F
fellgrail
Guest
New to this forum, in fact I only found it by researching Atlantis Rattery, which by the sounds of it I really dodged a bullet.
So it's become apparent to me that even though a breeder may be responsible in how they treat their rats, that doesn't mean they are actually doing a good job breeding for health, and it doesn't mean the rats they sell have any better pedigree than pet store rats, right?
The current rattery I'm considering is True North Rattery. From what I can see they keep their rats in big home made enclosures that they actually sell, they seem to treat them well and give them plenty of play time and human exposure.
I've owned rats in the past from pet stores, and they were great, although they all had health problems later in life.
My understanding is that the benefit of going to a breeder like the one I mentioned above, is that they have been socialized to a degree, and there is maybe some slight indication that they'll be healthier, although I understand that this is really shaky ground given they all seem to be breeding for looks, and lineage doesn't go back very far.
I found True North's list on FBRA here, if anyone would like to take a look, the current litter I'm interested in are the three rats listed on her shop, which I'm mostly linking to in case I'm about to make a grave mistake. Their parents are Atlantis and Squirt.
It seems like buying a pet store rat is a risk because you don't know the lineage, and chances are it had a bad upbringing and could be sick or have behavioural issues.
Rescuing a young rat doesn't seem any better though. Chances are it's coming from a bad place, you don't know it's lineage, and from what I've read here, many have serious problems either medical or behavioural.
So as someone who wants rats that start off fairly well adjusted, wouldn't a breeder be a great option? I'm sure there are some very sketchy operations that don't take good care of their rats at all, but setting aside their lineage, a breeder that interacts with the rats, keeps them in good sized cages, and starts the socialization process... isn't that a good thing?
I'm just looking for some young rats I can raise from babies and mold into great companions as I bond with them. I don't want adults, and if I can, I'd like to avoid behaviour problems that would just take more time to fix (if ever). Some people might be strong enough to attend to a rat that has behavioural problems for its entire life, and maybe I could if I already had a handful of well adjusted rats, but I'm starting from scratch and to have my only rats come along with behavioural problems and medical issues is something I'd really like to avoid.
However, given the strong stance I've seen browsing the forum, I feel like I must be wrong, I must be missing something. I'm humble enough to admit I'm probably a dumb idiot when it comes to this subject, which is exactly why I'm making this post instead of just rushing to my own conclusions.
If anyone could explain to me the flaws in my logic, and also look into True North for me to see if I'm missing something, that would be really appreciated!
So it's become apparent to me that even though a breeder may be responsible in how they treat their rats, that doesn't mean they are actually doing a good job breeding for health, and it doesn't mean the rats they sell have any better pedigree than pet store rats, right?
The current rattery I'm considering is True North Rattery. From what I can see they keep their rats in big home made enclosures that they actually sell, they seem to treat them well and give them plenty of play time and human exposure.
I've owned rats in the past from pet stores, and they were great, although they all had health problems later in life.
My understanding is that the benefit of going to a breeder like the one I mentioned above, is that they have been socialized to a degree, and there is maybe some slight indication that they'll be healthier, although I understand that this is really shaky ground given they all seem to be breeding for looks, and lineage doesn't go back very far.
I found True North's list on FBRA here, if anyone would like to take a look, the current litter I'm interested in are the three rats listed on her shop, which I'm mostly linking to in case I'm about to make a grave mistake. Their parents are Atlantis and Squirt.
It seems like buying a pet store rat is a risk because you don't know the lineage, and chances are it had a bad upbringing and could be sick or have behavioural issues.
Rescuing a young rat doesn't seem any better though. Chances are it's coming from a bad place, you don't know it's lineage, and from what I've read here, many have serious problems either medical or behavioural.
So as someone who wants rats that start off fairly well adjusted, wouldn't a breeder be a great option? I'm sure there are some very sketchy operations that don't take good care of their rats at all, but setting aside their lineage, a breeder that interacts with the rats, keeps them in good sized cages, and starts the socialization process... isn't that a good thing?
I'm just looking for some young rats I can raise from babies and mold into great companions as I bond with them. I don't want adults, and if I can, I'd like to avoid behaviour problems that would just take more time to fix (if ever). Some people might be strong enough to attend to a rat that has behavioural problems for its entire life, and maybe I could if I already had a handful of well adjusted rats, but I'm starting from scratch and to have my only rats come along with behavioural problems and medical issues is something I'd really like to avoid.
However, given the strong stance I've seen browsing the forum, I feel like I must be wrong, I must be missing something. I'm humble enough to admit I'm probably a dumb idiot when it comes to this subject, which is exactly why I'm making this post instead of just rushing to my own conclusions.
If anyone could explain to me the flaws in my logic, and also look into True North for me to see if I'm missing something, that would be really appreciated!
