Nope not at all - for me anyways. I figure if I'm going to raise rats for feeders they may as well be as nice looking as they are healthy and I enjoy the genetics of rat breeding. It's kind of fun to see what this or that genetics from a male will produce with the different females I have. Seems like a lot of our members that have small home colonies of rats do much the same. As well if someone wants a nice pair of pet rats, it's nice to have something unusual to show them (most people think rats come in two colors...albino and agouti). These two females and the really nice American Blue Berkshire male we got awhile back all came out of the big feeder tanks at a local pet shop. They just know Mike and I like unusual markings or colors in rats so they show us anything different that comes into the store anytime we drop in.