Rats??

[frankykeno]

Nope not one chew mark so far. I was also bit concerned about the holes I melted in the sides but the room they are in doesn't get a good cross draft so I felt I needed the extra ventilation they provided.

I'm not sure why they don't attempt to chew out. The tubs are very smooth in their interior...that probably helps. I do provide a lot of chew stuff daily as far as bones from our dinner, carrots, etc. so maybe that helps. Their feed mix is varied so they have stimulation picking through it. I don't overstuff the tubs with rats so perhaps that's a factor? The younger busier rats (feeders) get toilet paper tubs and stuff like that to knaw on. I prefer these clear tubs as I feel that may also help as they can see out and maybe don't feel the need to chew out to see what's up around them (rat's being highly inquisitive critters).

So far they seem very content in these tubs. Well other than my female with the almost weaned big litter who is madly trying to jump out whenever I open the tub to feed! She's about had it with the whole "jump on mom" aspect of mothering a large active litter LOL

Oh one thing about those tubs though. The locksnap lid is pretty good but I found a slight give on the corners so added extra security there on the lid just in case.


~~Jo~~

[Jeanne]

Thanks, I may just give that a try!
It's a lot cheaper than the commercial rat tubs for $35.00 a pop..

Yeah no doubt about that!

[frankykeno]

Here's the costing out for my set-up so to give you an idea:

17.88 - rack
35.80 - 4 tubs @ 8.95/tub (I actually got a couple on sale for like $6.00)
14.60 - 4 water bottles @ 3.95 per
7.00 - bag of zip ties and roll of 1/2" mesh*

Total $75.28 plus taxes

Food dishes are no cost as I just find appropriate things for that LOL.

You might want a soldering wand if you don't have one....about $6.00 for that.

*free in my first setup as I already had appropriate wire from another project just laying around

This is just what I do....lots of choices out there really as far as how to house, feed, breed, etc.


~~Jo~~

[daniel1983]

With those tubs there is one thing to watch for.....holes!

When I was keeping my mice in similar tubs, I had on incident where a hole was chewed in the side where that little 'bump' provides sort of an edge. Out of the 5 enclosures, this only happend to one on the tubs and did not happen again after I replaced that tub. Just something to watch for when cleaning.

[frankykeno]

Yep good advice Daniel. I do keep careful watch on that area as well as the vent holes I added. So far none of the rats seems inclined to chew but I'm sure I'll get one someday who has just gotta buck da system LOL. Thanks for pointing that out though.


~~Jo~~

[ssscales]

Well, went to Target and they don't carry Iris tubs anymore!! So, I went with 50qt Rubbermaid tubs instead.

I'm currently housing 1.1 and 0.2 together and will swap females. I added a few drops of Vanilla to the water and hopefully that will keep the smell down. I plan on cleaning the tubs every 6-7 days or sooner if needed. I also bought some Mazuri Rat food and some of those Honey Rat sticks with seeds and stuff stuck together. I spent $18.00 on tubs + $6.00 water bottles + $5.00 for wire mesh = about $13.00 per tub.

I'll order some Harlan Teklad lab blocks next week online.

[Shelby]

Looks good.. just keep an eye on those ventilation holes on the sides. They may try to chew.

Where are you planning on getting harlan teklad lab blocks? I can't find the darn things anywhere.

[ssscales]

Looks good.. just keep an eye on those ventilation holes on the sides. They may try to chew.

Where are you planning on getting harlan teklad lab blocks? I can't find the darn things anywhere.

The holes are pretty small, I don't think they'll be able to get their teeth into it.
As for the lab blocks, still searching...

[Wild Bill]

Where are you planning on getting harlan teklad lab blocks? I can't find the darn things anywhere.

I went to my local seed store and they ordered it for me. They can also order Mazuri in 25 and 50 lb bags. Just tell them Mazuri is made by Purina. Teklad comes in 33lb bags.

[frankykeno]

Looking great! If you're a bit concerned about chewing toss in the empty roll from your toilet paper or paper towels and they'll happily chew away on that as well as any bones from your dinner (just remove what is leftover the next day or so and it won't make the bedding stinky - that is if they leave anything LOL).

I love the 50 qt tubs myself....big enough to house a couple of adults or a female with a big litter w/o crowding as they approach weaning age or for seperate tubs for growing the feeders up (seperated by sex after 5 weeks of age).


~~Jo~~