!!!! lol
Yea, got stuck in upload at my super slow 2 megabitspersecond
@@ChrisHardwickanimaladventures All good :) I just got a male and female pair of albinos yesterday. up to 6 snakes now 4 just in the month of Oct.. All your fault!!! Your the best bad influence Ive ever seen lol
For rats you can just use newspaper. Rats have respiratory problems so when housed in substrate like sawdust they can become ill and potentially die. That’s probably why you lost a few