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fancy rats

midnightgallop

midnightgallop

I can't type...
Ok, so I'm on the look-out for some rats. I was hoping to get two males and two females to have as both pets and breeders. Does anyone know of anyone breeding them in NH or MA?
 
my thoughts on fancy rats are this..If you want 4 get 1.3. An average male can handle 3 females by himself. Most of my colonies are 1.3 at this point. I will say this my colored rats especially my blue line and my dumbo earred line are dreadful breeders compared to my lab rat lines. I am slowly elimininating my colored rats for this reason. I also find that if you raise the three females together there is less fighting at birthing times and over babies than females who are unrelated and simply thrown together. I have my Alpha pair which is unrelated and from 2 seperate lines. She will give me a consistent 16-20 babies per month as have her daughters I have kept and introduced into my colony. I am nearing 40 this month being about 30 females to 10 males. I have about 20-25 with mom's that I plan to keep as well. With 40 snakes eating rats of assorted sizes it makes the need great. Right now there are only about 20 females breeding. Most of my colored females average 10, with the blues when they do deliver averaging about 6 and the dumbo's have yet to bring a litter to live delivery. (They are all about to be swapped to the pet shop for some whites.)
I have been using the 55 gallon rubbermaid tubs with exterior water bottles with much success. I was using the 30 gallon but it became clear that the 55 work better very quickly.
 
...so I guess you guys know of any fany rat breeders then? I want fancy rats for health and I want 2:2 for a reason. I only have 4 snakes and they will be doubling as pets. Thank you for your opinions though.
 
I would suggest mom and pop pet stores or reptile stores. Also sorry your reasoning on 2.2, if you put them 1.1 colonies the male will wear the female out, if you put them 2.2 the males will fight. I can tell you for sure 1.2 and keeping a female here and there can make more than enough pups for four snakes, you'll be over run.
 
Thanks for your opinion as well susang, but my reasoning is not what you thought. I never said I was keeping 2:2. My plan was to keep the bucks and does separate. Reason being is that I can control the population and not tire them out. Then, if everything works out, I may form a colony later on. I am not really looking for this to be a sole source of food for my snakes. It's more supplemental and they'll be doubling as pets. It may end up beign so eventually, but not now. I have tried mom and pop places, but their male rats are often either too old, too sick, or too aggressive with everyone and everything.
 
midnightgallop said:
Ok, so I'm on the look-out for some rats. I was hoping to get two males and two females to have as both pets and breeders. Does anyone know of anyone breeding them in NH or MA?
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You're probably going to have a hard time finding a fancy rat breeder who'll be willing to sell to someone who has snakes.
 
I have bought rats from breeders and they all know I have snakes. Didn't stop them from adopting them out to me. Heck, I know several rat breeders that have snakes as pets.
 
I also think that no-one would care because it's only the babies that will be eaten, not the parents.
 
Sorry patm, that would most likely be wrong.

Rat fanciers love ALL rats, parents AND babies.
Most breeders will only sell same sex pairs and strongly discourage breeding OF ANY KIND.
And while most will sell to snake people they won't with the knowledge that babies will be considered food.

That is just the same as saying people who sell dogs don't care if you feed the puppies the adults produce to something else.
 
patm1313 said:
I also think that no-one would care because it's only the babies that will be eaten, not the parents.
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How can you say no one will care?
Guess what, baby rats are STILL rats.
Every wonderful licky adult pet started out as a baby.

To say that a rat lover does not care if babies are fed to something else is just ignorant.
 
Thanks for your opinions everyone. Some breeders DO have a contract that you need to sign. Depending on the breeder, the contract can either make it impossible for ANYONE to own a rat (self-sabotage on the breeders behalf), it can be really obsessive to the point of "crazy rat lady", or it can be sensible (why wouldn't a breeder require you to report death or health problems? they want to better their lines). Some breeders don't have contracts and retain a respectable amount if privacy with their customers and only wish for you to tell them when they pass, if they have issues, or if they need to rehome. Depends on the person really. So yes, some people WILL care about the babies, and for others, they consider it none of their business after someone pays $45 for a pair of rats.
 
oh yes, and me HAVING snakes, or a dog...or a fiance for that matter does not make a difference. Just because I have a fiance, it doesn't mean I am going to feed him my rats :p Same with the snakes. As previously stated, these pet rats will get the utmost care and they will not be bred constantly (hence the 2:0 and 0:2 in separate cages) and they will have above and beyond the necessities as they are pets and occasional breeders, not feeders.
 
I need to chime back in here mainly as a Rat breeder although perhaps an atypical one. My adults are all pets. All of them have names, and regstry numbers even. I keep excellent records as to who is bred to whom when and why. I rarely feed off an entire litter because most of the time I am breeding for something unique to add to my collection or perhaps as a request. I recievied many requests as an example for blues. My blue adults are lousy breeders and have yet to produce blue offspring. They are sweet pets and while I am intending to eliminate them from my personal program the females are going to pet homes. Not to mention I have nothing capable of eating a fully grown rat. I use puppy bisquits for treats and they all know the sound of the bisquit jar. However I will say this...if I did not have snakes I would not have rats; no way around that part of the issue.
 
I applaud anyone who can kill a rat baby, especially when they first come out of the nest. I'm not saying this to be mean, I can't do it. I know it's me and the snakes have to eat. I don't have any problem killing mice. I had great rat colonies, breeding very well, hairless, siamese, gray hooded, tan hooded, berkshire. Killed one young adult and that was it cried everytime after that, so I got rid of all but two females.
 
starsevol said:
Sorry patm, that would most likely be wrong.

Rat fanciers love ALL rats, parents AND babies.
Most breeders will only sell same sex pairs and strongly discourage breeding OF ANY KIND.
And while most will sell to snake people they won't with the knowledge that babies will be considered food.

That is just the same as saying people who sell dogs don't care if you feed the puppies the adults produce to something else.
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I think that rats are different then dogs, but I was figuring local pet store owners wouldnt care, not breeders that care about the rats. Local pet stores often get the animals from people who had them as pets, not breeders. They're just in it for the money. They want to get the animals off their hands, so they dont care what you do with them.
 
susang said:
I applaud anyone who can kill a rat baby, especially when they first come out of the nest. I'm not saying this to be mean, I can't do it. I know it's me and the snakes have to eat. I don't have any problem killing mice. I had great rat colonies, breeding very well, hairless, siamese, gray hooded, tan hooded, berkshire. Killed one young adult and that was it cried everytime after that, so I got rid of all but two females.
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I agree. They are quite cute and intelligent. That's another reason I am housing males and females separately. I want to feel this all out and see how well it goes. I was going to order from mouse factory and stop breeding for food once all of my snakes are all on one size of mice. Although there's many other reasons to separate males and females as well such as making sure the adults are healthy and happy ( my priority).Wherever I get them, they are going to be spoiled. I have a home-made rat mix and everything.

Dragon, I am also probably going to keep some kits to be sold as pets as well and may even become a breeder if it all works out and if there is a market, but that won't be for quite a while.
 
midnightgallop said:
I agree. They are quite cute and intelligent. That's another reason I am housing males and females separately. I want to feel this all out and see how well it goes. I was going to order from mouse factory and stop breeding for food once all of my snakes are all on one size of mice. Although there's many other reasons to separate males and females as well such as making sure the adults are healthy and happy ( my priority).Wherever I get them, they are going to be spoiled. I have a home-made rat mix and everything.

Dragon, I am also probably going to keep some kits to be sold as pets as well and may even become a breeder if it all works out and if there is a market, but that won't be for quite a while.
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Maybe I've already shown that I'm more cold-hearted then all of you, but I just see it as the circle of life. Dont get me wrong, I'm not some sico killer, I just look at it as food, and that they were put on this earth for that purpose only. If it's a rat in the wild, then I guess them being food isn't their only purpose, but if I breed them, they were put on this earth by me, and I designated them as being food before they were even born. They must fulfil what they're ment for.
 
patm1313 said:
Maybe I've already shown that I'm more cold-hearted then all of you, but I just see it as the circle of life. Dont get me wrong, I'm not some sico killer, I just look at it as food, and that they were put on this earth for that purpose only. If it's a rat in the wild, then I guess them being food isn't their only purpose, but if I breed them, they were put on this earth by me, and I designated them as being food before they were even born. They must fulfil what they're ment for.
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I you're not cold hearted. If you were, you wouldn't keep ANY pets alive. Some people keep cows for pets and would have a hard time killing off any calves or adults for beef, but a farmer who breeds them for the purpose of food probably won't have as hard a time. That's not to say they wouldn't feel sad or that they are bad people, but they may not be as close to their cows because they went itno it knowing they were just beef cows, not pets. Same thing with rats or any other feeder really that are also considered pets by people.
 
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