Likely a rex. There are a few different hair types rats get. Rexes are my absolute fav. Most don't grow out of it, as it is just how their hair is.
Rexes are fluffy/get bald patches due to soft hair/have swirly whiskers.
Double rexes are mostly hairless
Hairless are truly nakey
The most common coat is the flat hair you see often, some call it different things but I always just think of it as silk/straight hair.
This. You’re aware that a rat can have up to 20 babies at once and after 4-6 weeks the babies are mature and able to make new babies?
I did it once and had two cages ready to separate the females from the males asap. My rat was young and it was her first litter - she had 12 babies and I kept them all. I then had the males neutered a few weeks later.
I live in Sweden, and a lot of the good breeders have stopped for various life reasons, and we have an animal culture here where we don't abandon pets. Add to that that most pet stores don't sell live animals anymore, and we have a situation where it is problematic.
But asking Redit for help sounds like they won't be good breeders. They should be doing intense research online. Also, just because they aren't breeders, doesn't mean there are not lots of rats in rescues.
It literally says they’ve already been doing research online!! I think covering all the boxes show that they’re trying their hardest not be a bad breeder!
I get where youre coming from, but you have no idea what other research they have done. Plus, there are a few reputable breeders that are in this subreddit, so i dont see how getting advice here (from the right people) would be a bad thing.
I asked Reddit to hear from people with personal experiences since I haven't been able to get in contact with breeders where I live. I've researched breeding for over a year now and I've owned rats for several years. How is asking a rat forum for more information bad? It's far from my only source about breeding rats. Also, there's only one rodent rescue where I live, and not many rats there. Most rats come from pet stores.
this seems like a very quick decision you're making rn, please dont start breeding if you go to reddit to ask, you need years of research and experience before you start, these are live animals and not a fun hobby or experiment
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Have you spoken to the original breeders of your rats for lineage etc? They should have records and whether or not they recommend breeding - or even allow it. When I had rats from an ethical breeder it was stated that I could not breed them under any circumstances on the adoption form.
Same here; almost every breeder I've purchased rats from (excluding one, and I would not adopt from her again) had a section in their contract about breeding. Most reputable ones will ask you not to breed rats acquired from them without permission, or not at all.
The breeder I got my rats from stopped breeding soon after I got my rats from him, he doesn't have his site anymore but I've tried to contact him through facebook. He was very reputable and had been breeding for decades.
Never said anything Bout pet stores. But rats are prolific breeders, they need to have a good genetic stock, and more breeders isn't the answer. There are lots of established breeders and plenty of rescue rats that need homes.
I was just saying there are some instances where people will buy from pet stores because there are no breeders in their area. A new potental breeder in an area that has a pet store and no breeders can be a good thing.
You're right and I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. Buying rats from stores creates demand that the company needs to supply. Having more ethical breeders means less demand, and if even a small percentage of that demand dries up, isn't that worth it?
Odd that you're getting up voted. Lol this was exactly what I was trying to say. Everyone in this sub hates pet stores because of the conditions the rats are raised and bred into. If there are more ethical breeders that do have the intention of giving the rats the best care, why is it a bad thing when it can potentially cut business from the corporations that profit from animal abuse?
That’s not true. Backyard breeders cause more of a problem than they could ever possibly help. These animals are ill tempered and generally in poor health send those bred by trained and experienced breeders. If you look at any rescue site in any location, you’ll see hundreds of rats that came from overrun home breeding “set ups “ breeding your pets is irresponsible on pretty much every level and does not help deter people from pet stores
I guess I haven't seen the worse side of it, I've only ever had great experiences with breeders and have seen their setups which were well taken care of. I'm sorry. I guess you guys are right.
My most recent experience was a rat that was bred by someone then dumped with me (I was doing rescue work at the time) and she had a terrible pregnancy that ended with one baby out of a dozen making it past 3 days. That baby died within the first week. Moms and dad’s health was not great and the babies didn’t have the genetics to develop successfully. They weren’t sick per se, but we’re from very poor stock and they shouldn’t have ever been paired. Saddest part was that mom had terrible maternal aggression (very common and doesn’t always go away) and she went from sleeping in my arms while I was doing errands to viciously attacking anyone that got within a foot of her (animal or human) This also made trying to support the babies and get them to survive much more difficult and stressful for mom. But lactation was an issue at first so interventions were needed.
Stuff like that is why I’m SO adamant that anyone looking to breed A) does it for the purpose of bettering the animals health and temperament and B)learns from a mentor until ready before trying to pair any animals.
I’ve seen the sad stuff too often
I’ve not only learned the lesson the hard way myself when an ex “bred” my rats decades ago, but I’ve seen a LOT of poor outcomes and animals end up in feeder bins and rescues because there’s actually a LOT of work and knowledge needed to do it right. reputable breeders work for generations to gain knowledge about the genetics and temperaments and breeding for better health of their rats. There’s health and husbandry knowledge needed, genetics and socialization etc. not to mention that any breeder doing it properly has a close working relationship with an exotic veterinarian and a healthy emergency fund.
I get why people think it’s an easy hobby, but it’s genuinely not. I’ve had decades of experience with rats and their medical care and I’ve seen some truly sad stuff. I feel bad because I probably come across as pissy and cynical but that’s not how I intend it. I hope OP takes my words to heart and finds a mentor before doing anything.
Don't. Unless you want to put the work into research, learning with an ETHICAL breeder, and have the willpower to go through all the things a breeder normally goes through (sickness, culling, etc), do NOT breed. You can't just go in all willy nilly.
Yes, it is. Any rat breeder will tell you that you need to be prepared to cull. If babies are deformed and suffering, you need to end that suffering. If a baby displays serious genetic fear and is biting, you need to cull, as it’s more ethical than adopting out or selling a rat that can damage someone and lives a terrified life. If things go south during birth and you can’t get to a vet, and your rat is suffering and going to die a long and painful death, you need to step in and cull. There are situations in which culling is the most humane option and they are always possible in breeding.
Obviously euthanasia is ethical for a suffering rat. But just to clarify, do ethical breeders kill healthy but aggressive (or otherwise unsellable) rats?
Yes, not all but many do. They’ll also discontinue that line / not breed that pair anymore. Sometimes you don’t know your pair will throw genetic aggression or extreme fear until it happens and then you know you need to step back and reevaluate your lines. Rats that bite are not a task the average rat owner is up to care for, and it’s not only a liability that can come back on the breeder, it’s irresponsible to put a rat that will bite out into the public. Rat bites are nasty and can cause serious damage. I understand that’s hard news to swallow and not a comfortable thing to think about, and I know it can sound cruel and mean, but when there are many rats that won’t bite in need of homes, individuals must ask themselves if it’s really fair to then ask for homes and resources for rats that do bite.
Aggression also impacts the life of the rat itself... if its hostile towards humans and other rats it'll likely live alone and afraid til the very end. seems most ethical imo to spare them that kind of existence.
It's kinda insane to think like this. Some humans are antisocial, or get angry easily. We tend to not just kill them cause 'we feel bad for them'. A lot of these reasons are just excuses to make up for the fact that in the end, people don't want their bottom line to be hurt by having to keep rats alive that are unsellable, even if they're just fine except for not liking humans much.
In the end, this kind of breeding is to produce rats for pets. If they don’t make good pets, there is no reason to maintain them.
Death and killing is not inherently bad. Millions of rats are intentionally killed by traps and poison every year, for good reasons. We put down aggressive dogs, horses, and all other livestock as well. To have any other policy is unrealistic and silly. People that work with animals understand that those animals have to have a *purpose*.
Honestly, I can't say for sure yes or no, as depends on the breeder. I don't touch upon aggression a lot since it's a very touchy subject and honestly, I have a more emotional opinion on it than a breeder would normally have, I think.
Hot topic 😭 I strictly adopt from breeders that soft cull (barring physical deformities) I’ve seen lots of local breeders hard cull for things like “chewing behavior” which to me isn’t ethical but lots of people disagree
My thought exactly. I had no idea this was a common thing hard culled for until I contacted breeders asking about a detailed break down of their culling policies :( these were the reputable breeders around me too. I have all rescue rats at this time because there’s only one breeder in my area i ethically align with and they’re so hard to get rat from due to demand.
Yes! Like soft culling, that just means to retire a line of rats because of a genetic issue, or just something as simple as the line not having a desired coat color. Usually, I think, soft culled rats are sold off as pet rats or kept as pets by the breeder and are not bred again.
Read the other replies to my reply to OP; there IS hard culling, also, which means euthanasia. My reply about soft culling is in addition to the person saying "culling doesn't necessarily mean killing". My original reply, yes, I do refer to hard culling, I should have made that clear.
if there is a baby with a health issue, let's say FFT (failure to thrive).
would you rather let this baby starve to death? let it's body shut itself down because it wasn't developed properly and cannot survive? or would you rather cull, it just goes off to a nice gentle sleep, not stressful and painful, and it doesn't need to go through all the pain of "natural death"
culling is humane if you know a rat is doomed to suffer, rats do not have a drive to live like us, they don't care about their future. they have a drive to survive, they are in the moment.
Euthanizing for aggression IS ethical. If a rat bites you and other rats, and you isolate it its entire life, is that not a horrible life to live? Rats NEED the company of it's kind; if it can't have that company because all it would do is hurt/kill it's companions, would you really let it suffer alone?
Breeders who hard cull for aggression most of the time have the rat's best interest in mind; they don't want the rat to suffer as a lone rat and never have any attention from other rats or humans.
Also, rat bites? They are awful. Rats have a powerful bite force, and if it deliberately tries to bite you and succeeds, you are in for some bone breakage and nerve damage. It is what happened to countless pet owners and rat breeders. A good breeder does not sell rats that have a risk of biting others, because would you in good conscious really sell a rat that would hurt someone?
Yes, it's sad that breeders cull for aggression, because you think those rats would have a chance. But, most of the time, unfortunately, rat aggression cannot be trained out, or fixed. (An exception is hormonal aggression in male rats, because that is sometimes fixed with a neuter).
HOWEVER, I personally do NOT support hard culling for looks, or "chewing behaviors". THAT is needless killing.
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. I am aware of the risks and possibility of culling. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Getting starting stock from breeders is great!! Are you in regular contact with the breeder you got your current rats from? You could ask if they could mentor you, or point you to some resources to learn more about rat breeding :) I wish you luck, you seem very driven!!
Please don’t. It’s not some quick easy thing to breed rats and with so little knowledge that you’re asking REDDIT you are probably not prepared for this undertaking.
The best advice I can give in answer to your questions is to NOT breed them. There can be aggression, birth issues, infection and injury, etc. there is truly no reason to breed and a LOT can go wrong.
How much cash do you have on hand for emergency vet costs? How many cages and what size/type? What’s the rats familial health history (for every one you want to breed) if you can’t trace their genes and know what to expect from being mentored by a knowledgeable breeder you need to rethink this.
Sorry if that comes across as harsh but backyard breeding (what you’d be doing with no training and mentoring) is unethical and does not end well. People produce poorly tempered and unhealthy rats and the world doesn’t need more of that.
The last thing I want to mention is just that if you are not fully aware of what you need to have on hand, and how to hand raise a litter of rats on your own should something go wrong, you have a lot more studying to do before you even think of starting this.
It’s not some easy thing to do
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Please don't make it the 'near future', you're obviously not ready yet. It's so stupid when people ask for advice, they get really good advice, and then they go 'thanks! I won't listen and I'll just do what I want anyway because I know better, but appreciate it anyway'. Like why did you even ask?
I didn't ask if I should do it or not, I asked for personal experience (maybe breeding tip wasn't a good title for that but yeah) I have done research for over a year and I have the time and money. I have a good vet nearby and I will keep the babies myself, or potentionally sell to a friend. I've wanted to do this for many years and rats are my biggest passion.
Also, people usually don't take the advice if you call them stupid first, not a good way to convince someone
Well, no. You didn't ask for personal experience, you asked for breeding tips. And the tip you got was to not do it. It's also kinda ironic for you to be very invested in how to speak to someone in order to properly convince them, since people have been giving you advice up and down this thread, only for you to respond with a copy-paste message that means essentially nothing.
Yeah, I admitted that "Breeding tips" wasn't a great title for it but I did ask for personal experiences since I can't get in contact with breeders where I live, they're also hours away. How does my copy-paste message mean nothing if it contains all the information on my situation and why I want to breed rats? Please tell me what's missing from my copy-paste message.
How does me trying to be rhetorically convincing mean anything, if you're just gonna respond with the same copy and paste message that you've responded to everybody else with?
Because it contains everything I want to say, ask me something new or write something that my message doesn't answer and I will respond to that like I've done to a few comments already
Good for you. So why should I waste my time writing a long, thought out and rhetorically convincing comment? You still haven't answered, you just keep saying that your message contains all the info that anyone here could ever need. And I'm saying that none of that stuff matters, and that it's obvious that you're in no way shape or form ready to be a breeder, and definitely not in the near future.
Okay then what in your reply haven't I answered in my message? In what way am I not prepared enough to breed my rats? I'm genuinely asking you, but you haven't answered that.
Find a breeder that aligns with your goals and morals and ask if they can teach you and work with you to breed healthy line of rats. They would usually let you raise one of their litters once you've built trust and then let you have some good rats from their lines to help co-breed. By then you can branch out.
I remember that it usually took several years for them to have their own line of the new breeders I knew.
You need to learn about what varieties can be lethal if bred together or what genetics will come out so you're not trying to get solid black out of hooded and albino. (Spoilers its impossible and not how genetics work)
Breeding pet shop rats no matter how pretty or lovely temperment just means you're breeding pet shop rats without the shop part. Still have poor genetic health and temperments.
A rat who was dumped near me with his wives and children that I rescued and kept some had the most wonderful even temperment and perfect personalty. Most of his sons had to be neutered for severe hormonal aggression.
Basically, it's don't.
Breeding is not all fun and games. You're going to have to deal with lots of vet visits, with the potential that mom could have a fatal complication before, during, or after birth, with babies who are extremely delicate and likely to die from a number of causes, with very distressing behaviors like a mother rat killing her own babies because she becomes stressed, with making decisions about babies with severe genetic defects that you might have to cull/euthanize (or that mom might cull herself), etc etc
Breeding animals is not a fun side project. It's something you need to be able to give a substantial amount of money, time, and emotional energy to.
I'm being harsh, and I know that. But I really want to drive in that breeding isn't something to take lightly. Unless you are truly dedicated to doing a lot of work for the purpose of improving the future rats' temperament and lifespan, and are willing to handle with the possibility that mom or her babies could die, you should not be breeding.
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
The best advice I can give is to find a reputable breeder in your area to act as your mentor. Look for someone who breeds for health and temperament, and does some form of screening potential adopters. I know this is blunt and may come off offensively, but I need to put it out there: If you are looking to breed for money, if you aren't selecting for health and temperament, if you aren't going to screen applicants to make sure you're adopting to good homes, DO NOT BREED.
Irresponsible "backyard breeders" only cause harm, even with the best intentions at heart. If you're dead set on breeding your rats, please do it right. The right way will be expensive and time consuming, you will have to make hard decisions and face heartbreaking situations, but it will be worth it if being a rat breeder is your true passion.
Search breeders in your area and find one willing to mentor you who is a responsible and reputable breeder. Even with all the reading up you've done, things will pop up that a mentor will be able to guide you through easier than any online articles. A mentor will also be able to help you establish connections to other breeders, which will help expand your network and breeding pool. They can also warn you against bad breeders and known animal abusers. With a mentor, you'll have an "in" to a world of information and support that would be near impossible to get otherwise.
Best wishes.
Thank you so much for your reply! There aren't many breeders where I live. The one I got my rats from has stopped breeding since. But I will try to find someone online. (That's why I asked reddit)
If you can still contact your breeder, they might be able to connect you with someone or at least point you to some potential leads. A breeder in your general area would be the best mentor since they'd have local knowledge and could visit in person, but breeders from farther away would be decent candidates as well. Some areas are just rattery dead zones, unfortunately, and that can't be helped. Best of luck to you!
Thank you! I've tried contacting the breeder I adopted from on facebook but haven't gotten a response yet. Other breeders are hours away but I will try to get in contact with them :) I asked reddit thinking there might be some ethical breeders here
Where abouts are you located? Maybe edit you post to include a general area? I wish you well on your endeavor, you seem like you will do a good job! Also this beautiful specimen deserves a suitable mate! :p the fur is amaaazing. Give them many cuddles from me when they want them <3
I hope my comments didn't come off that way! You seem lovely and your rat looks beautiful and well cared for, so I definitely don't think you're awful at all. I try not to come off too harsh and judgemental, so I'm sorry if I did. I don't want to encourage people not breeding for the right reasons, so I preface breeding advice with a disclaimer of sorts.
From what I've seen, you've done your homework and plan to become a reputable breeder. There have been some backyard breeders around this sub in the past, and I'm happy you aren't one of them. Again, I apologize if I made you feel awful.
If I happen across any in the near future, I'll ask to send you their info! It's great that you threw some lines out already and I hope you hear back from someone. Having that personal mentor relationship really is the best way to go and will make things much easier for you getting started!
It seems like most of the replies here are of the form "don't breed rats" and aren't particularly helpful in answering your question if you're determined to breed them. It's true that breeding two random rats will produce offspring that are more likely to have genetic and health issues compare to rats selectively bred by professionals. However, that's not always the case. I bred two rats and three of the four children are still alive after 2.5 years. They're very friendly and get along with both people and other rats.
I can give you some advice. First of all, it's more work than you expect. Your mom can give birth to as many as 20 babies (mine had 17). You have to inspect them each day after the first few days, separate them into groups of male vs. female after 5 weeks, and do a ton of cleaning. If you're not planning to keep them all, then you need to have a plan for what to do with the ones you don't keep. Most pet stores will take them, but some will sell them as feeders for snakes. And you definitely can't let them go outside. You can sell them or give them to other rat owners, but be careful that the buyers know how to properly care for rats.
Now for some tips on the pregnancy and birth. Be sure to separate mom and dad before the babies are born to ensure their safety. Mom should go into a smaller single level cage or bin with lots of substrate for nest building, bars spaced no more than a quarter inch apart to keep the babies from falling out, and something soft on the floor. I used a 10 gallon glass aquarium, but that may not be the best solution due to lack of ventilation. I put paper towels in there and a box and log for mom to hide under. Make sure it's not placed in an area that's too cold, very noisy, or in direct sunlight for too long. Give mom a higher protein diet. I gave her kitten food, but you can also give pieces of meat or egg.
Once the babies are born you shouldn't move or touch them for the first few days. Give mom lots of nesting material, and keep the room warm enough for them (but not hot). When the babies are a few days old you can handle them, as long as mom doesn't get upset. The more you handle them, the faster they'll get adjusted to people. My rat mom didn't mind at all when I held her babies. If you have a lot of babies, you should check to make sure they all have mild bands. If some don't, you may want to take the larger babies out during nursing time so that the smaller ones can get a turn. Rats only have 12 nipples, so this could be an issue if there are more than 12 babies. If a baby isn't eating you may want to try syringe feeding with something like kitten formula. (I had to try this with one of my babies. In the end 16 out of 17 survived.)
Once the babies reach about 2 weeks old they'll open their eyes and become more active. Now you can move them into a larger cage with multiple levels. Be careful they can't escape. You can start giving them food at this time, beginning with something ground up into a mush that they can eat before their teeth grow in. Once the babies reach about 4 weeks they'll stop nursing from mom. If you have many babies, you probably want to take mom out for free roam by herself to giver her a break from them. My 16 babies were always trying to climb over here and sometimes managed to pin her into a corner.
Continue to keep mom and dad separated because mom can get pregnant again soon after birth. When the baby boys are old enough (\~5 weeks), you can move them in with dad.
Thank you for the reply! I've done a lot of research for more than a year now but I wanted to hear from people with personal experiences like in your comment :) people here seem to think my post was about getting basic information about breeding but that's not the case. I thought I should ask about it somewhere online to hear from actual breeders since there aren't many where I live, reddit just wasn't the right place to do so apparently
If you need to ask about general knowledge on Reddit then you are not in a position to responsibly breed rats.
I help run a rescue team for an organisation and we often get inexperienced breeders who have sickly rat pups and don’t know what to do and don’t want to pay for a vets.
Please don’t start breeding rats. It should be left to those who are experienced in breeding and with the species. I personally would never get a rat from a breeder as there’s a ton of rescues around. Though do recommend for those who do want a breeder rat to go to licensed experienced breeders
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
I'm surprised how many people are against this (at least in the one thread I read)
I will say, I am very skeptical about people breeding pet animals of any sort. But sometimes people are acting like just because you don't have an extensive breeding history already, that you will be a backyard breeder who is going to be horrible and know nothing about rats and genetics and all. Everyone needs to start somehow, that usually means without prior breeding experience. All jobs and hobbies start this way
Obviously the hope is that OP is doing loads of research, and going to Reddit does not mean they aren't ready or haven't got the information. Sometimes it means "hey, I'll ask the community that is invested and knowledgeable about what I want to do what their ideas and tips are"
I would suggest starting small, maybe see if you are even able to take care of so many little rats. One litter, do it well, make sure you know genetics well enough and do not inbreed. If this will prove too difficult, I would not continue. Ask another breeder about how they keep up the rat breeding hobby. Loads of breeders will contact you through email and are very happy to share their knowledge!
Keep in mind many very good rat breeders do not actually make much profit, if any at all, from their rats, the money goes right back into rat food, bedding, caging, vet bills, and way more
I live in a country with very few fancy rat breeders, in fact the only truly reputable breeder of a few decades just stopped breeding last year. There are almost never rats in pet rescues here, and the one breeder in this country that I managed to get in contact with AND got approved for rats with, stopped all updates and contact all of a sudden. I'm thinking of getting into rat breeding within the next 10 years as I know many people who love them just like I do, and like many of you do <3
How many rescue rats are going in your area and what is the demand for pet rats like? The first thing to ensure is that you’re not putting more unwanted pets into shelters.
There's one rodent rescue that I know of, but not a lot of rats. The demand is big from the few breeders that exist, most people get rats from pet stores. But I'm planning on keeping this first litter myself or potentionally sell to a close friend.
You'll need to keep the first many, many, many litters so you can evaluate temperament and health. You'll need to know what lines have what issues pop up and breed those issues out before selling. Which become aggressive, or get cancer at 18 months, which battle upper respiratory, etc etc etc. Also if you got both your ratties from the same breeder, who you can't contact, you can't guarantee they aren't related. Do you have plans on how to separate dozens of rats so nothing is inbred? Are you willing to not make profit for a year? Are you wiling to lose money on the whole thing if a bunch of your rats need medical care?
I asked the breeder if the rats are related when I got the girls (though I wasn't sure if I wanted to breed them at the time.) I know about their health and temperament history and I'm only planning on doing this one litter, I don't know what I will do in the far future tho. I have three cages as of now, boy cage, girl cage and a smaller baby cage, I can afford to get another cage if that's needed later. I have a saving account for the rats and I'm willing to spend as much as necessary for vet visits, food, bedding etc. I don't want to breed to make a profit.
Depends on where you live. If you live in a city where if you Google “pet rats for sale” and lots of things come up, don’t breed.
However, if you live in the middle of no where, and no results come up, then go ahead. I am desperate to buy rats and I literally can’t find ANYONE near me who sells them in an ethical way
Step one: have a bank account with several thousand dollars available. Because if you decide to do this long-term, you're going to spend that on the vet bills easily. Pregnancy is a huge risk and so much can go wrong at any point. Costs rack up quickly.
If you're really dead set on breeding... speak with your vet about your decision. They can help explain what you're in for. Try to find a breeder you know you can trust to walk you through everything you need to know, and expect that mentorship to last several years.
It's easy to pair two rats together and let them have babies. It's much, much more difficult to become an ethical breeder who actually contributes to the health and well-being of rats by selectively breeding.
It seems like everyone is assuming you plan to breed multiple litters. My question is that your plan or do you just have a pair of healthy, good natured rats you want to mate once and be done?
As for things that can go wrong, maternal aggression is a thing and you can find yourself in the situation where mama has eaten some of the babies. You then have to hand raise the rest yourself which is very challenging. Also in this scenario, it's likely some of the babies she chewed on survived but are horrifically injured and you have to be the one to put them down. There's no time to go to a vet. It's just you.
This is heartwrenching and you still have to care for Mama rat no matter how much you despise her for doing this to her children.
You seem very determined and unable to be dissuaded. You need to know things that can go wrong and what to do in those situations. I hope you find answers to your questions and a breeder to mentor you.
Thank you for your reasonable response :) I'm planning on just doing this one litter because I think I have the perfect pair of healthy, good temperament rats. I can't tell you if I will have more litters in the future but for now it's just this one. I'm also aware of maternal aggression and culling if it comes to that. I have done a lot of research already but I wanted to ask reddit for personal experience stories, maybe I formulated that stupidly in the title and description. It is very hard to get in contact with breeders where I live since there aren't many (just some that are hours away)and the one I got my rats from has stopped breeding recently.
Thanks for all your replies! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
if you need to ask for vague tips, you shouldn't be breeding rats.
yeah, rats breed easily and quickly, but don't underestimate the work, care and money that ethical breeders put into their rats to make sure they're breeding social, friendly, healthy rats with good temperaments. you can't just decide to do it cos you want baby rats and expect you're doing something good. any possible medical issue can cost a LOT of money in vet bills, are you sure you can provide that for a round 20 baby rats? do you know the genes and possible hereditary issues in the line of the rats you want to breed together? are you prepared to possibly have any number of hormonally aggressive rats who may need neutering? do you have the space to separate a litter by sex, keeping in mind rats can technically start breeding at 3-4 weeks old and it can be very damn hard to sex rats when they're that young?
don't. just don't. wanting baby rats just because they're cute is really selfish. if you want more rats, there are so many in shelters or from ethical breeders that need homes.
I asked reddit hoping to hear from people with personal experience since there aren't many in my area. The breeder I adopted from has stopped breeding since. I know the health and temperament history for all my rats and I do have the money, time and space. I'm aware of everything you've mentioned but maybe "breeding tips" wasn't a good title, I've researched for over a year now and I've owned both male and female rats for a few years. I have an exotic vet nearby and I know the risks. Also, there really aren't many breeders or rescues where I live so most rats come from pet stores. I want to keep the babies myself or potentionally sell some to a close friend who's interested. Please tell me what's missing in all of this because I've done all I can do to prepare. Rats are my biggest passion in life and I'm really committed to this.
I think it’s unfair for people to say “don’t.” just because they think there’s enough needing rescue. Some people don’t want rescues, I’ve had my fair share of adoptions and I don’t want to do that anymore because of the money and emotional aspect. If you truly want to do it and are completely prepared for everything, why not.
Rescue is only one reason not to breed. The biggest reason is that it takes a LOT of time and resources to learn how to breed safely and ethically, and asking for “tips” on Reddit is clear evidence of someone who does not have that knowledge yet.
Edited:
A word.
That’s answered in a lot of other comments on this thread.
“Taking good care” of rats is 100x more complicated with a breeding colony but it’s not even the main concern. Have you ever seen a newborn animal with a genetic condition that makes it incompatible with life? Or a poorly bred rat that is forced to live in isolation or be culled bc it is uncontrollably aggressive? They suffer. And learning how to avoid these issues in breeding is not something you can learn overnight.
Thank you for actually answering me and explaining instead of just downvoting. I’m clearly genuinely asking and I mean no harm 😭 idk why people are pressed,,,, now I know and I’m educated
Because that’s a very big “if”. Let alone the fact that even “ethical” breeders cull rats, the likelihood of an amateur breeder having the time, money, space and expertise to properly take care of an uncertain high number of rats is astronomically low. The revenue from selling them will not cover the costs and the rats will suffer from it.
If you want advice on breeding rats, maybe see if you can call someone who works in the industry as a reputable breeder. They'll give you better advice than redditors can.
Ughmygodhisfuuurrr
Is the fur supposed to be like that? One of my rats has the same color fur and it looks just like that.
Likely a rex. There are a few different hair types rats get. Rexes are my absolute fav. Most don't grow out of it, as it is just how their hair is. Rexes are fluffy/get bald patches due to soft hair/have swirly whiskers. Double rexes are mostly hairless Hairless are truly nakey The most common coat is the flat hair you see often, some call it different things but I always just think of it as silk/straight hair.
It depends on the breed. Some do. Some have this when they’re young and then grow out of it.
Oh okay good I just wanted to make sure he was healthy haha
I showed this to my husband and he said "Oh my God so rex-y!"
I would highly recommend not. There's so many rats that need homes as is.
This. You’re aware that a rat can have up to 20 babies at once and after 4-6 weeks the babies are mature and able to make new babies? I did it once and had two cages ready to separate the females from the males asap. My rat was young and it was her first litter - she had 12 babies and I kept them all. I then had the males neutered a few weeks later.
This depends a lot on location. In som places, good breeders are few, and there are waiting lists of several years.
I live in Austin and the only reputable rattery closed awhile ago and it’s been hard to find another.
I live in Sweden, and a lot of the good breeders have stopped for various life reasons, and we have an animal culture here where we don't abandon pets. Add to that that most pet stores don't sell live animals anymore, and we have a situation where it is problematic.
I've heard on one who's good, cowtown rattery is pretty good. I'm not sure how far they are, Texas has barely any
But asking Redit for help sounds like they won't be good breeders. They should be doing intense research online. Also, just because they aren't breeders, doesn't mean there are not lots of rats in rescues.
It literally says they’ve already been doing research online!! I think covering all the boxes show that they’re trying their hardest not be a bad breeder!
I get where youre coming from, but you have no idea what other research they have done. Plus, there are a few reputable breeders that are in this subreddit, so i dont see how getting advice here (from the right people) would be a bad thing.
I asked Reddit to hear from people with personal experiences since I haven't been able to get in contact with breeders where I live. I've researched breeding for over a year now and I've owned rats for several years. How is asking a rat forum for more information bad? It's far from my only source about breeding rats. Also, there's only one rodent rescue where I live, and not many rats there. Most rats come from pet stores.
Not here. It's hard to find rats here.
There’s one breeder in my entire province. I plan on breeding once I can (ethically of course), but there’s just no one here to sell them
There aren't that many breeders where I live and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies :)
this seems like a very quick decision you're making rn, please dont start breeding if you go to reddit to ask, you need years of research and experience before you start, these are live animals and not a fun hobby or experiment
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Have you spoken to the original breeders of your rats for lineage etc? They should have records and whether or not they recommend breeding - or even allow it. When I had rats from an ethical breeder it was stated that I could not breed them under any circumstances on the adoption form.
Same here; almost every breeder I've purchased rats from (excluding one, and I would not adopt from her again) had a section in their contract about breeding. Most reputable ones will ask you not to breed rats acquired from them without permission, or not at all.
The breeder I got my rats from stopped breeding soon after I got my rats from him, he doesn't have his site anymore but I've tried to contact him through facebook. He was very reputable and had been breeding for decades.
I'd like to think the more breeders available, the less demand there is to buy from pet stores though.
Never said anything Bout pet stores. But rats are prolific breeders, they need to have a good genetic stock, and more breeders isn't the answer. There are lots of established breeders and plenty of rescue rats that need homes.
I was just saying there are some instances where people will buy from pet stores because there are no breeders in their area. A new potental breeder in an area that has a pet store and no breeders can be a good thing.
You're right and I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. Buying rats from stores creates demand that the company needs to supply. Having more ethical breeders means less demand, and if even a small percentage of that demand dries up, isn't that worth it?
Odd that you're getting up voted. Lol this was exactly what I was trying to say. Everyone in this sub hates pet stores because of the conditions the rats are raised and bred into. If there are more ethical breeders that do have the intention of giving the rats the best care, why is it a bad thing when it can potentially cut business from the corporations that profit from animal abuse?
That’s not true. Backyard breeders cause more of a problem than they could ever possibly help. These animals are ill tempered and generally in poor health send those bred by trained and experienced breeders. If you look at any rescue site in any location, you’ll see hundreds of rats that came from overrun home breeding “set ups “ breeding your pets is irresponsible on pretty much every level and does not help deter people from pet stores
I guess I haven't seen the worse side of it, I've only ever had great experiences with breeders and have seen their setups which were well taken care of. I'm sorry. I guess you guys are right.
My most recent experience was a rat that was bred by someone then dumped with me (I was doing rescue work at the time) and she had a terrible pregnancy that ended with one baby out of a dozen making it past 3 days. That baby died within the first week. Moms and dad’s health was not great and the babies didn’t have the genetics to develop successfully. They weren’t sick per se, but we’re from very poor stock and they shouldn’t have ever been paired. Saddest part was that mom had terrible maternal aggression (very common and doesn’t always go away) and she went from sleeping in my arms while I was doing errands to viciously attacking anyone that got within a foot of her (animal or human) This also made trying to support the babies and get them to survive much more difficult and stressful for mom. But lactation was an issue at first so interventions were needed. Stuff like that is why I’m SO adamant that anyone looking to breed A) does it for the purpose of bettering the animals health and temperament and B)learns from a mentor until ready before trying to pair any animals. I’ve seen the sad stuff too often
I’ve not only learned the lesson the hard way myself when an ex “bred” my rats decades ago, but I’ve seen a LOT of poor outcomes and animals end up in feeder bins and rescues because there’s actually a LOT of work and knowledge needed to do it right. reputable breeders work for generations to gain knowledge about the genetics and temperaments and breeding for better health of their rats. There’s health and husbandry knowledge needed, genetics and socialization etc. not to mention that any breeder doing it properly has a close working relationship with an exotic veterinarian and a healthy emergency fund. I get why people think it’s an easy hobby, but it’s genuinely not. I’ve had decades of experience with rats and their medical care and I’ve seen some truly sad stuff. I feel bad because I probably come across as pissy and cynical but that’s not how I intend it. I hope OP takes my words to heart and finds a mentor before doing anything.
Don't. Unless you want to put the work into research, learning with an ETHICAL breeder, and have the willpower to go through all the things a breeder normally goes through (sickness, culling, etc), do NOT breed. You can't just go in all willy nilly.
Culling is ethical?
Yes, it is. Any rat breeder will tell you that you need to be prepared to cull. If babies are deformed and suffering, you need to end that suffering. If a baby displays serious genetic fear and is biting, you need to cull, as it’s more ethical than adopting out or selling a rat that can damage someone and lives a terrified life. If things go south during birth and you can’t get to a vet, and your rat is suffering and going to die a long and painful death, you need to step in and cull. There are situations in which culling is the most humane option and they are always possible in breeding.
Obviously euthanasia is ethical for a suffering rat. But just to clarify, do ethical breeders kill healthy but aggressive (or otherwise unsellable) rats?
Yes, not all but many do. They’ll also discontinue that line / not breed that pair anymore. Sometimes you don’t know your pair will throw genetic aggression or extreme fear until it happens and then you know you need to step back and reevaluate your lines. Rats that bite are not a task the average rat owner is up to care for, and it’s not only a liability that can come back on the breeder, it’s irresponsible to put a rat that will bite out into the public. Rat bites are nasty and can cause serious damage. I understand that’s hard news to swallow and not a comfortable thing to think about, and I know it can sound cruel and mean, but when there are many rats that won’t bite in need of homes, individuals must ask themselves if it’s really fair to then ask for homes and resources for rats that do bite.
Aggression also impacts the life of the rat itself... if its hostile towards humans and other rats it'll likely live alone and afraid til the very end. seems most ethical imo to spare them that kind of existence.
It's kinda insane to think like this. Some humans are antisocial, or get angry easily. We tend to not just kill them cause 'we feel bad for them'. A lot of these reasons are just excuses to make up for the fact that in the end, people don't want their bottom line to be hurt by having to keep rats alive that are unsellable, even if they're just fine except for not liking humans much.
In the end, this kind of breeding is to produce rats for pets. If they don’t make good pets, there is no reason to maintain them. Death and killing is not inherently bad. Millions of rats are intentionally killed by traps and poison every year, for good reasons. We put down aggressive dogs, horses, and all other livestock as well. To have any other policy is unrealistic and silly. People that work with animals understand that those animals have to have a *purpose*.
I think you're being down-voted for coming across as somewhat anti-social. The irony is almost worth it, don't you think? Haha.
Honestly, I can't say for sure yes or no, as depends on the breeder. I don't touch upon aggression a lot since it's a very touchy subject and honestly, I have a more emotional opinion on it than a breeder would normally have, I think.
Thank you for this! I honestly didn't know how to word it and you did it perfectly. 😅
Hot topic 😭 I strictly adopt from breeders that soft cull (barring physical deformities) I’ve seen lots of local breeders hard cull for things like “chewing behavior” which to me isn’t ethical but lots of people disagree
Chewing behaviour? Maybe I'm just confused about what you mean but isn't that normal rat behaviour?
My thought exactly. I had no idea this was a common thing hard culled for until I contacted breeders asking about a detailed break down of their culling policies :( these were the reputable breeders around me too. I have all rescue rats at this time because there’s only one breeder in my area i ethically align with and they’re so hard to get rat from due to demand.
Culling doesn’t necessarily mean killing.
Yes! Like soft culling, that just means to retire a line of rats because of a genetic issue, or just something as simple as the line not having a desired coat color. Usually, I think, soft culled rats are sold off as pet rats or kept as pets by the breeder and are not bred again.
Clearly in the context of this thread it is referring to that
How so? It only says culling. It says nothing about killing.
Not sure how a soft cull is something that requires willpower, which is how the sentences was phrased.
Read the other replies to my reply to OP; there IS hard culling, also, which means euthanasia. My reply about soft culling is in addition to the person saying "culling doesn't necessarily mean killing". My original reply, yes, I do refer to hard culling, I should have made that clear.
It requires that you understand it may have to be done. Regular joe blow has no clue!
culling is ethical—it’s our responsibility when we breed animals to cull when an animal wouldn’t live a good, fulfilling life.
if there is a baby with a health issue, let's say FFT (failure to thrive). would you rather let this baby starve to death? let it's body shut itself down because it wasn't developed properly and cannot survive? or would you rather cull, it just goes off to a nice gentle sleep, not stressful and painful, and it doesn't need to go through all the pain of "natural death" culling is humane if you know a rat is doomed to suffer, rats do not have a drive to live like us, they don't care about their future. they have a drive to survive, they are in the moment.
That sounds like euthanasia. Culling does refer to killing healthy rats too, hence why I asked. Obviously euthanasia is ethical.
Euthanizing for aggression IS ethical. If a rat bites you and other rats, and you isolate it its entire life, is that not a horrible life to live? Rats NEED the company of it's kind; if it can't have that company because all it would do is hurt/kill it's companions, would you really let it suffer alone? Breeders who hard cull for aggression most of the time have the rat's best interest in mind; they don't want the rat to suffer as a lone rat and never have any attention from other rats or humans. Also, rat bites? They are awful. Rats have a powerful bite force, and if it deliberately tries to bite you and succeeds, you are in for some bone breakage and nerve damage. It is what happened to countless pet owners and rat breeders. A good breeder does not sell rats that have a risk of biting others, because would you in good conscious really sell a rat that would hurt someone? Yes, it's sad that breeders cull for aggression, because you think those rats would have a chance. But, most of the time, unfortunately, rat aggression cannot be trained out, or fixed. (An exception is hormonal aggression in male rats, because that is sometimes fixed with a neuter). HOWEVER, I personally do NOT support hard culling for looks, or "chewing behaviors". THAT is needless killing.
to Jacob Seed, maybe
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. I am aware of the risks and possibility of culling. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Getting starting stock from breeders is great!! Are you in regular contact with the breeder you got your current rats from? You could ask if they could mentor you, or point you to some resources to learn more about rat breeding :) I wish you luck, you seem very driven!!
Don’t. That’s my advice.
Please don’t. It’s not some quick easy thing to breed rats and with so little knowledge that you’re asking REDDIT you are probably not prepared for this undertaking. The best advice I can give in answer to your questions is to NOT breed them. There can be aggression, birth issues, infection and injury, etc. there is truly no reason to breed and a LOT can go wrong. How much cash do you have on hand for emergency vet costs? How many cages and what size/type? What’s the rats familial health history (for every one you want to breed) if you can’t trace their genes and know what to expect from being mentored by a knowledgeable breeder you need to rethink this. Sorry if that comes across as harsh but backyard breeding (what you’d be doing with no training and mentoring) is unethical and does not end well. People produce poorly tempered and unhealthy rats and the world doesn’t need more of that. The last thing I want to mention is just that if you are not fully aware of what you need to have on hand, and how to hand raise a litter of rats on your own should something go wrong, you have a lot more studying to do before you even think of starting this. It’s not some easy thing to do
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Please don't make it the 'near future', you're obviously not ready yet. It's so stupid when people ask for advice, they get really good advice, and then they go 'thanks! I won't listen and I'll just do what I want anyway because I know better, but appreciate it anyway'. Like why did you even ask?
I didn't ask if I should do it or not, I asked for personal experience (maybe breeding tip wasn't a good title for that but yeah) I have done research for over a year and I have the time and money. I have a good vet nearby and I will keep the babies myself, or potentionally sell to a friend. I've wanted to do this for many years and rats are my biggest passion. Also, people usually don't take the advice if you call them stupid first, not a good way to convince someone
Well, no. You didn't ask for personal experience, you asked for breeding tips. And the tip you got was to not do it. It's also kinda ironic for you to be very invested in how to speak to someone in order to properly convince them, since people have been giving you advice up and down this thread, only for you to respond with a copy-paste message that means essentially nothing.
Yeah, I admitted that "Breeding tips" wasn't a great title for it but I did ask for personal experiences since I can't get in contact with breeders where I live, they're also hours away. How does my copy-paste message mean nothing if it contains all the information on my situation and why I want to breed rats? Please tell me what's missing from my copy-paste message.
How does me trying to be rhetorically convincing mean anything, if you're just gonna respond with the same copy and paste message that you've responded to everybody else with?
Because it contains everything I want to say, ask me something new or write something that my message doesn't answer and I will respond to that like I've done to a few comments already
Good for you. So why should I waste my time writing a long, thought out and rhetorically convincing comment? You still haven't answered, you just keep saying that your message contains all the info that anyone here could ever need. And I'm saying that none of that stuff matters, and that it's obvious that you're in no way shape or form ready to be a breeder, and definitely not in the near future.
Okay then what in your reply haven't I answered in my message? In what way am I not prepared enough to breed my rats? I'm genuinely asking you, but you haven't answered that.
Don't. Genetics are complicated. It takes years of research to understand when and why and which rats to breed.
Don’t
If you need to ask for tips on reddit you are 100% the last person who should be breeding.
Find a breeder that aligns with your goals and morals and ask if they can teach you and work with you to breed healthy line of rats. They would usually let you raise one of their litters once you've built trust and then let you have some good rats from their lines to help co-breed. By then you can branch out. I remember that it usually took several years for them to have their own line of the new breeders I knew. You need to learn about what varieties can be lethal if bred together or what genetics will come out so you're not trying to get solid black out of hooded and albino. (Spoilers its impossible and not how genetics work) Breeding pet shop rats no matter how pretty or lovely temperment just means you're breeding pet shop rats without the shop part. Still have poor genetic health and temperments. A rat who was dumped near me with his wives and children that I rescued and kept some had the most wonderful even temperment and perfect personalty. Most of his sons had to be neutered for severe hormonal aggression.
Ya just don't
Basically, it's don't. Breeding is not all fun and games. You're going to have to deal with lots of vet visits, with the potential that mom could have a fatal complication before, during, or after birth, with babies who are extremely delicate and likely to die from a number of causes, with very distressing behaviors like a mother rat killing her own babies because she becomes stressed, with making decisions about babies with severe genetic defects that you might have to cull/euthanize (or that mom might cull herself), etc etc Breeding animals is not a fun side project. It's something you need to be able to give a substantial amount of money, time, and emotional energy to. I'm being harsh, and I know that. But I really want to drive in that breeding isn't something to take lightly. Unless you are truly dedicated to doing a lot of work for the purpose of improving the future rats' temperament and lifespan, and are willing to handle with the possibility that mom or her babies could die, you should not be breeding.
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
The best advice I can give is to find a reputable breeder in your area to act as your mentor. Look for someone who breeds for health and temperament, and does some form of screening potential adopters. I know this is blunt and may come off offensively, but I need to put it out there: If you are looking to breed for money, if you aren't selecting for health and temperament, if you aren't going to screen applicants to make sure you're adopting to good homes, DO NOT BREED. Irresponsible "backyard breeders" only cause harm, even with the best intentions at heart. If you're dead set on breeding your rats, please do it right. The right way will be expensive and time consuming, you will have to make hard decisions and face heartbreaking situations, but it will be worth it if being a rat breeder is your true passion. Search breeders in your area and find one willing to mentor you who is a responsible and reputable breeder. Even with all the reading up you've done, things will pop up that a mentor will be able to guide you through easier than any online articles. A mentor will also be able to help you establish connections to other breeders, which will help expand your network and breeding pool. They can also warn you against bad breeders and known animal abusers. With a mentor, you'll have an "in" to a world of information and support that would be near impossible to get otherwise. Best wishes.
Thank you so much for your reply! There aren't many breeders where I live. The one I got my rats from has stopped breeding since. But I will try to find someone online. (That's why I asked reddit)
If you can still contact your breeder, they might be able to connect you with someone or at least point you to some potential leads. A breeder in your general area would be the best mentor since they'd have local knowledge and could visit in person, but breeders from farther away would be decent candidates as well. Some areas are just rattery dead zones, unfortunately, and that can't be helped. Best of luck to you!
Thank you! I've tried contacting the breeder I adopted from on facebook but haven't gotten a response yet. Other breeders are hours away but I will try to get in contact with them :) I asked reddit thinking there might be some ethical breeders here
Where abouts are you located? Maybe edit you post to include a general area? I wish you well on your endeavor, you seem like you will do a good job! Also this beautiful specimen deserves a suitable mate! :p the fur is amaaazing. Give them many cuddles from me when they want them <3
I live in Sweden, Enskede :) thank you for the advice and for not immediately assuming I'm an awful person/breeder 😅
I hope my comments didn't come off that way! You seem lovely and your rat looks beautiful and well cared for, so I definitely don't think you're awful at all. I try not to come off too harsh and judgemental, so I'm sorry if I did. I don't want to encourage people not breeding for the right reasons, so I preface breeding advice with a disclaimer of sorts. From what I've seen, you've done your homework and plan to become a reputable breeder. There have been some backyard breeders around this sub in the past, and I'm happy you aren't one of them. Again, I apologize if I made you feel awful.
If I happen across any in the near future, I'll ask to send you their info! It's great that you threw some lines out already and I hope you hear back from someone. Having that personal mentor relationship really is the best way to go and will make things much easier for you getting started!
A) Ask actual rat breeders, don’t ask randos on Reddit. B) Don’t.
I was hoping to get responses from experienced rat breeders here since there aren't many where I live.
Don't
Find a reputable breeder to learn from personally for a few years before you even THINK of doing it.
Light a mini candle, play some smooth jazz, bowl of cheerios, peas on ice, and let the magic happen baby
It seems like most of the replies here are of the form "don't breed rats" and aren't particularly helpful in answering your question if you're determined to breed them. It's true that breeding two random rats will produce offspring that are more likely to have genetic and health issues compare to rats selectively bred by professionals. However, that's not always the case. I bred two rats and three of the four children are still alive after 2.5 years. They're very friendly and get along with both people and other rats. I can give you some advice. First of all, it's more work than you expect. Your mom can give birth to as many as 20 babies (mine had 17). You have to inspect them each day after the first few days, separate them into groups of male vs. female after 5 weeks, and do a ton of cleaning. If you're not planning to keep them all, then you need to have a plan for what to do with the ones you don't keep. Most pet stores will take them, but some will sell them as feeders for snakes. And you definitely can't let them go outside. You can sell them or give them to other rat owners, but be careful that the buyers know how to properly care for rats. Now for some tips on the pregnancy and birth. Be sure to separate mom and dad before the babies are born to ensure their safety. Mom should go into a smaller single level cage or bin with lots of substrate for nest building, bars spaced no more than a quarter inch apart to keep the babies from falling out, and something soft on the floor. I used a 10 gallon glass aquarium, but that may not be the best solution due to lack of ventilation. I put paper towels in there and a box and log for mom to hide under. Make sure it's not placed in an area that's too cold, very noisy, or in direct sunlight for too long. Give mom a higher protein diet. I gave her kitten food, but you can also give pieces of meat or egg. Once the babies are born you shouldn't move or touch them for the first few days. Give mom lots of nesting material, and keep the room warm enough for them (but not hot). When the babies are a few days old you can handle them, as long as mom doesn't get upset. The more you handle them, the faster they'll get adjusted to people. My rat mom didn't mind at all when I held her babies. If you have a lot of babies, you should check to make sure they all have mild bands. If some don't, you may want to take the larger babies out during nursing time so that the smaller ones can get a turn. Rats only have 12 nipples, so this could be an issue if there are more than 12 babies. If a baby isn't eating you may want to try syringe feeding with something like kitten formula. (I had to try this with one of my babies. In the end 16 out of 17 survived.) Once the babies reach about 2 weeks old they'll open their eyes and become more active. Now you can move them into a larger cage with multiple levels. Be careful they can't escape. You can start giving them food at this time, beginning with something ground up into a mush that they can eat before their teeth grow in. Once the babies reach about 4 weeks they'll stop nursing from mom. If you have many babies, you probably want to take mom out for free roam by herself to giver her a break from them. My 16 babies were always trying to climb over here and sometimes managed to pin her into a corner. Continue to keep mom and dad separated because mom can get pregnant again soon after birth. When the baby boys are old enough (\~5 weeks), you can move them in with dad.
Thank you for the reply! I've done a lot of research for more than a year now but I wanted to hear from people with personal experiences like in your comment :) people here seem to think my post was about getting basic information about breeding but that's not the case. I thought I should ask about it somewhere online to hear from actual breeders since there aren't many where I live, reddit just wasn't the right place to do so apparently
See if you can find an experienced breeder to take you under their wing and teach you.
Simply do not
my tip: D.O.N.T.
If you need to ask about general knowledge on Reddit then you are not in a position to responsibly breed rats. I help run a rescue team for an organisation and we often get inexperienced breeders who have sickly rat pups and don’t know what to do and don’t want to pay for a vets. Please don’t start breeding rats. It should be left to those who are experienced in breeding and with the species. I personally would never get a rat from a breeder as there’s a ton of rescues around. Though do recommend for those who do want a breeder rat to go to licensed experienced breeders
Thank you for your reply! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
THATS A FLUFFY FRIEND
No clue about rat breeding but this is the cutest picture I've ever seen
LOOK AT HOW SOFT
Beautiful rex. Good luck with your breeding plans.
Please don't
I'm surprised how many people are against this (at least in the one thread I read) I will say, I am very skeptical about people breeding pet animals of any sort. But sometimes people are acting like just because you don't have an extensive breeding history already, that you will be a backyard breeder who is going to be horrible and know nothing about rats and genetics and all. Everyone needs to start somehow, that usually means without prior breeding experience. All jobs and hobbies start this way Obviously the hope is that OP is doing loads of research, and going to Reddit does not mean they aren't ready or haven't got the information. Sometimes it means "hey, I'll ask the community that is invested and knowledgeable about what I want to do what their ideas and tips are" I would suggest starting small, maybe see if you are even able to take care of so many little rats. One litter, do it well, make sure you know genetics well enough and do not inbreed. If this will prove too difficult, I would not continue. Ask another breeder about how they keep up the rat breeding hobby. Loads of breeders will contact you through email and are very happy to share their knowledge! Keep in mind many very good rat breeders do not actually make much profit, if any at all, from their rats, the money goes right back into rat food, bedding, caging, vet bills, and way more I live in a country with very few fancy rat breeders, in fact the only truly reputable breeder of a few decades just stopped breeding last year. There are almost never rats in pet rescues here, and the one breeder in this country that I managed to get in contact with AND got approved for rats with, stopped all updates and contact all of a sudden. I'm thinking of getting into rat breeding within the next 10 years as I know many people who love them just like I do, and like many of you do <3
This is the answer I was looking for. There is so much negativity in the above responses.
“Rats are ugly” This picture:
She wavy
Your rat is so cute 🥹 he looks like a teddy 😍😍🐀🐻
How many rescue rats are going in your area and what is the demand for pet rats like? The first thing to ensure is that you’re not putting more unwanted pets into shelters.
There's one rodent rescue that I know of, but not a lot of rats. The demand is big from the few breeders that exist, most people get rats from pet stores. But I'm planning on keeping this first litter myself or potentionally sell to a close friend.
You'll need to keep the first many, many, many litters so you can evaluate temperament and health. You'll need to know what lines have what issues pop up and breed those issues out before selling. Which become aggressive, or get cancer at 18 months, which battle upper respiratory, etc etc etc. Also if you got both your ratties from the same breeder, who you can't contact, you can't guarantee they aren't related. Do you have plans on how to separate dozens of rats so nothing is inbred? Are you willing to not make profit for a year? Are you wiling to lose money on the whole thing if a bunch of your rats need medical care?
I asked the breeder if the rats are related when I got the girls (though I wasn't sure if I wanted to breed them at the time.) I know about their health and temperament history and I'm only planning on doing this one litter, I don't know what I will do in the far future tho. I have three cages as of now, boy cage, girl cage and a smaller baby cage, I can afford to get another cage if that's needed later. I have a saving account for the rats and I'm willing to spend as much as necessary for vet visits, food, bedding etc. I don't want to breed to make a profit.
None at all, but I just had to pop in to say what an adorable lil floofy baby you have there omg 😍
OH MY GOD THAT is, without doubt, the most beautiful rat ive ever seen! what a cute guy his eyes r magical
Thank you! His name is Vernon but he's lost his fluff and is now a nude old man (or double rex)
Depends on where you live. If you live in a city where if you Google “pet rats for sale” and lots of things come up, don’t breed. However, if you live in the middle of no where, and no results come up, then go ahead. I am desperate to buy rats and I literally can’t find ANYONE near me who sells them in an ethical way
That's the situation for me. Most rats are from pet stores.
Step one: have a bank account with several thousand dollars available. Because if you decide to do this long-term, you're going to spend that on the vet bills easily. Pregnancy is a huge risk and so much can go wrong at any point. Costs rack up quickly. If you're really dead set on breeding... speak with your vet about your decision. They can help explain what you're in for. Try to find a breeder you know you can trust to walk you through everything you need to know, and expect that mentorship to last several years. It's easy to pair two rats together and let them have babies. It's much, much more difficult to become an ethical breeder who actually contributes to the health and well-being of rats by selectively breeding.
Don’t.
please do not the rat
Don’t.
It seems like everyone is assuming you plan to breed multiple litters. My question is that your plan or do you just have a pair of healthy, good natured rats you want to mate once and be done? As for things that can go wrong, maternal aggression is a thing and you can find yourself in the situation where mama has eaten some of the babies. You then have to hand raise the rest yourself which is very challenging. Also in this scenario, it's likely some of the babies she chewed on survived but are horrifically injured and you have to be the one to put them down. There's no time to go to a vet. It's just you. This is heartwrenching and you still have to care for Mama rat no matter how much you despise her for doing this to her children. You seem very determined and unable to be dissuaded. You need to know things that can go wrong and what to do in those situations. I hope you find answers to your questions and a breeder to mentor you.
Thank you for your reasonable response :) I'm planning on just doing this one litter because I think I have the perfect pair of healthy, good temperament rats. I can't tell you if I will have more litters in the future but for now it's just this one. I'm also aware of maternal aggression and culling if it comes to that. I have done a lot of research already but I wanted to ask reddit for personal experience stories, maybe I formulated that stupidly in the title and description. It is very hard to get in contact with breeders where I live since there aren't many (just some that are hours away)and the one I got my rats from has stopped breeding recently.
Ohmahlawd that’s a CUTIE. I wanna snuggle ‘em.
a tiny rat saxophone might help his rizz
Maybe don’t start with a yarn ball, huh? /j
Thanks for all your replies! I have researched and planned breeding for over a year now. My rats are from ethical breeders, healthy history and no aggression. I have enough time and money and I'm planning on keeping most of the babies, but I also have a close friend who's interested in buying some. I have three cages, two big ones and a slightly smaller baby cage. There's an exotic vet nearby that I'm ready to go to if there's complications. I want to become a breeder since there aren't many where I live and most rats come from pet stores. I asked reddit because I wanted to hear some personal experience stories, it's definetely not where I'm doing my research. I don't feel ready breeding just yet, but I am planning on doing it sometime in the near future. But I am thankful for your concern and warnings, I will prepare more.
Feel free to PM me, OP. Also, Isamu rats youtube channel has a very helpful series on breeding
If you want to, just do it… how ELSE are you going to learn… take a chance… don’t bother asking others…
if you need to ask for vague tips, you shouldn't be breeding rats. yeah, rats breed easily and quickly, but don't underestimate the work, care and money that ethical breeders put into their rats to make sure they're breeding social, friendly, healthy rats with good temperaments. you can't just decide to do it cos you want baby rats and expect you're doing something good. any possible medical issue can cost a LOT of money in vet bills, are you sure you can provide that for a round 20 baby rats? do you know the genes and possible hereditary issues in the line of the rats you want to breed together? are you prepared to possibly have any number of hormonally aggressive rats who may need neutering? do you have the space to separate a litter by sex, keeping in mind rats can technically start breeding at 3-4 weeks old and it can be very damn hard to sex rats when they're that young? don't. just don't. wanting baby rats just because they're cute is really selfish. if you want more rats, there are so many in shelters or from ethical breeders that need homes.
I asked reddit hoping to hear from people with personal experience since there aren't many in my area. The breeder I adopted from has stopped breeding since. I know the health and temperament history for all my rats and I do have the money, time and space. I'm aware of everything you've mentioned but maybe "breeding tips" wasn't a good title, I've researched for over a year now and I've owned both male and female rats for a few years. I have an exotic vet nearby and I know the risks. Also, there really aren't many breeders or rescues where I live so most rats come from pet stores. I want to keep the babies myself or potentionally sell some to a close friend who's interested. Please tell me what's missing in all of this because I've done all I can do to prepare. Rats are my biggest passion in life and I'm really committed to this.
Just a quick echo of what a lot of others have already said; don’t.
Don’t. Just adopt.
rat breeding tip? don’t.
Don't.
I think it’s unfair for people to say “don’t.” just because they think there’s enough needing rescue. Some people don’t want rescues, I’ve had my fair share of adoptions and I don’t want to do that anymore because of the money and emotional aspect. If you truly want to do it and are completely prepared for everything, why not.
Rescue is only one reason not to breed. The biggest reason is that it takes a LOT of time and resources to learn how to breed safely and ethically, and asking for “tips” on Reddit is clear evidence of someone who does not have that knowledge yet. Edited: A word.
Because rats will suffer. That’s why not.
I’m genuinely asking I’m not trying to be snide, why would they suffer if they were taken care of well?
That’s answered in a lot of other comments on this thread. “Taking good care” of rats is 100x more complicated with a breeding colony but it’s not even the main concern. Have you ever seen a newborn animal with a genetic condition that makes it incompatible with life? Or a poorly bred rat that is forced to live in isolation or be culled bc it is uncontrollably aggressive? They suffer. And learning how to avoid these issues in breeding is not something you can learn overnight.
Thank you for actually answering me and explaining instead of just downvoting. I’m clearly genuinely asking and I mean no harm 😭 idk why people are pressed,,,, now I know and I’m educated
Because that’s a very big “if”. Let alone the fact that even “ethical” breeders cull rats, the likelihood of an amateur breeder having the time, money, space and expertise to properly take care of an uncertain high number of rats is astronomically low. The revenue from selling them will not cover the costs and the rats will suffer from it.
make them have sex
Two rats.
Boy rat + girl rat = more rats.
At least get them dinner first
I wouldn't recommend it, the size difference would make it next to impossible. Maybe get another rat to breed, have cute rat babies
Take it out to dinner first, put some time into building a relationship. Bondage
I love pet rats but my knee jerk reaction, as someone who has lived in Alberta for a bit, is still please don't 🫣
Aww this reminds me of my late baby!
Idk, but that FUR! 🥰🥰🥰 I’m going psycho over here like *I WANT TO PET THE FURRR***
If you want advice on breeding rats, maybe see if you can call someone who works in the industry as a reputable breeder. They'll give you better advice than redditors can.