all you rat owners

i see a lot of you with rat collections. you've named them and care for them as pets. but are they eventually going to end up being feeders?? i think it would be extremly hard to kill something you've become attached to. i find it hard to kill rats that i bought as feeders so i don't think there would be anyway to kill something i keep as a pet.

im not making fun or calling anyone out. im just curious to see if your rat collections are for feeding purposes.

personally... I now have 2 rats due to the fact my snake isnt eating.... and after a few weeks they get too big, then they get a name.... once they have a name they dont belong to the snake anymore.... pretty sad... we are considering going to frozen, if he ever decides to eat again... LOL wouldnt mind finding a home for them somewhere else! My hubby is attached to the older one, so guess it stays

I breed rats, but they are all feeders. I do not name them. That does not mean that I do not think they are cute at times, or that I mistreat them. I take very good care of them, but they are still, in the end, snake food.

I have 3.5 rats right now that are solely breeders. I don't ever plan to feed them off. Once they are past their prime breeding age or if they ever get to where they can't have babies anymore the males will be neutered and they'll all be "put out to pasture" in a big cage just for the retired breeders. The babies are food and while I do feel bad sometimes about feeding them off that's what they're for. But the breeders are my babies and I love them all, it's way too easy to get attached to a rat lol.

We have 3.4 rats right now. They are all breeders, but pets as well. Some of them are not as tame as the others, but we try to tame them down...unfortunately not as much as they deserve. The boys are Clyde, Hamlet...aka Hammy, Templeton and the girls are Lady Luck (was teeny tiny growing up), Bonnie, Sophie and Ophelia. Clyde has been in with Lady Luck and Bonnie and we think Bonnie is pregnant and should give birth in about a week. Lady Luck isnt showing signs, so maybe her stunted growth means she is sterile.

To answer the real question, they are not feeders, but they will be breeding feeders. We also have a trio of ASF's that we will probably name too, but not yet.

I have somewhere's in the vicinity of 40 adult feeder breeder rats. And they all have names. I could start naming them now just to prove it if you wanted me to. ;)

I feed off the weaners. Make it easier on yourself by not associating with them while they are with their mother unless you intend on growing them up.

All breeder adults are considered pets and will never be fed off. They will be allowed to live their full lives with me until they die naturally.

These animals have a purpose to feed other animals, I don't make them suffer and I find real enjoyment in raising rats. :)

I don't do rats...at least not yet, tho I have owned them as pets before. I might have one trio someday, but since I don't have a bigger snake to take the adult rats I don't know.

Anyway, I breed lots of mice and I do name a few of my breeders if I really like them. :) Those I get attached to, but when they are past their prime as it were, then my BF sees to their gassing so I don't have to get so upset. :)

Like some other have said, the ones I name are the breeders and holdback breeders. They double as pets for me as my snake collection is not that large. I have about 6 females and 4 males and I don't breed them all the time. The breeders will never be feeders and some of the babies are even sold as pets due to coat color, ears, and disposition (it's difficult to come across blue dumbo berkshires, for example, anywhere else but a breeder). If I have a raised a litter a bit to choose holdbacks out of, that's when the feeding off and culling gets difficult (if that makes sense).

I have over twenty rats, all are breeders, there pups are destintened to be feeders.

I tried naming my three lovely Himalayans once, but after I tell them apart, I gave up.


No more names for me! All are treated well though.

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??

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