the rats have won me over (but some are still snake food)

[akane]

I was quite surprised to pick up a rat that had never been handled and just have him curiously wander around my hand with a sign of intelligence about what he was seeing. Unlike my other rodents, except chinchillas, who just seem so lost in flight mode they can't do anything but run off if not handled a lot. Problem is I know I mentioned it somewhere here but rat people are a bit crazy about their bloodlines and competition. Just a little.... They don't want to help anyone get started even with their culls without their name on it like you can usually get easily for other animals. The whole group went utterly insane when I spoke about the annoyance of not finding females around. It turned out unless I want to pay $20+ for who knows what breeding quality chain pet store animals or wait on a list to pay the same prices from pet/show breeders no one will sell you a female rat to within over an hour around us and I even posted various places while we made a 2hr trip to Des moines and back. They turn all the extras into frozen or their personal reptile collection food and sell the males. Even the local pet store. I do have one female they missed from the small feeder bin. Well, debating a new thing to breed that will sell well while also not wanting to get involved with another mammal we decided on crested geckos and the route to the best deal on a male and his unsexed offspring included was past the person who sold feeder rats $2/each to anyone. Last minute I shot him an email and I now have these in a large, long breeder bird cage because I don't have the crack in the tank I got pretty much free fixed yet. It hasn't been high on the list since I had no breeding rats.





I'm not sure the color names or genetics and I'm walking on eggshells with the feeder breeder group so I don't really want to ask yet. I do plan to cull out the pink eyed white. In the meantime though my males look like this now.



It might be awhile to pair them with the females. The snake forum are actually the ones commenting the most on them being too cute to feed. Some raise rodents to sell and then buy frozen feeders. :lol:

 

[JessicaR]

Rats are pretty cute I have had a couple for pets, always males the pet stores around here don't sell females.

 

[Sagebrush]

Hello Akane. I would say that you have a Blue, Blue Aguti (gold tips to the fur), and a champagne. Those are my best guesses from when I used to breed 6+ years ago. I don't think the names have changed since then.

 

[alforddm]

Pretty colors on those! Congratulation on finally getting some breeders.

 

[akane]

The eyes on the tan one do not seem pink and do not turn red in flash in any picture. Could it be ruby eyed instead? I think that's beige or buff. Website disagreement and there was no genotype for beige on the site that listed it. There was also a picture of the blue based version of those that was lighter tan and with blues in the mix the gene is obviously therer. The one white isn't as light of eye either and might have a tint to it's coat that I thought was just staining so perhaps it's also not pink eyed. It's eyes even come out fully black looking in some pictures with direct flash.