all you rat owners

I have had pet rats long before I had snakes. I had my first male pet rat 31 yrs ago. There were a few years here and there I didn't have any. I never bred rats before having snakes. Then when I started up with snakes I decided to breed rats because of the poor quality of feeders. I can't stand mice or their smell so they are easy to feed off live or frozen till the snake outgrows them. Feeding off rats is a bit different. I have the pets I breed for feeders and keep out a baby or 2 that are different coats or colors for future breeders. The rest I do not handle more than necessary so as not to become attached. If there is one I have a hard time parting with my darling hubby will monitor that feeding but I am more worried about my snake being safe than worrying about them eating a "special rat". The younger they are when I feed off the easier it is. Once they open their eyes then are weaned I am under their spell. So far I have been able to keep my number of adults under control but I can always make room for one more rat. Compared to my birds, dogs, ferrets, snakes, fish, Chameleon and Bearded Dragon the rats have a relatively short life span so if I stop raising them to adults the numbers dwindle quickly.

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Originally Posted by Kat's Toy

the one I got for OOkkii (MY BP) two weeks ago is a beautiful blue/soft fuzzy coated girl... her name now is Gizmo... not knowing much about rats I wonder if it is a specific type breed? the boy we have from over 6 weeks ago has a beautiful taupe colored (hooded) head with a white stripe through it, and the rest of him is white... I have found them very fun and easy to train...they are much better than the hampsters my kids have had!

now we had been use to the only white ones... but then the store started throwing the colors in... If they were ugly then I wouldnt have such a issue feeding them to the snake... again... I am ready to consider F/T rats... if he ever decides to eat again...

So whats a good site to look at breeds of rats??

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There isn't really 'breeds' of rats but there are 'types' of rats.
You got your...

Fur -
Standard - Regular fur
Satin - Shiny fur
Rex - Curly fur
Velveteen - Similar to Rex, except for the curls are softer, and I find that they more wavy coated
Harley - 'Fluffy' coated rats. Hair stands away from the body.
Hairless - No hair.
Mock Hairless - Similar to hairless, put with random patches of fur.

Features -
Standard - Regular ears
Dumbo - Ears are larger, usually rounder, set on the side of the head
Tailless- No tail.
Odd-Eye - Two different colored eyes.

Size -
Regular - Your run of the mill sized rat.
Minature - About 1/3 the size of a regular, adult rat.

Colors and Markings -
To many to explain.

Links!
http://www.afrma.org/fancyrm.htm
http://www.dapper.com.au/whatrat.htm
http://www.ratspacnw.org/varieties.htm

Mine are breeders and feeders. I don't name them or handle them much, but I treat them very well. I just don't get emotionally attached. If there is a baby that really stands out, I'll hold it back as a future breeder. I do get a little attached to my fancy mice though...Some of them are so pretty I end up holding too many back. I only have 5 snakes that eat mice and over 20 producing adults :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Only some of my rats have pet status. All rats that are kept as breeders are named, mostly so that I can keep track of litters, genetics, and such. There will be some breeders that will end up as feeders but others will retire and be kept as pets for the rest of their life. Take Doe for instance. She started off as a breeder that would eventually become a feeder due to the fact that I just haven't become attached to her. But she has done such a good job at being a momma rat she has gained pet status and will live out her days as a pet once she retires from breeding. :)

right now i have 2.8 breeders that i hold and play with when ever they have a liter i do not play with them for that reason they are soo darn cute and funny, You know growing up I think alot of us had it put it in our heads that rats are dirty, boy were they wrong!!! I had one rat drop a liter of 8 today and i think there was only a couple of peices of bedding that had blood on it... I LOVE MY RATS !!!

I interact with and have named all my adult breeder rats. They are pets as well, but I only have one that is purely a pet (adult male hairless) and does not reside in the snake room.

I feed up the pups, and hold back the odd female that catches my eye, or just manages to set herself apart (or himself).

We are feeding BPs on this forum mostly... I would never feed any BP an adult rat, so no, they never get fed off. I try and rehome them once they retire, but they can have other colony jobs when they retire.

I think I have 2.15 rats right now and an ungodly number of ASFs. The ASFs do not have names and the retired adults are fed off, they are the right size as adults to feed off. Same with the mice. I like them, but once they stop producing they move down the ladder to feeders.

Bruce