Friday, February 5, 2010

Would my feeder rats be ok outside in my garage (U.K Weather)with a heat matt under the cage on a timer ?

Just to take the edge of the cold and to warm them up slightly heat matt to come on every hour and half for 30 Min's will they survive and breed out there?Would my feeder rats be ok outside in my garage (U.K Weather)with a heat matt under the cage on a timer ?
OK, they are mammals so they could be ok. Is the garage pretty weather tight? It would be bad for them to breed b/c the babies would not do well if the temp is going to be below 60 ish in the habitat. So seperate the males and females. And instead of a mat, I'd do an incandescent bulb that has a cage around it to protect them from burns. Keep it on all the time. You may want to consider red/black/blue so they have some dark, or provide hide boxes that are dark. With a mat you'd need enough substate to avoid burns to the pads of the feet and it would not give off enough radiant heat to make the ambient temp in the entire cage warm. Just remember, you still have to go out and clean it everyday, so keep that in mind.


I did have 2 wild male rats that hung together and lived on my back porch with my pigeons and they were fine in the winter with just the straw I put down on the floor for them. They made a nest in an area under one of the perch areas. They left when the last pigeon died and there was no more bird food.


If there are rats in your area in the wild, then you can make your feeders quite comfortable with a light bulb.


Side note: Please always pre kill food. Scratches and bites can really hurt your snakes or cause infections. (sorry, off my soap box)Would my feeder rats be ok outside in my garage (U.K Weather)with a heat matt under the cage on a timer ?
They could be ok...





You couldn't have them in a cage - they would need to be in a proper waterproof and windproof enclosure.





A heatmat probably wouldn't generate enough heat, you would need something more like a ceramic bulb.





Just get the whole thing set up and check your temps before you put them in there.





You can't leave them in a cold draft.
no - that would be cruel and may even kill them. I keep rats and if you're even thinking of that as an option you shouldn't.
no give them a break isn't it enough they have to live in a cold *** house anyways.
No. That's cruel and will probably die.

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