Spoiled Ratten is a hobby breeder of fancy rats. This is not a business. We do not make money at this, and we do not breed to sell rats. We breed for ourselves to improve rats. As a hobby breeder, all of our decisions to breed or place animals are based on honesty, integrity and high standards on our part, and we expect, on the part of any party we work with. Therefore, our rattery is known for producing superior animals and for providing accurate, helpful information and long-term assistance. Because of our love for these animals, we believe in breeding to benefit the rats, and for no other reason. We work with other ratteries, sharing knowledge and experience toward this end.

If you are considering breeding rats or are just curious about it, you will probably find this page very helpful. If you are considering asking us if you should breed your rats, the answer is "no." Only you can make that decision. If your reason for breeding rats is just to know what it's like, because it looks like fun, to teach your children about reproduction, to make nice pets, because they're cute or to make money, then you should not breed fancy rats.

Breeding: Can YOU live with it? (from the RMCA)

The above link refers to loving the animal, but we would take it a step farther, and say that you should not be breeding unless you respect them. While you should love them for who they are and enjoy and spoil them as pets, bettering the species will include love for them and understanding for why you are making more (goals) as well as appreciation for what makes a truly healthy, happy, beautiful animal. The article above mentions that the goal in breeding should be to place babies in loving homes. That is absolutely NOT your goal in breeding although it is a good choice for what you do with the ones you choose not to keep. Your goals in breeding refer to the animals you aim to produce, your "keepers," the ones you will work with and will breed from toward your breeding goals. If your goals are anything but making the animals better overall, the best they can be, in health, temperament and type, then you should not breed.

This is not to say that placement of those you choose not to keep is not important. It is. A breeder who breeds for health and temperament needs to track his animals, and a breeder who loves the rats will want to place those he does not need to keep in loving, responsible homes. That all fits together, though, as he will need to hear about their progress throughout their lives to get a better picture of the health of the line. Finding these good homes for the animals is easier said than done. It takes quite a bit of time communicating, interviewing, etc. with potential homes, and then there is the time spent meeting people and making the actual placements. After, there is paperwork and a lifetime of follow-up on each pup, but this is, again, necessary to gathering information regarding the health of your lines. It is a lifetime commitment once you have bred animals and placed any of them, even one, anywhere outside of your home.

Besides time spent finding suitable homes for the rats from the litters that you will not keep, figure in the time you will spend researching health/disease/treatments, temperament/behavior, type/color/markings and husbandry/care of rats. There will be the time you spend cleaning cages, feeding, watering and playing with your rats. These are all ongoing, and they are going to take quite a bit of time out of every week. When you have a litter, you will spend even more time just to care for, clean up after and interact with the pups. Then there are the photos, website updates and recordkeeping that go with raising a litter.

If you will not be quarantining your animals properly, you can expect very high bills for medications, treatments and testing for viruses. If you are quarantining properly, these things are much less likely to come in (except, perhaps, testing which is a good idea if you bring in new animals or allow visitors to the rattery), but you should still be prepared. If you are considering breeding, do take into account the cost of visits to the veterinarian especially as rats get older and when you have females breeding. Older rats tend to need to see the vet more often than young ones, but a good breeder will keep his retired animals rather than placing them, and he will care for them as his beloved pets until it is their time to go.

When figuring costs, do not just look at start-up and consider it done. Cages, toys, hammocks, water bottles, etc. do need to be replaced periodically. These costs will be in addition to the lab blocks, fresh foods and bedding/litter the animals need to thrive.

If you think you can reach your goals in a litter or two or even four or five, your goals are not set nearly high enough. If you are not willing or able to work to learn about the animals and what is right for them, how they should look, act and move, what makes a rat healthy genetically and what keeps him that way environmentally, then you will not do the fancy any good by breeding rats. If you are not willing to find suitable animals to start working from, then you will not be doing the fancy any good. The decision whether or not to breed is up to you, but what you decide affects the animals directly. If you do not know why you are doing it, if you do not have clear goals and a plan on how you are going to help the rats, then do not make more of them.

Answers to some FAQ:

In the United States and in laboratories, baby rats are called pups. In the UK, they are called kittens. The terms "pinkie," "fuzzy" and "hopper" refer to various stages of a pup's development and are usually used to describe sizes of pups intended to be feeders. A pinkie is a newborn rat or mouse, a fuzzy is approximately one to two weeks old, and a hopper has opened its eyes and moves around its cage. The term "jumbo" refers to a large, fully grown rat, but again, this is a feeder term.

There are not different "breeds" of fancy rats-only different "varieties." Variety refers to colors, patterns, body types and coat types.

A USDA licensed breeder is licensed to wholesale. The breeder must abide by rules set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture and is subject to inspection to ensure they comply with those rules. This usually, but not always, means that the breeder sells their animals to pet stores and/or through auctions. In the U.S. most of these rats and mice will be resold as feeders for reptiles.

Shipping rats, and most types of live animals, is illegal by any means other than by air. Shipping by USPS, UPS and similar carriers is also very dangerous for your pets. Do not ask a breeder to break the law (and endanger their animals), and we also urge you not to do business with breeders who choose to ship rats by illegal means.

Whether or not a rat is "show-quality" depends on which club you intend to show it in. Any rat can be shown in pet classes so long as it is healthy and of good temperament. True "show-quality" animals are not common and certainly do not occur in every litter. If you are interested in showing rats, familiarize yourself with the rules and standards of the club you will be showing them in.

A pedigree is just a history, a chart recording a line of ancestors. It may provide only names or types or it may include health information, birthdates and dates of death. A pedigree is only as good as the information it contains. If that information is incorrect, it is worthless. If it is correct and includes details, especially relating to health, it can be very helpful to a breeder. A pedigree for your rat does not necessarily make the rat more valuable, monetarily speaking.