well hiya!

[rattyattie_14]

My name is Jordan. I'm 17 and currently own eight rats! Six of my rats are females. Four of my females are almost a year and the other two are two months. I have two males that are two months also. I love each and everyone of my rats and they have never been abandoned! I love learning new things about rats and spend most of my computer time looking for rat websites or information sites. I even talk to breeders and and rat experts and squeeze information out of them!
I've owned rats since I was in third grade and I'm now a junior in high school! When I graduate college I want to be a vet so I figured, start learning as much about rats as you can. I want to be a small animal vet and specializing in rats but I want to upgrade to a large animal vet and even greater! I love making new friends and hate losing old ones! I love talking about rats and RAT seems to be the most popular thing that come out of my mouth. I fear that sometimes I annoy others because I talk about them so much but that is just who I am!
I have owned sixteen rats: Crystal and Diamond 1 and 2, Star and Cali, Cookie and Cupcake, Ellie are all deceased but Robin, Coffie Bear, Doddie, Puddle, Pearl, Cloud Puff, Cuddle Bucket and 5th Avenue(his name is subject to change very soon) are alive and well. Not only do I have a passion for rats I also love to draw. My skills have left me for the time being for a reason I cant think of, but they shall return over the summer perhaps! Well that's all for now!

Pictures of rats in the order they are listed: FEMALES-Coffee Bear, Doddie, Pearl, Cloud Puff, Puddle, Robin...MALES-Cuddle Bucket and 5th Avenue

 

[victoria]

Welcome to the forum. We are a rescue based forum and although all are welcome, you are not allowed to post you rattery's address.

I strongly urge you to learn more about rats, in particular rat health and genetics, and wait until you are older and more financially secure before you start breeding, as well as finding an ethical, reputable rattery to mentor you. The reason why I say you need to more financially secure is that rats in general are expensive to care for, especially if they need a lot of veterinary care (I am taking 3 rats for surgery tomorrow and it will cost me at least $1200) but when you are breeding them there are so many more issues that can arise (emergency c-section) that can be very expensive and you may not be able to attend to at the same time as your school obligations. You would also need a good exotic vet (hopefully you already have one since you have had rats for a while now) and a backup for when they go away or are not available. Please don't think for a minute that you will ever even come close to breaking even breeding rats because you will be grossly disappointed.

And please, if you want to be taken seriously at all in your professional life, make an effort to use proper grammar and spelling. I have seen so many people who want to start ratteries make posts here in awful English and it's very hard to take them seriously. If this is something you are serious about, take it seriously or other will not do so either. This isn't a text message or an MSN conversation to a friend. I do not even buy hammocks from sellers that can't take the time to use spell check on or proof read their sites/posts.

My name is Jordan im 17 and currently own 8 ratties! 6 of my rats are females. 4 of my females are almost a year and the othe r2 are 2months. i have 2 males that are 2months also. I am currently starting a rattery the website is REMOVED. It could happen or not..it all depends on if my rats are healthy enough! i love eacch and every one of m rats and they have never been abandoned! i love learning new things about rats and spend most of my computer time looking for rat websites or information sites. I even talk to breeders and and rat experts and squeeze info out of them!
I've own rats since i was in 3rd grade and im now a junior in high skool! wen i graduate college i want to be a vet so i figure start learning as much about rats as u can. I want to be a small animal vet specializing on rats but want to upgrade to a large animal vet and even greater! I want to be more than a vet is wat im saying! i love making new friends and hate losing old ones! i love talkng about rats and RAT seems to b the most popular thing that come out of my mouth. i fear that sometimes i annoy others b/c i talk abou them so much but that is just who i am!
I have owned 16 rats: Crystal and Diamond1&2, Star and Cali, Cookie and Cupcake, Ellie are all deceased but Robin, Coffie Bear, Doddie, Puddle, Pearl, Cloud Puff, Cuddle Bucket and 5th Avenue(his name is subject to change very soon) are alive and well. I not only do i have a passion for rat i also love 2 draw. but my skills have left me for the time being for a reason i cant think of but they shall return ovr the summer perhaps! Well that's all for now!

pictures of rats in the order they r listed: FEMALES-Coffee Bear, Doddie, Pearl, Cloud Puff, Puddle, Robin...MALES-Cuddle Bucket and 5th Avenue

Edited to remove rattery's web address.

 

[rattyattie_14]

I am sorry for the inconvenience. I didn't know that posting my website was against the rules. I will read and understand your directions better next time. Is there any way for me to edit my post and erase my website? Thank you.

 

[eagle]

Go to your original post and hit the edit button make your changes and then hit submit.

 

[rattyattie_14]

Thank you for helping me out! I appreciate it!

 

[Roo]

Welcome! Your ratties are adorable, I love their names.

Victoria had some really good info. This is a rescue-based forum so you'll probably find a lot of people cringing at the thought of breeding.

But this is a good place to be to find information about rats and how to keep them happy and healthy. You'll also find WHY so many of us (all of us? lol) are against breeders and pet stores. Most breeders are not "ethical" so watch out for that when you're searching for advice. You'll be able to learn a LOT about rats without breeding them. :nod: There are also a lot of threads you can probably search for that are a result of accidental pregnancies (rescued rats or those purchased from a pet store who turned out to be pregnant) and read about the different complications.

 

[kscanuck785]

Welcome to the shack!

 

[jennifervb]

Hi Jordan!!!

:welcome: to the Rat Shack!!! :flowers4U:

You are in the right place if you are looking for rat specialists to squeeze information from! You will find that we have quite a few really exceptional rat parents on this site who have been responsible for helping the rest of us deal with every little issue and boo boo our fuzz bundles manage to bring. This is a great place! :hugs:

Holler if you need anything and, again, welcome! Hugs to your babies and make sure that your guys don't impregnate your girls! :shock:

 

[jorats]

Welcome!

 

Hi Jordan!! I'm new here too. I say if you wanna breed rats then go right ahead. I can tell that you love rats, so the more the better right? If that's your dream(to breed them) then don't ever lose site of it despite what others may say -__- just make sure you have enough love, food, and patience to go around.

 

[Moon]

Hi Jordan!! I'm new here too. I say if you wanna breed rats then go right ahead. I can tell that you love rats, so the more the better right? If that's your dream(to breed them) then don't ever lose site of it despite what others may say -__- just make sure you have enough love, food, and patience to go around.

You have very quickly found the WRONG rat forum for you.

 

[victoria]

Hi Jordan!! I'm new here too. I say if you wanna breed rats then go right ahead. I can tell that you love rats, so the more the better right? If that's your dream(to breed them) then don't ever lose site of it despite what others may say -__- just make sure you have enough love, food, and patience to go around.

Are you offering to care for any he can't find homes for? I sure hope so, there are already thousands of rats that die everyday because they don't have homes.

 

[jorats]

Hi Jordan!! I'm new here too. I say if you wanna breed rats then go right ahead. I can tell that you love rats, so the more the better right? If that's your dream(to breed them) then don't ever lose site of it despite what others may say -__- just make sure you have enough love, food, and patience to go around.

It's very ignorant of you to say something like that. Breeding is not a dream to be had. It's a huge responsibility, not a game.
Good thing you can support Jordan, you both live very closely to each other.

 

[eagle]

Hi Jordan!! I'm new here too. I say if you wanna breed rats then go right ahead. I can tell that you love rats, so the more the better right? If that's your dream(to breed them) then don't ever lose site of it despite what others may say -__- just make sure you have enough love, food, and patience to go around.

Hate to say it, but love, food and patience is going to get you nowhere fast. Why breed rats for the heck of it to add to the already overpopulation in the world? You can check the Craigslist and the Canadian version and see all the rats needing a home because someone thought it would be a great idea to add to the problem. Breeding petstore rats is a very very bad idea. No one knows the genetics of the rats or what future health issues there may be. Why add to the problem?

 

[rattyattie_14]

I just want to let you all know that I'm a girl. I guess I should have stated that in my introduction. I'm sorry for all the troubel I've caused about breeding. I'm glad that you all are being so helpful and trying to change my mind. I just want to let you all know that I'm not ignorant to the fact that there are lots of rats in shelters but, AND BY NO MEANS DO I WANT ANY OF YOU TO TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY,all the rats that you get from shelters are from people who bought their rats from petstores and breeders and no longer wanted them. What happens if all the rats are gone? Where will we get them then? Of course, that couldn't possibly happen but it's a "what if".
I'm taking what you all say into concideration and will gladly stay and ask questions and learn as much as possible! Thank you for all your thoughts and love for rats and wanting to pass on all you know! I'm sorry for causing so much trouble.

 

[xxchelle]

Jordan, I suggest you read this: http://www.bvrattery.com/breed_rats.html

 

[Roo]

Jordan, I suggest you read this: http://www.bvrattery.com/breed_rats.html

:yeah:

Good read, I haven't seen that link before.

 

[victoria]

I just want to let you all know that I'm a girl. I guess I should have stated that in my introduction. I'm sorry for all the troubel I've caused about breeding. I'm glad that you all are being so helpful and trying to change my mind. I just want to let you all know that I'm not ignorant to the fact that there are lots of rats in shelters but, AND BY NO MEANS DO I WANT ANY OF YOU TO TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY,all the rats that you get from shelters are from people who bought their rats from petstores and breeders and no longer wanted them. What happens if all the rats are gone? Where will we get them then? Of course, that couldn't possibly happen but it's a "what if".
I'm taking what you all say into concideration and will gladly stay and ask questions and learn as much as possible! Thank you for all your thoughts and love for rats and wanting to pass on all you know! I'm sorry for causing so much trouble.

I'm actually not against ethical breeding. We need someone focusing on improving rat health and temperament. The thing is, there are many people that claim to be ethical breeders when they are not even capable of it. Above all, ethical breeding requires a lot of knowledge, experience, and money. Many people set out to breed with good intentions but aren't adequately prepared and figure they will learn as they go. Not acceptable. Breeding rats with unknown pedigrees or backgrounds is also unacceptable, unless you intend to keep each and every offspring for several generations until a pedigree is established. I could go on, but it boils down to me having serious doubts that almost any 17 year old is knowledgeable enough or financially able to be an ethical breeder. We can discuss it until we're blue in the face but having read through the posts you've already made in the forum tells me you have a lot to learn before you are at a point where a reputable and ethical breeder will even take you on and mentor you.

I'm happy you came to the forum and that you are trying to learn, whether you choose to breed or not, but if you choose to breed now I see a train wreck in the future. Thinking back to all the people that have come on the forum wanting to breed (and there have been many), it's incredibly sad to see that often it's the worst case scenario that comes true when they do breed... rats giving birth to litters that are all dead within an hour and a sick mom that doesn't receive the veterinary attention she needs because dad says no; rats being dumped overnight because the rescue/breeder that was mentoring someone was raided by animal control and there are too many rats for one person to care for; undesirable coloured rats being dumped in a bag at a pet store where some suffocate before being found... those are all real situations that have occurred in the past six months. Should you choose to go ahead, you should be prepared for the worst case scenario - emergency c-sections, keeping entire litters due to lack of adopters, serious illnesses infecting all of your colonies and requiring thousands of dollars in veterinary costs - because at some point they will occur.

 

[chelshorsegirl]

Do you know where you are planning to attend College?

 

[rattyattie_14]

I plan to go to NCSU. I don't want to be mean but you all are belittling me about breeding. If I breed I wouldn't start until September or October. So I have plenty of time to make up my mind completely. I'm talking to a breeder and an expert (names will not be given) and they don't seem to mind that I want to breed. I'm asking them a lot of questions no matter how dumb or obvious they may be. When ever I'm on the computer it is mostly to study and learn about rats. I know the risks and disasters about breeding and I'm learning as much as I can at this point in my life. My family and friends all support me.
Where I live there aren't any rats in our shelters. We have more a cat problem than anything. If there were a rat shelter near me I would forget about breeding and adopt most or all of the shelter rats that I could. I love my rats as much as the next person and I think that should be taken into consideration. I'm not here to bully anyone or make them see my views. I'm just being me.
When I joined the forum I didn't read anything that said this was a "rescue only" forum or that I couldn't post websites dealing with breeding and such. I'm not one to start problems and I most certainly didn't think that saying "I want to breed" would cause a big problem. In some people maybe but not everyone. The replies that I have posted on the forum are things that I have learned by research. If I bred rats I know I would NOT be perfect but no one that starts breeding rats is perfect. You don't just know genetics you have to learn them.
While this forum can help me learn about rats and so much more I feel that you would rather criticize than help me. No matter how nice you put it. I've said it many time and I'll say it again, I'm sorry for the uproar that I've caused.