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Announcements: (February 29, 2008)
Bug's litter was born a week ago. Information is available on the litters page, and I will/have emailed the waiting/mailing list today. I've also lost two of my older rats in this last month, Robyn and Ryoko. I've added them to the memorial page.
 I have a book that is available in my store. It is a handy guide with most of the important info from this site and more. (Please order through the store, because CafePress prints the book.)  Welcome! This is the pointless intro page. I have owned rats since 1986 when I was three years old. I decided to start breeding rats in late 2000, and after several months of rat genetics research in addition to the years of experience as a pet owner, I had my first litter on February 19, 2002. My breeding program is based first and foremost on temperament & health. Then, on the general build (conformation) of the animals. Color and pattern will be secondary considerations. Overall, I strive for the same thing all breeders are striving for, a healthier, friendlier, more beautiful rat. I currently am working with siamese and marked rats, in standard, Rex, double Rex, and dumbo. You can read about my breeding goals here I decided to name my rattery Curiosity (abbreviation CU) based on a couple things. It is my curiosity that motivates me to explore and learn and try new things. Also, all of my favorite rats have been very curious. I take curiosity as a sign of intelligence. At least, that's what motivates learning. The most curious people ever have been the great scientists. I want to breed rats with curiosity, that essence of intelligence and mischief that makes a rat a rat. Some of my policies: I will never cull (kill young or undesirable animals) for any reason; there is always an alternative. (I have hand-reared a litter and try to have foster mothers available.) My rats are placed as pets only unless going to a responsible breeder I trust (and the rat involved must be one I consider breeding quality); they will never be placed as feeders or research animals. I sell to individual private adopters, never to stores. I will allow families/children to adopt, as long as an adult takes responsibility for the rat's welfare. Rats are always placed in pairs or groups unless there is a good reason not to (like a rescue that is agressive to other rats) or the adopter has other rats. I practice strict quarantines. My rats will ALWAYS be my pets first and foremost. See the this page for more of my policies. This site started out as just a page to announce my litters and keep records of my breeding animals, but being enthralled by rats, I have added a lot since then. Here you will find a great collection of articles, links, and tips I've written and put together based on my experience and research. Take your time and look around. Be sure to check out all the pages in the "Info" section, and I put together a fairly comprehansive page of rat genetics, too. I'm proud of my "Links" collection. There are so many excellent rat webpages out there. Be sure to visit them when you have time! It occurs to me that people seem to be using my site as a reference more than just looking at my pretty pictures and litter announcements. I guess that is because I write way too much. I'm happy if my experiences can be of any help to people and their pets, but remember that aside from a rat-lover and long-time owner who writes too much, I have no credentials. I went through all the same experiences of finding the right cage, food, etc. as you, made my mistakes, and run to all the vets and resources when encountered by a fresh dilemma. My only hope is that through my own trials and mistakes, others might learn something too. (If your rats are sick, go to a vet.) Where is my information from? Most of my information is from experience. This is coupled with experiences of fellow rat owners and from resources around the internet, from books, and from other references. I am really a rat nerd, so I read all I can. The tricky part is being able to sift the real and the valid from the misleading and the crap (this is mostly where the experience comes in). As a natural skeptic, I always question any resource. Remember that even peer-reviewed scientific journals sometimes publish "crap articles" (as my professors say) with flawed science or reasoning. And not every scientific study nor wild rat observation is valid for pet rats kept in a home. So, how should you use my site? The same way you use any resource. Accept it for what it is, the personal website of someone who loves pet rats and wants to see them living happy and healthy lives, nothing more and nothing less. Never take anyone's word as law. Even vets and PhD's are all just people. New to rats? Please visit my other site, Your First Rats for easy to follow info, everything you need to know to get started. I put a lot of hours into this site and my rats. I love rats and I love sharing information, but a lot of this can be expensive. I provide this site to you for free, because that's the way knowledge should be, especially when promoting the welfare of animals. Anyway, if you'd like to help me out, please visit my gift shop. There are a lot of neat gifts there for rat lovers from stickers to t-shirts and clocks.  Stuck in someone's frames? Don't see a navigation box on the upper left? Click here! | |||
| Wholesale and Petstores: | Please no inquiries about wholesaling or reselling. My rats are placed to private homes that I personally approve of only. | ||
| Feeder Inquiries: | My rats are bred and raised specifically as pets (for their health and personalities), and I do not breed, raise, or sell any feeder animals, so please do not ask. (There are many other places to find live or frozen feeders.) | ||
| Parents and Children: | Living animals are not toys, but rats can make wonderful pets for any age, as long as they receive the proper care and a responsible owner. Parents, please read this. Children, please read this. | ||