snakesRkewl

[snakesRkewl]

Hehe, I'm a pretty big ratty fan, they make awesome pets IMO...

Rattie Slideshow :: ratsRkewl slideshow by ratsRkewl - Photobucket

[presspirate]

Hello and Welcome Aboard! Your rat pics are making me want to get some more ratty pets.....CURSE YOU!

[snakesRkewl]

HeHe, and thanks!

[Sapphyr]

They do make wonderful pets~ Daisy was my most beloved rat, I really miss her. No rat could ever compare, but that doesn't mean I won't own anymore.

I'm currently having trouble finding, at least, one naked rat. I found an ad on Hoobly about 3 hours away, sent a message, and checked their website to find they'd adopted most of them out and have 2 on reserve... It really annoys me because I sent my mail BEFORE they got adopted out/reserved. Well before, I just got unlucky because they didn't -check-. -sigh-

Do you know anyone on the eastern side that breeds rats and could potentially have hairless rats that ship?

I'm also considering a boy/girl pair if someone has them(in the ads I see there's usual both boy and girl hairless rats available). I'm only considering this for breeding purposes since there isn't a high amount available. I just think it'd be convenient for those interested in them to know there's someone that does breed hairless rats specifically. I'm not too sure my mother would be happy about the idea, though. She'd be annoyed about the cost of feeding a litter of mouths I keep telling her the food is -extremely- cheap... I could pay for their food for half a year(with a litter) off one week's allowance it's so low. If it's just two rats, 1 week's allowance and a half of the next week would do me for a whole year's worth of rat food. I use a block formula and a whole bag of the stuff lasts a month+ usually. $2 or $3 for a bag.

[snakesRkewl]

The best way to breed a hairless rat is with normal coat rats that carry the gene.
Female hairless rats generally have a hard time nursing, some can't at all so most breeders that I know of use standard coat females held back from breeding a hairless to a standard coat female so all the babies carry the hairless gene.

It's similar with dwarf rats, the females are too small to drop any more than 4 or 5 babies.
When I tried breeding dwarf females I had still births 2 times before giving up and going to full size adult females that carry the dwarf gene.
That way when my dwarf breeds them I get dwarfs 50% of the time by odds and the full size moms can care for them properly.

As far as I know rats have to be shipped like a dog on an airplane with vet checks etc. Not really worth the cost.
I've found patchwork hairless rats to be hard to sell as pets and I'm not sure hairless would have a very good market either but I could be wrong.

Mazuri rodent chow cost 32 bucks after tax for 50 pounds locally and I go through about 75 pounds a month feeding 30 adults and numerous weanlings and 3 groups of 1.4 asf's.
Add to that 2 bags of kiln dried pine for $16 and my rat expenditure is about $64 a month.
I need to sell 10 rats a month to cover my expenditure since I sell rats at $15 a pair or $20 a trio
I would never have gone into breeding like I do without rat racks, cages were such a PAIN! lol

[Sapphyr]

Well I'd only intend on one breeding pair. I do know that the ad was posted 2 weeks ago and they've already adopted out 4 of the 7 hairless and have 2 on reserve. No clue about the seeming 'missing' one. That, to me, would seem like demand is -fair-.

And I'd guess I'd have to purchase someone else's breeding pair in order to successfully breed for hairless rats? Either that or find a male hairless somewhere and a standard female with the hairless gene elsewhere. I say that to avoid inbreeding. I know it's only dangerous after the 20th(or around there) generation of inbreeding in rats, but I'd still prefer to avoid it.


I guess if they'd be shipped by plane for a 3 hour -drive-, probably a 30 - 45 minute flight, then yes, that'd be ridiculous... Across the US, though?... -Maybe-.. Honestly depends on the end price. Though, I also think plane wouldn't be ideal for them. I know most animals are carried in the 'cargo hold', or whatever it is, of the plane, and it generally gets cold down there... and they're -hairless-.. So, I'd imagine a flight could potentially be fatal to them, if stress from the overall experience and change in altitude doesn't get them.

[snakesRkewl]

I was told that it cost about $250 to $275 to ship including vet cert. etc. so it's cost prohibitive to ship anywhere unless the person REALLY REALLY wants the genetics you have.
Shipping rats from what I've read can be done safely at appropriate times of the year.
I myself have not shipped any rats and don't plan to, they sell very well in my area so the hassle isn't worth it to me.

I've stuck with hairy rats because they sell the best, strangely I sell more standard coat rats than rex's so I've gone to breeding rex X standard coats to make sure I have enough standard coat rats.
I always thought the rex's would be more in demand but sales records tell me standard coats sell just as well.

[presspirate]

Which state are you in?

[Sapphyr]

Ahhh.. Wow, had no clue it was that pricey... Then again, I'm sure plane gas isn't inexpensive LOL

And really? Well, I guess the general public likes furry critters than critters that have... a lighter coat?.. I don't know, I like very unique critters. I mean, don't get me wrong, standards are lovely, but I -am- one of those people that typically strays from the norm... While searching for a hairless I came across a site from Ohio that has two baby Double Rex Dumbo rats for sale~ I just adore them~ I've inquired, I'm really hoping they're willing to, at least, meet me half way with them

[snakesRkewl]

I use double rex's to breed to standard coats when I want to make ALL rex's

Breeding double rex's together is a great way to make a bunch more double rex's.
The results are 75% double rex and a 25% mixture of standard coats and "loose" rex's.
Loose rex's are rex's with very little curl to them.

I have the same passion for making odd rats, that's why my venture into dwarfs and making colorful ones at that.
Dwarf rats are VERY hard to find and I've yet to see any fawn or blue agouti dwarfs anywhere so that's my main project with the rats for now...

This is a 6 week old Blue Hooded Rex coat female dwarf I just got from a blue hooded female that I didn't know carried the dwarf gene.
She is less than half the size of her sibs...

[snakesRkewl]

Originally Posted by Sapphyr

Well, I guess the general public likes furry critters than critters that have... a lighter coat?

I sell blues the most, blacks and Siamese are about tied in # of sales.
Red eye rats don't sell well at all, my ruby eyed Siamese do "ok" but I sell way more black eyed Siamese than I do pink, red or ruby eyed.
The worst selling pet rat....Albino or PEW(Pink eye white)

[Sapphyr]

Awww~ She's adorable!

And wow, really?.. That's a real shame... I wish people would appreciate albinos more. Maybe I'm just weird, but I'm absolutely fascinated by albinos, even if, in some animals, it's very common. I know my mother hates pretty much all albinos except for albino alligators. She claims they're unexciting, ugly, and plain.

I also hate how people will avoid animals with red shaded eyes based on claims of it looking evil, possessed, or satanic.. They're -animals-.. They're not some vile, disease spewing demon that's going to rip your head off the moment you go to sleep... I wish people had more consideration over the littlest of things instead of getting all sorts of torn up about it.

I think a Ruby Eyed Siamese would be absolutely wonderful to have. It sounds so very elegant, to me, and classy at the same time.

I'm also with Greg on being curious about what state you're in.

[snakesRkewl]

Originally Posted by Sapphyr

I'm also with Greg on being curious about what state you're in.

I'm In Washington State close to the Oregon Border