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New Setup For Breeding (DUW)

well you probably know more than i do about housing rats. i work at a pet store where we breed them and we use glass tanks. we do not take the risk of using plastic anymore. last time plastic was used there were no lips or edges but they scrathed until there was one. if you feel secure about it then its fine i guess.
 
MoneyStax123 said:
great set-up =]
..but there is a risk u are taking of the rats and mice getting loose
they tend to chew and scratch through plastic quite often
if i were you i would be very observant to ensure no one gets out
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that every single breeding rack I have ever seen for mice/rats is utilizing plastic tubs. If I had the room to have glass tanks everywhere I would, but there is a reason that people use plastic tubs...cheap and they don't take up nearly as much room as glass tanks.
 
I'm not a pet store, thanks. And I have friends who keep their adult rats in a large sterilite tub which is PLASTIC and have never had any problems. They are the ones who told me they could stay in a plastic container, I tried it out and it works just fine.

And... no need to get snippy. Just because you work in a pet store doesn't mean you know it all. :)
 
ok ok
lets get the subject off of me now please
jeez
as i said u probably know more than i do
i was just goin by what i heard
and not at any point did i ever believe "i know it all"
 
The point is, in this type of setup, their ARE edges for the rodents to get to. At least in the one I had. They aren't flush against anything when they're closed. The breeding racks you normally see are flush against a metal screen of some sort so the rodents can't get a hold of an edge. Even looking at the op's pics you can see their is an obvious lip right in the front.

I've also seen rats chew out of the concrete mixing tubs usually mentioned in DIY rodent building racks...They gained purchase to chew out the same way as MoneyStax mentioned...Scratching a spot until their was enough their for them to get their teeth on it. Best way to deal with that is cull them because once they figure out how to get out, they'll keep it up.
 
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned here yet or not, but if you give them something to do then they won't have the need to escape. Is there room in there to put a wheel for each one? They aren't that expensive and they keep the little buggers busy for hours, days, weeks, years... seriously. They just run and run, thinking they're actually making it somewhere... It's sad and cute at the same time ^_^.
 
My boyfriend and I just picked up two of these to store our clothes in due to the limited closet space we have in the place we're at right now. Whenever I see these I always try to envision a way to make them into a rack system, and always end up passing them up. I've never considered putting rodents in them though.

Let us know how it works out for ya. I'm skeptical though. Rodents can get out of lots of things, including bared cages. They can squeeze through pretty tiny spaces!
 
I wish you the best of luck but I have seen this done before and the asfs eventually chew out. I have also seen them chew out of sterilite tubs as well. If you give them a wheel and few small pieces of 2x4 (not pressure treated) that will keep them occupied for a little bit.
 
It looks good... Hope it holds up. I used plastic containers for a while, I did not have a problem with them chewing but I did have an issue with moisture. I thought I had plenty of holes but they still kept getting humidity build up. As most of us that have rodents know. Wet mice smell 5 times worse... I hope it works out. Please keep us posted
 
Ya, I don't see a problem with chewing yet, but I am keeping an eye out for it...and I hadn't thought about humidity build up. Indiana get's fairly humid in the summer...I still have that handy-dandy soldering iron close by for more holes if moisture becomes a problem...

Thanks Buzzard,
Josh
 
I am happy to hear you are having good luck with your rack. I would also recommend the wood blocks for chewing as previously stated. Rodents chew constantly to keep their teeth filed down. The rodent family are chewers for that very reason. DYK: If a animal in the rodent family stoped filing its teeth they would recurve and enter the brain through the top of its mouth? or they would die of starvation first. Sorry I had to throw that in there since I am a educational ranger at a park.
 
Crazy. I give mine cardboard, but I never thought of giving them wood. When I think of chewing wood it's like "Ow, ow, ow!".. I guess if they like that sort of thing though I'll get them some ^_^.
 
Your welcome. If you go to the pet store or Walmart you will see in the rodent section wood blocks. I think some of them are even flavored. There is also edible huts and houses that you can get. Just some other things that came to my mind.
 
Sort of on topic...

I had a bunch of rats chew out of a holding/transportation (commercial grade) made for the specific purpose. Ugg! Just what I wanted to come home to and deal with after working 8 hours!
 
Oh my, that would be awful... :awcrap:

I think I'm going to be sure to keep a close watch on our rats' enclosure... check it on cleaning days to be sure they aren't scratching holes anywhere or anything like that. It's always good to play it safe!
 
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