Breeder Flags

When you start out looking for a breeder, these are things that might raise a flag for you and/or things to keep in mind:

Ten gallon fish tanks and Critter Keepers are not suitable caging for rats. A reputable breeder will not tell you they are, and they will not use them themselves.

Ratteries that ask for donations for whatever reason are a red flag. Breeding rats is not cheap, and breeders know it. The money a breeder asks for when placing a rat is a small portion of what it cost to bring that rat into the world. However, the breeder did not spend the money they spent to make that rat. They spent the money for their pick, the picks of the litter, the ones they needed for their program. The breeder breeds for themself, for the improvement of rats, toward their own goals. It is, therefore, up to the breeder to pay for their hobby. You pay for your new pet to show that you are serious about your commitment to the animal. That small amount simply helps to offset the breeder's costs.

Breeders who breed for the buyers or who let the buyers choose their breedings for them are not hobby breeders. Serious hobby breeders use what they have learned to choose their own breedings in order that they may breed pups that are an improvement on both parents toward their own goals in breeding. The breeder's goals are not dictated by the fancy or by the buyers.

Some ratteries do not allow visitors. There are different reasons that a breeder might choose not to allow visitors including safety of their animals (from viral exposure) and safety of their family. If you find one that does not allow visitors and it is important to you to see the rattery, find another breeder to work with.

Inbreeding of rats is not a bad thing. It does not make them sick or retarded or deformed. It helps to set traits, and it helps to expose problems that already exist in a line. Rats have been inbreed for many, many generations with no ill effects for years.

If you are being offered the "pick of the litter," something is not right. "Pick" goes to the breeder(s). Hobby breeders breed to improve rats, and therefore, they need to choose the best (for their program) first toward that end. Commercial breeders breed for customers, for food and for pets.

A USDA licensed breeder is licensed to wholesale. The breeder must abide by rules set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture and is subject to inspection to ensure they comply with those rules. This usually, but not always, means that the breeder sells their animals to pet stores and/or through auctions. In the U.S. most of these rats and mice will be resold as feeders for reptiles.

Breeders who sell rats as snake food are not hobby breeders. Hobby breeders track their rats throughout their lives for temperament and health.

Breeders who sell rats to pet stores are not hobby breeders. Hobby breeders track their rats throughout their lives for temperament and health.

Breeders who sell rats at "pet expos" are not hobby breeders. Hobby breeders track their rats throughout their lives for temperament and health, and they do not go out looking to place their rats as food or pets to those who might buy on the spur of the moment. They do not expose their rats to others at a place where animals are not quarantined for health before attendance and then bring the ones that did not sell back to the rattery.

"Blond" and "gray" are not colors of rats. If a breeder has them, they have not done their homework; they haven't even opened the book.

Odd-eye is not caused by a gene. If a breeder has rats carrying the gene, they have not done their homework; they haven't even opened the book.

Do not work with breeders who are willing to ship by illegal means. It is dangerous for the animals, and it puts the shipper and the receiver at risk for punishment under the law.

Wild rats and "hybrids" (rats which are the result of breedings of wild rats to domesticated or "fancy" rats) should not be offered to the general public on any site or list. If a breeder chooses to work with them, they will need to keep them close as they are wild animals, and there will be much to watch and learn about for several generations before the rats will be tame enough to even consider placing. Note: "tame" does not equal "domesticated."

Health claims that rats are from SPF lines and are therefore healthy and will live longer than other rats can only apply if the rats came from SPF lines (first generation born C-section, subsequent generations born and raised in meticulously clean and closed conditions) and have never left the lab. Even then, the rats may have the same life span as any other rat. Once the rat leaves the lab, he is exposed to everything every other rat is, and he might not be equipped to deal with it. Some rats leave a lab and make nice pets. Some stay quite healthy and some do not (some are bred to be prone to specific health problems). Some bite because of coming from lines not bred for temperament and/or because of not being socialized as a pup. Some do not. Lab rats can make very nice pets, but they are essentially the same as any other "fancy" rat. They were just bred for a purpose other than the reasons hobby breeders breed rats.

Consider that breeders breeding several species may not be able to focus enough on any one of the species to ensure their goals are being obtained. While it is certainly possible to breed a couple of types of rodents well, when a breeder takes on many different species it becomes increasingly difficult to dedicate the amount of time necessary to each individual species.

When in doubt about anything, ask. A website does not tell you what a breeder is about. An elaborate website can be a mask for a less-than-reputable breeder the same as a reputable breeder with lovely rats might have a very basic one or no site at all. It is up to the buyer to find someone they can work with long-term. It is up to the breeder to find someone they are comfortable placing their rats with, as well.

Once you are in contact with a breeder about rats:

Do not let GGMR take over and cloud your mind. Do not let your excitement over getting your new pets cause you to ignore red flags or make a decision you know you will regret later.

If a breeder tells you they are not comfortable placing rats with you, do not try to harass them into changing their mind. It does not work.

Before you go over to get your rats, clean up and change your clothes, and do not stop by a pet store or expose yourself to rodents in any other way. Anything you bring with you, you bring to the rattery!

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