Your Reptile and Amphibian Resource and Information Site

Back to Rodents-Keeping and Breeding Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area  

Rodents-Keeping and Breeding Forum

Corn snake   Cphill58   Corn snake   Cphill58   Corn snake   Cphill58   Corn snake   OX   Cphill58   Corn snake   Cphill58   Corn snake  
 Member  Message

 #2091013


Corn snake
View Profile

 Help with a male rat.

Alright i have a big fat male rat...My 6ft red tail boa didnt eat..So now I’m having to house him in a 10 gallon..I have no rat food etc at all..So i just put some corn from a can into a bowl with antoher bowl full of water...How long till he will need his tank cleaned out..Liek he has aspen in it atm with 2 bowls food/water...I know they stink pretty bad and pee/poop alot lol and i rele hate rats period..how long will it take him to start gettign that tank really stinky to were it will need be cleaned....thanks for the help and any tips on helping him keep the smell down
11/02/09  11:59am

 #2091103


Cphill58
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2091013


 Help with a male rat.

Corn...

I was in the same position 1 time..meal was refused and there I was with a rat in a 10 gallon tank...I fed it bread / water of course in a bowl, they drink and wash up all by themselves...they like meat too ham and turkey lunch slices ...cheese...fruit apples and whatever you have...and NUTS ...they love nuts and peanut butter ...so I made small peanut butter sandwhiches. Now my ex wife hates all things related to this love of snakes and all wild things ...such as feeders...so I kept the rat out on the back porch..the ten gallon had a lid and I threw a tarp over it and shoved it over by some tools and other junk I had out there... every night I visited it and fed it and of course after a week or 10 days I changed the substrate too. it wasn’t all that bad ...rats are far less smelly than mice!! it’s a fact.

I eneded up buying a smaller rat ...the snake ate that 1 ...and I kept the male...today I have a female and babies too (second litter)....he never ever bit me and he is quite the tame lil guy that is my proud daddy ...loves to hang out on my shoulder and will stay in his cage with the door open...they will associate their cage with security. Give it a small cardboard box to hide in ...they are active at night and sleep during the day mostly.

Since I am now breeding and raising them I have gone to yard sales and purchased a few bird cages to contain my growing family ...LOL..water bottles and Co2 ...after they reach the small / medium size I gass them and freeze them.






you don’t want to see the frozen ones ....do you ??

Cp
11/02/09  03:06pm

 #2091506


Corn snake
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2091013


 Help with a male rat.

lol yea..Well think its to cold to kee pthe rat out side in a 10 gallon..I wish i could tho..But he is in a 10gallon with aspen and water bowl/food bowl..Been giving him corn and may give him a penut butter sandwich today..lol..But Thanks for the input..Hopfully my RTB gets rid of his RI soon so he will eat.
11/03/09  02:09pm

 #2091779


Cphill58
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2091506


 Help with a male rat.

How bad is the RI...I dealt with RI’s with my corns... I raised temps at the hot spot to 94F was advised by a breeder that I trust. If the snake wanted to use it ...it was there... They use the extra heat to induce a self created fever...fevers kill virus and bacteria...The vet gave me oral antibiotics after a month I did use them ...it was tuff at first to get the snake to open it’s mouth ...but I learned with my Rainbow boa to use a rubber spatula. It gets easier as you do it each time.

The worst it ever got for me was the snake sneezing / coughing... and wiping mucous on the tank walls / glass. I never did see bubbles at or in the glotis....I changed the substrate out and cleaned the tank every 7 days. The previous owners never cleaned up the tank for months and that is one of the reasons the RI’s started....bad husbandry ...filthy conditions...I have no idea what the temps were before I got them ...but I straightened it out within 2 months...3 corns (free) 1 vet visit 65.00...1 prescription of baytril 25.00 ... twenty days of giving drops daily.

Good luck with yours.

Cp
11/04/09  02:20am

 #2091859


Corn snake
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2091013


 Help with a male rat.

I’m not 100% sure he has had it..But i noticed it couple days after getting him..The tank was dirty and nasty when i got him...I cleaned it out etc there was skin in the tank and poop and nasty stuff on the glass.i had to clean it and all with help from a freind..But it seems that its nottin a lil better..he isnt doing it as much or as loud..He lays directly under the light like 24/7 so he may be done with it very soon...But will see...he blows bubbles out hsi nose when he is under the water i have seen.
11/04/09  11:15am

 #2092503


Cphill58
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2091859


 Help with a male rat.

I hope it clears up ....blowing bubbles underwater is not what I meant.

Bubbles will come out of his mouth and nostrils freely if it is bad ...and you will see mucous trails in the enclosure and on the glass.

Next time you clean the tank real good try a bit of bleach in the water to clean with .... scrub well .....then use a misting bottle to rinse with plain water... and towel dry . The bleach kills germs and bacteria if left on for 2-5 minutes ...Hydrogen Peroxide is a good disinfectant too ...and will remove any bleach odor... Lysol wipes and Clorox wipes do a nice job as well...just remember too rinse and towel dry....all this shoulod be done with the snake removed. Raise the temps ....during the day and night ....or if you like 92-94 during the day and 88 during the night , these are hot spot temps....not the cool side. Always allow the cool side to be just that ....so the snake can regulate temps.

Cp
11/05/09  11:55pm

 #2093702


Corn snake
View Profile



   Message To: Cphill58   In reference to Message Id: 2092503


 Help with a male rat.

Yea he just got out of shed...So i may feed him today its been 3 weeks sincei have had him and that makes it 1 month and 3 weeks since he has ate..I sure hope he will eat soon..he isnt acting very active at all..his warm side temps are 90 and he is always on warm side..So idk he is confusing..but he had a good shed all cam out just fine
11/09/09  02:07pm

 #2093962


OX
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2093702


 Help with a male rat.

I honestly don’t think I could ever not have a rat. I love them so much, they have great temperaments and are fun to play with. You can even teach them tricks if you felt like putting the time and effort into it.

As for feeding, they will pretty much eat anything that you will eat. I feed mine either dog food or rat block. One thing that I will say is that the more protein they get the smellier they are. Nuts, veggies, leftovers work great too. Mine love to get the nuts in the shell, and those are good for teeth too, since they need to chew, it also gives them something to do.

As for cleaning the tank, if the bedding gets wet from him tipping the water and when it starts to smell. Because a tank is not very well ventilated, you will have to clean out the tank more often. If you have an old bird cage, those are good.

I know this is a little much for a feeder rat that you don’t even want, but I believe that they should be kept happy, even if they are going to be fed off. But that is just me.




The white ones are my breeding feeders and the grey ones are pets.

hope this helps
OX
11/10/09  08:59am

 #2093986


Cphill58
View Profile



   Message To: OX   In reference to Message Id: 2093962


 Help with a male rat.

Nice rats OX...I have mine in a total of 3 bird cages now ...aren’t yard sales fun ...LOL
They are really doing well and are easy as you mentioned to feed and care for ...free food ...what a novel idea.

Corn ...I am happy to hear that the shed went well... if you need anything feel free to PM.(private message)

Cp
11/10/09  10:37am

 #2094023


Corn snake
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2091013


 Help with a male rat.

Alright thanks for the help..I may try feedin the boa today but idk if he will eat stil..He hasnt been very active much at all..So idk that rat is mean tho if you try to touch him he bites lol..I give him food and all he just dont like me...So w/e and i dont want him biting the boa ether cuase he will only eat live
11/10/09  01:56pm

 #2094194


Cphill58
View Profile



   Message To: Corn snake   In reference to Message Id: 2094023


 Help with a male rat.

I used to feed strictly live ....but I never liked seeing my snake get bit by the rats...So I tried 2 or 3 ways to knock out or euthanize the rat quickly. That way it was still fresh and warm ...yet could not inflict a viscious bite. Rats are nasty biters if you have one like you mentioned.

You can use a small souveir baseball bat ..or some sort of home fashioned billy club..or a thump against the wall via a tail hold ...both of these can be messy and only stun a larger rat...only to have it regain consciousness a minute later ,could be good , could be bad.

I choose to break the neck by wearing gloves and stretching the rat as directed in a web site I stumbled on....(Cervical Dislocation) it describes the proper way to do it and the fact that it is humane and quick....the rat still kicks in it’s last moments enticing the snake to strike it takes a second or 2.

Link

Cp
11/10/09  09:30pm

 #2094392


Corn snake
View Profile



   Message To: Cphill58   In reference to Message Id: 2094194


 Help with a male rat.

Yea..I hate rats lol i dont even like picking him up he trys to climb up his tail and bite..So yea idk i might try the holding him down and pulling the tail



11/11/09  02:02pm


Back to Rodents-Keeping and Breeding Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area