What is an optimal temperature range for keeping rat and mice colonies? I live in a state were the coldest part of winter is almost here. My set up is in the basement in a closed off room that seems to be holding in at around 60°F. TIA.
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I don’t know about colonies, but pet rats are best kept at comfortable temperatures for humans. 60°F is a bit on the chilly side I would say, but if they have multiple buddies to cuddle with they should be fine. If I were you I would get a small space heater in there to bump the ambient temps up a bit just so they don’t end up too cold.
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78 to 85 with an air current is what I’ve found to be optimal. Any colder and slow production, any hotter and they slow and or stop. That’s just what I’ve found.
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Thanks, I have noticed the smaller litters and slower frequency of litters already. I’m tuning in the oil heater right now.
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What are you feeding them
Muzuri brand, mix of 6F and rat & mouse, with Timothy hay for extra bedding material. And occasionally home dried pumpkin and seeds. Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s the newer moms that have the smaller litters.
Ok well sounds good. I actually use Lindner Show Feed for Pigs called Sow Cube. Been using it for years with great results. And I use Compressed one pellets for bedding. I dont have a huge colony. Maybe around 200 breeders rats and mice. And they have their own rodentry with AC and heat and exhaust fan. So it’s real easy to control the en environment. But even then I have lulls in production.
My operation is I bit smaller. As my collection of snakes grows, so do the rats. I spot clean on a daily basis to keep down on the smell but will be looking for a better odor control bedding without breaking the bank. I live in the city so I don’t have an area for composting the bedding but have been looking into other options, my trash can will not be able to sustain for long. Lol. As far as temps and ventilation, well, looks like I will be remodeling more than just a snake room. The oil heater send to be working, feels better in there already.
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Awesome hope they pick up production. Good luck
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