You shouldn't breed your rats if...

I am constantly seeing people join this group and ask questions about breeding their rats, or wondering if they are already successfully bred. Then when we tell them they should not do that, they always ask "Why?".

So, I think we should start a thread where we list all the reasons you should not breed your rats.

Give one reason per post.

You shouldn't breed your rats if you cannot tell whether they are pregnant or not.


(No dig at anyone in particular, I have just seen people asking if their rats are pregnant, countless times.)

Do not breed your rats if you do not have funds for vet care, food, housing etc.

If you don't 100% have good homes for them to go to.

If you haven't studied genetics.

You shouldn't breed if you dont know what the lineage of the rats is, what genetic diseases they may carry, ect.

I think the story of the litter Hopefloats had a couple months ago is a very strong one in regard to why you shouldn't breed, she had a number in a litter that were handicapped in some way.

you shouldn't breed if you're not old enough to own your own home and pay your own bills. I've seen too many sad stories where kids wanted cute little babies, then when something went wrong, mom and dad refused to pay for vet care.

This is mine and I'm sure no surprise: You shouldn't breed your rat because you shouldn't breed your rat.

you just shouldn't breed an animal that is way over populated like rat's, cat's, etc, or any animal actually. pet's aren't here to make money, they're here to be spoiled, loved, and appreciated. people need to remember animals have feelings, and i don't think people would wanna be bred like that, and could have up to 20 something babies.

You shouldn't breed your rat unless you are ACTUALLY trying to better the overall rat, not just churn out pretty babies for adopters or your own feelings of self-worth.

Don't breed your rat if there is a very high oversupply of unwanted "free to good home" type rats in your area. The last place breeders need to be selling is in a high-rescue zone, taking away rescue rats' chances.

Because after you have bred your rat and you have all those cute little babies (and they are cute) everyone wants them - until they realize they grow up, they need a lot of attention, they cost money, they are not "pocket pets", they need medical care that can be expensive, and did I mention they cost a lot of money?! Anyway, after the extra cuteness wares off and reality sets in - that is when rescues and people on here become inundated with those babies that are now adult rats, that are in poor health and have had no medical care and/or were not properly taking care of and/or are now pregnant with unwanted babies. These adult rats now become the financial responsibility of their new care takers not the original owner "that wanted them" or the "breeder that had homes for them"!

Breeding animals is IRRESPONSIBLE !

if you love rats don't breed them or allow them to mate

if there are no rats in your immediate area, look a little bit outside of your area-
how many rat trains have been set up for those huge hoards of rats etc?

Don't breed your rats unless you have a mycoplasma-resistant strain from laboratory stock.

If you do have babies from a mycoplasma-resistant pair, send me some.

don't breed unless you're ready to take care of 20 rats all on your own, considering the demand for rats isn't that high, and if no one wants them, you're stuck with mom, dad, whatever other rats you have, and now about two dozen little ones. I hope you have a never ending vet fund, a lot of nice sized cages, and enough money to feed everyone, and provide toys and other things to keep them happy and healthy.

You shouldn't breed rats because there are already sooo many rats out there in desperate need of a forever home! We don't need more!!

And ask yourself: WHY are you breeding them?!?

You shouldn't breed rats if my 12 year old is smarter than you.

Back when he started looking seriously at rats (10 months ago, 11 years old), he walked up to hubby and me and said "Rats are happiest in groups, but I only want all boys or all girls." DH asked why, just to see what kid had found.

From an 11 year old "Because they have like 12 babies at a time, then have another litter right away, and then the babies start having litters. I want 2 or 3 rats, not 203 rats!"

Seems straight forward enough to me.

You got a super smart kid!

You shouldn't breed your rats if you love animals and care about them. :/

You shouldn't breed your rats if your rats are smarter than you! LOL