The Rat Room

Rats have always had a terrible reputation. Not only are they considered vermin, but they are also used in lab experiments.
When in fact, rats are wonderful, intelligent, sweet and loving little creatures. But with their less than desirable history, these small furry animals are plagued with diseases and illnesses. Society doesn’t have a problem with using them for experimentation but they won’t take the time to find out what can be done to cure them of their short lifespan.
The state of their lives is due to society: a society driven by greed, impulse and curiosity.
We can’t just blame the laboratories for the state of our rats. But the pet stores as well. Some, sadly most pet stores keep rats in worst conditions. How can rats thrive or become healthy when they are subjected at such an early age to toxic bedding, dirty water and cramped housing. How can the female rats produce healthy babies when she is constantly in a pregnant state and her babies are taken away at 3 weeks of age. Where does socializing fit in to all this? Rats learn from rats.
Then we have home breeding, breeding for fun or accidental litters. There should be so much consideration before even thinking of breeding your rat.
Where does this rat come from?
Is he healthy?
What is carried in his genes?
Does he have a good pedigree?
What about his temperament.
Why do I want to breed this particular rat?
Am I filling a need?
Will bringing more rats into the world benefit anyone or anything?
Then there’s the birthing process: do you have a vet that is extremely rat savvy? Does the vet know of your intentions and is willing to help?
There could be a number of things that can go wrong with the birthing process, are you ready for that?
Breeding your pet rat should not be an experiment, it should be done with careful consideration. Breeding pet store rats or worse yet, shelter rats will not help in the long process of creating a healthier stronger and more docile animal.
Please be careful, please think about it… breeding is not a game.