Online Rat Communities?

[MrLang]

I hope this doesn't get pulled down.

I am starting to get a bit deeper into rat breeding - fancy ones. I am looking for a community similar to this one but for rats. The key considerations are that they are not snobs and are active and knowledgeable on genetics and breeding. I know this is not easy to find, so if anyone has any pointers I would appreciate it. I'm also wondering about selling fancy rats. I've gotten to the point where I have some pretty impressive stuff coming soon (eg dumbo dwarf rex blue point siamese, pearl merle dumbo dwarf) and feel people would pay good money if I could get myself in front of the right crowd - any suggestions on that front?

[dgring]

Stick to snakes is my advice

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How can you be attached to an animal that you feed to your other animals??? I could not do that, i have had mice and hamsters in the past but not at the same time as owning snakes

[dgring]

If you do decide to go on a rat forum than maybe http://www.fancyratsforum.co.uk is good or this is viartually the exact same as this forum but for rats not snakes (good comunity and same layout and everything). I dont know about this but try it: http://www.ratztails.co.uk/supportforum/Blah.pl. There are lots out there but the second one i mentiond (hyperlink is on the this) is the best from my knowledge. Again though, i advise to stay with snakes..

[Archimedes]

ratforum.com is a good one, I have a few friends over there. Rats are amazing animals, I can't wait to have my own.

[dgring]

ratforum.com is a good one, I have a few friends over there. Rats are amazing animals, I can't wait to have my own.

FYI rat forum is the second one (link in the this)

[Cupid]

Be careful. Most pet rat groups OR pet rat breeders will not accept or want your rats. I'm very active in the rat world, especially in Florida. I know the Australian Rat Forum is very open to all kinds of breeders. Don't bother with any USA forums, and not sure about UK forums. The only people really willing to pay "good money" for a rat is a breeder, and that's only if that rat has a long, well documented pedigree. You could probably get a backyard breeder to buy from you, so I would go that route.

Also, you will more than likely get flammed in most communities for being a dreaded "feeder breeder", and then word will spread FAST. So be very choosy when picking out a forum and when to introduce yourself.

Rat breeders with a name will not care if your rats can fly and talk, if you breed them for food and do not document linage... and when they disprove, the majority of their group will also. The rat world can suck with how clique-y it is. Good luck.

[Rhasputin]

Rat people are crazy.

[Rhasputin]

On a positive note, you really only need to advertise lightly on a few rodent sites, and people will come to you for merle and dwarf. They're in high demand and you can probably get up to $40 per rat from the right people. The other genes you have are a dime a dozen, but merle and dwarf are quite popular.

You can try craigslist and hoobly as well. There may also be rat facebook groups to look into.

[Marrissa]

I haven't joined any rat forums but did some reading in them. If they get any wind you keep reptiles, watch out. I plan on getting new rat genes by picking them up at expos. If you go to expos I'm sure you'd have quite a few buyers.I'm not even going to try going through rat breeders or associating with them. I enjoy my ratties but I enjoy my snakes more.

[MrLang]

Thanks all. I'm aware I'll get shunned immediately if I let people know I'm a 'feeder breeder'. I'm probably not willing to get into pedigrees, breeding for the most 'show worthy' traits, etc... just looking to sell some fancy pets to people who want healthy animals with cool attributes. I'm not looking to get rich off rats, but I've been working hard to get down to some pretty awesome animals and I won't be able to keep them all. I just want to see the exceptionally fancy rats go as pets to people.

In response to the question about how I can care about both: I've seen how feeders are bred and it's a practice I do not wish to support. They are filthy, overcrowded, bred too young and too often, bred in large groups, poor nutrition, etc. I take comfort knowing that the food my snakes eat was raised humanely with appropriate diet, space, and care. People pay more money for 'pasture raised' meat to eat themselves, well I pay LESS for the equivalent for my snakes. I know that argument wouldn't fly with the 'rat people' but it's pretty undeniable logic. Rats are great pets, the genetics are fun, and they stimulate all of the same excitement that my snakes do.


P.S. while the females have small litters, the average size of an adult dwarf rat is 115g. They stay 'rat pup' sized for the first 2 months or so of their lives, instead of 1 week like a standard sized rat. This results in them being high movement and small like a mouse for a while - a huge plus for finicky smaller snakes that you don't want to get hooked on mouse hoppers. There are plenty of benefits to breeding dwarves as feeders.