Warming rats!!

[P. Novak]

So my mom has found out she is allergic to rats, and I need to get them out as soon as possilble, but I need them for all my snakes. So, in short, I have a shed in the backyard, it's metal though, but still in good condition. I have foamed up all the holes and cracks and now I need this question answered... What is the best way to provide additional heat? Do you think hay or stuffing from stuffed animals would be good enough to keep them warm? I have a rack with 6 large bins. It is wooden, and each plastic tub is black and plastic.

Any ideas would be great. If pics are needed I will get some tomorrow.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[El Viejo]

So my mom has found out she is allergic to rats, and I need to get them out as soon as possilble, but I need them for all my snakes. So, in short, I have a shed in the backyard, it's metal though, but still in good condition. I have foamed up all the holes and cracks and now I need this question answered... What is the best way to provide additional heat? Do you think hay or stuffing from stuffed animals would be good enough to keep them warm? I have a rack with 6 large bins. It is wooden, and each plastic tub is black and plastic.

Any ideas would be great. If pics are needed I will get some tomorrow.

Thanks,
Paul

I think any answer would depend on how cold you are talking about it getting at night where you are.

 

[P. Novak]

It's been getting pretty cold here at night. The other night it was around 44F.

I was just looking at the forecast, and it averages around 40F, I saw one night as low as 38F

 

[LeilaNami]

Hay is a really good insulator. Also, a quality hide box will help. Space heaters work wonders if you can get it working in there.

 

[P. Novak]

Hay is a really good insulator. Also, a quality hide box will help. Space heaters work wonders if you can get it working in there.

Even though the shed is metal, alot of the things in there aren't so I'd be really worried about a fire hazard with the space heater.

Any specific type of hay? Would those plastic houses that pet stores usually sell work as a good hide box?

 

[Endagr8]

i just gave my mice that i put in the shed a bunch of cotton balls. I heat the shed with a space heater that keeps the room at about 60

 

[JColt]

how many snakes you feeding? May make more sense to buy frozen and throw them in the freezer. I am allergic to rats also but only if I hold them or clean cages.

 

[Diggy415]

i have rats out in my garage and provide them with a box and old towels etc, they have to be changed out once a month if soiled etc, i've had alot of mice and rats in the sheds out back as well, but yes a small space heater is a good idea, i also worry about outside critters coming in, mice were a big problem with the hepa virus and all, cross contamination, although i setup traps and caught alot, i converted a back bedroom to my feeder room, you don't have a spare bedroom type thing to use? sounds like you have it set up good in the shed, when they breed you will know. Let us know.

 

[ballpython2]

I dont know what kind of space heaters yall would use in a shed/barn what have you but please becareful. something tells me the space heater might cause a fire if it gets too close to the hay
:?
.

 

[P. Novak]

Thanks for all the help guys! I do have a space heater, but I'm really worried about fires(as mentioned earlier).

I think I'm just gonna go with hay and or cotton fluffs for now. We'll see how they do..

how many snakes you feeding? May make more sense to buy frozen and throw them in the freezer. I am allergic to rats also but only if I hold them or clean cages.

I'm currently feeding 14 snakes and one very hungry monitor. A months supply for food for all of them costs me around $150.

Breeding my own is a must right now.

 

[LeilaNami]

I just use good old Timothy hay

 

[Diggy415]

the other thing i thought of is make an opening somewhere so it keeps a constant tempreature, like a crack in the door or a window? then you can use a heater that when it tips over it shuts off by itself. I have one in my room. Do you have a garage you can use?

 

[LeilaNami]

the other thing i thought of is make an opening somewhere so it keeps a constant tempreature, like a crack in the door or a window? then you can use a heater that when it tips over it shuts off by itself. I have one in my room. Do you have a garage you can use?

Yeah but it will be left on without supervision. Any bedding or material used might fly into heater itself. Is there anyway to put small heating pads on the bins?

 

[arachyd]

Before you go risking a fire, rats do not require an additional heat source at those temperatures unless you have single rats. As long as you provide a good insulator like straw for bedding and they can nest in it and tunnel through it they will provide their own heat. Provide more than they actually need for nesting. Giving a lot of straw will ensure they can tunnel and can remain active in the enclosure rather than huddling for warmth 24/7. A single rat will have a harder time keeping warm. Make sure they have plenty of food and fresh water.

 

[P. Novak]

Before you go risking a fire, rats do not require an additional heat source at those temperatures unless you have single rats. As long as you provide a good insulator like straw for bedding and they can nest in it and tunnel through it they will provide their own heat. Provide more than they actually need for nesting. Giving a lot of straw will ensure they can tunnel and can remain active in the enclosure rather than huddling for warmth 24/7. A single rat will have a harder time keeping warm. Make sure they have plenty of food and fresh water.

Check for the daily fresh food.
Check for the daily fresh water.

What kind of straw would you reccomend?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[El Viejo]

What kind of straw would you reccomend?

Thanks,
Paul

You can buy a small bag of timothy hay at just about any pet store, or perhaps Wal-Mart. If you have a large number of rats, just go to a feed store and buy a square bale of some kind of grass hay with small stems. Here in South Texas farmers raise grain sorghum, and after harvesting the grain, they will often bale the stubble. When they do that the hay is full of stalks that are as big around as your finger. Stay away from anything like that.

 

[arachyd]

Straw is the stubble. I don't know about sorghum but I use oat or wheat straw (not sure but it's a yellowish color) and the finger-thick stalks are very soft and easily flattened. It makes a very good, warm bedding and often has a few heads of grain still clinging to it which the rats would love. Around here a little bag of hay at the pet store the size of a loaf of bread will cost around $8 but an entire bale of hay about 2'x4' is only around $6-$7 at the feed store depending on the season's crop. I have tried to use hay as bedding but the animals I've used it for tend to eat it all and have no bedding left.

 

[Dave]

Thanks for all the help guys! I do have a space heater, but I'm really worried about fires(as mentioned earlier).

I think I'm just gonna go with hay and or cotton fluffs for now. We'll see how they do..




I'm currently feeding 14 snakes and one very hungry monitor. A months supply for food for all of them costs me around $150.

Breeding my own is a must right now.

If they die from the cold, just throw them in the freezer.
You should be able to feed the number of animals that you have for less than $150/month. Monitors have a tendency to eat up all the supply, but they really don't need that much. They ALWAYS act hungry. Then they get obese. In the wild beetles make up a large part of the diet of V. a. albigularis, believe it or not. You may want to look into frozen chicks because the fat content is much lower than farmed rats.