Read About Breeding Pet Rats

Breeding Pet Rats will give you good quality and healthy rats to keep as pets. Here's everything you need to know about these breeders.

Breeding Pet Rats -- Breeder Facts

  1. Professional Affiliations:

    The United Kingdom has the National Fancy Rat Society (NFRS) and Australia has the Australian Rat Fancier's Society (ARFS). Other common affiliations are American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association (AFRMA). The North American Rat Registry (NARR) operates in the United States and Canada for fancy rats.
  2. Why Use a Breeder:

    A breeder is a person who has full knowledge about rats. He or she will selectively choose the parents to obtain a healthy and temperamentally sound pet rat.
  3. How to Find:

    You can easily contact any of the affiliations mentioned above. You can search the internet for rat breeders. In local newspapers and pet magazines you might come across classifieds mentioning rats for sale. You can ask your vet and they will guide you how to reach a rat breeder.
  4. What to Expect:

    Most possibly, you will get a healthier and better quality rat as a pet if you buy from a rat breeder. Pet rat breeders will modify the genetics of the rat by careful selection of the parents. So, you can expect the rat to have the best of both its parents.
  5. Breeder's Surroundings:

    After purchasing the pet rat from breeders, you must keep them in clean cages. They must be provided clean food and water, rat toys to play with, and an open cage in which air can flow freely would be ideal for rats.

Breeding Pet Rats -- Newborn Facts

  1. Average Number of Newborns Delivered at Birth:

    In one litter rats can give birth to 12 babies. Some rats even have given birth to 20 babies in one birth.
  2. Age To Be Sold:

    Any rat baby can be sold by the 5th or 6th week of its age.
  3. What to Look For in a Newborn:

    A healthy newborn rat baby will be very active and curious about its surroundings.
  4. Registry:

    Registries are done to keep record of the genetics. Rats can be registered in one of the affiliations mentioned above.
  5. AKC Recognized Characteristics:

    Rats are not registered by AKC.
  6. Expense to Purchase Newborn:

    Rats directly taken from breeders will cost more than the rats available in a pet store. The rats from a breeder will cost you approximately $20.
  7. Dam and Sire Information of your Newborn:

    A reputable breeder will have the family background of his or her rats registered with any one of the associations noted above. When you purchase any rat, the breeder must give you all information associated with the rat. It can help you obtain desirable traits and suppress unwanted ones.

Breeding Pet Rats -- Breeder Concerns

  1. Breeder Reputation:

    You must check out the customer list of the breeder to know about his or her reputation. The local vets can tell you about reputable breeders. He or she should encourage you to view where the rats are raised. A reputable breeder will be affiliated with one or more of the associations listed above.
  2. Pet Health:

    You must check out the rat before purchasing -- its eyes must be clear, they should have no injury marks on their body. You should get them checked through your vet before buying.
  3. Assurances:

    Breeders must be able to provide after-sale support on the rats they sell. They must give health guarantees for a particular time after the purchase.