why do i breed rats again?

[mlededee]

certainly not for food...

i mean, how can you resist markings like this? makes me want to hold them back just for pets.








and here's mum:

[Argentra]

Aww...too cute!

I needed that. Think one of my girls is on the way out. No wheezing, but she kind of plops down alot. Slowing down. I just hope she isn't sick. (Keeping an eye on her JIC)

Anyway, cute cute rats.

[Alice]

Those two babies look like mirror images. Very cute!

[rabernet]

OMG! I want this one! So freaking cute! One day I'll make cute babies!



And who's Dad by the way?

[Laooda]

Sqweeeek!!! Those are some cute little buggers!!!!! You know, I've thought about finding homes for my "Breeder-PETS" and starting over with all solid white (not that they aren't pretty too) not so friendly breeders.... Cause it sure is hard on feeding day when you have a little Dumbo or Blue looking at you..... But then I go look at my snakes, and well, you know..... circle of life and all that....

[frankykeno]

Oh they are cute! Are those what they call "jester" markings? I'll have to go look that one up but I think that's what they call those cute and random facial markings. Any chance you can work a deal with a good, private pet store to have them sold for pets?

[Ginevive]

They are beautiful. I love the high-white rats. Those one-sided markings are just adorable on yours. But you might get talked-to about the whole risk of megacolon and the high-white rats. I was proud of my high-white babies but my bubble was burst upon hearing about the risks of megacolon. Some breeders will say that it is wong to keep the high-whites for pets or sell them because of the risk of others breeding them and creating more of a megacolon risk. I am breeding out of an F5 (is this how to type "fifth generation?" dam from my original 1.1 pair.. I have seen no megacolon though.
Here's a pic of my Sweetie She is growing like a weed and i need new pics.

[frankykeno]

While I think one must be very aware of megacolon and any genetic fault in rats, if you breed carefully, know which male fathered which litter, which babies belong to which female (that's where keeping the females seperated works best) and track breeding carefully you can immediately see any problems cropping up and deal with them.

[mlededee]

i know all too well about megacolon--it popped up with the very first 2 females i ever bred. one was hooded and one was almost all black but they were from a local pet store so who knows what kind of genetic background they had. i picked up some new rats from another breeder and started over with those and so far (over a year) i haven't had a problem. i still do shy away from breeding the high white rats though just as a pre-caution.

i had a male with similar, but smaller markings around one of his eyes and i was able to adopt him out to someone who had a male that needed a friend. i have adopted out several of my rats as pets but it's kind of a sporadic thing that happens when i stumble upon these people here and there. these two are both girls, so they could be adopted together. i gotta say, they were scheduled to be fed off last night, but... that didn't happen.

robin, i don't have any pics of dad but he's the biggest rat i've ever seen. when he retires i think i'll just let him move into the house to lay around and drink out of the toilet. he's mostly black, with some white on his feet and belly and some random other white hairs--as you can tell i'm not exactly savvy on the rat color/pattern/marking names.

[Freakie_frog]

You breed cause theres nothing more fun than hearing that little squeaking when its feeding time for the babys and moms all rolled over on her side. but thats just me.