Our rattery is breeding pet rats for health and temperament first and foremost. We strive for well socialized, licky and kissy pets. We also breed for excellence in type, striving for nice size eyes and ears and quality coat types and markings, thus trying to improve the overall pet rat.
I'm also willing to deliver ratties right to your location if you'll pay me gas for the trip there and back. For further information check out my Breeding Schedule page.
My web site's Planned Breedings page is always kept up to date. To reserve a rattie from me, you simply review each litter page where I've posted pictures of my ratties and look for the word "Available" written under them.
You send me an email letting me know from what litter(s) you wish to have your fur kids from. If you are getting more than one rattie they must all be of the same gender but not necessarily from the same litter. (There is more information about my policies further on down the page.)
You must also submit names for the ratties that you are reserving at the time of reservation. The names must be unique and not commonly used names as to keep from having duplicates in the database. I reserve the right to ask you to keep choosing a name until you've picked an original one that hasn't already been used before.
If you don't submit a name for you ratlets within a week of your scheduled pickup I will be forced to select one for you to complete the necessary clerical duties that pertain to running my rattery properly.
When you have made your selections I put the word "Reserved" and your name. All ratties that have reserved by their names means someone has made a committment to purchase and pickup the rattie. When you see the word reserved by a ratties name chances are that rattie has already gone to it's new home or a pickup date is scheduled. So email me with your selections. That's how simply it is.
To be assured you'll be able to acquire ratties from me, most people look at the various pairings I have scheduled and let me know they are interested in these pairings and that I put them on my reservation list. All people who are my lists get first choice over what is available before any remaining ratties are posted to the general public. The reservation lists are filled based on when you first emailed me, the earliest reservations get the first picks, so get your reservations in early to assure a spot for a pairing that interests you.
Getting on a list is recommended as many times there are not any ratties available to the general public after I fill the reservation lists requests. Don't risk it, let me know you are interested in advance!PetSmart is charging $14.99 (basically $15.89 with taxes) for their pet rats and mine are much nicer, healthier and friendly than theirs. Plus I offer a lifetime of assistance for my pets, I don't disappear after the sale. Once the sale is final at Petsmart you are on your own if problems arise later on.
Unless otherwise noted on individual litter pages my prices for 2010 are as follows:
Standard size ratties are $16 each or two of the same gender for $30.My Mother lives in East Lansing Michigan. Mapquest her location at 16400 Upton Road. I'm willing to deliver ratties to this location several times a year so people in the lower part of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana can get pets from me. I charge a $5 delivery fee per rattie to help me cover my gas costs. I will spend time with you when you arrive at my Mom's explaining proper care and handling, medical information and bonding processes. This is included as part of my sales fees. Up to an hour of my time will be set aside on your behalf to make sure you and your pets are contented and happy with each other.
In order for me to drive down state to my Mom's to do the exchange the ratties and the delivery fee would have to be prepaid either through my Paypal account or a check in advance of my leaving. This shows the person is serious about getting ratties from me and they will come to pick them up at our agreed upon time.
Below I've posted the dates that I will be able to drive down state to my Mom's to do deliveries. If I don't have six reservations to make the trip I may have to cancel unless the people who have reserved are willing to pay for my gas to come down.
Delivery Dates to 16400 Upton Rd, East Lansing Michigan, 48823
Please make a note of these dates to help you planned which litters you wish to reserve from based on when they become available and when I might be able to deliver them.
Delivery schedule for 2010I would also be willing to deliver your ratties right to your home if you prepay me for gas there and back. I could drive four hours to someone's location and still make the return trip back the same day. If the distance requires that I have to stay over night I would need hotel accommodations also. So anything further than four hours from Kalkaska Michigan I'd need to stay overnight.
Why would you benefit from me coming down state or directly to your location instead of you coming to my location? Well, you'd have to pay the same prices for gas for the trip up here as you'd be paying me, but since you wouldn't be driving as far or at all, you'd save time and the extra mileage, plus the wear and tear on your vehicle.
I don't ship my pet rats. They can't be sent through the mail, this is illegal. Airfares are too costly and only Detroit Metro will take live animals on board. This is a four hour drive for me in which I would need my gas paid. There is a special transport case that needs to be purchased. They run around $40. The average cost to ship ratties by air could run $300. This just isn't feasible considering the lifespan of the animal.
I no longer will drive half way to meet someone to do an exchange as it is just too hard to do proper business from one automobile to another. I'm not in the business of handing over my pets and then driving away. I have contracts that need to be signed and copies made, which requires my printer. I want to spend some time with the people I'm adopting my pets to, other than the relationship we've established through email correspondences.
I want my customers and my pet rats happy and contented. I don't just sell pet rats, I'm trying to educate people about proper care and handling of pet rats. So I spend time with each and every person who comes to my home, showing them how to properly handle, care and bond with their pets. I want to make sure I've made a good match between the needs of the owner and my ratties. This assures both the new owner and their little furry pets will be happy with each other.
I do not sell mixed sexed baby pet rats to the general public, or brother and sisters. I only sell same sex pairs as I don't want any accidental breedings.
Your satisfaction is important to me. I do not adopt out pet rats known to not be in the best of health. I am a breeder with integrity. I reserve the right to offer a substitute pet, (or refund your money if that is not possible), if your reserved pet shows any signs of illness at the time he is to go to his new home. I also stand behind my lines genetics excellence. If your pet should die before it's first birthday and an autopsy determines cause of death is genetically based (heart disease, stroke etc.) I will offer you a replacement pet free.
I no longer will mentor anyone wishing to become a breeder. It is too time consuming and I've made bad judgments of who I'm mentoring in the past and don't want to put myself through that again. I will however work with established ratteries with healthy out crosses once I get to know you.
I require that the rattery have a minimum of two years of being in operation before I will allow them to have my breeding stock. Their lines must already have a three generation pedigree. I have a special breeders contract that will need to be signed and followed, this is because, in the past I've helped several people get started running their rattery just to have them close down within a year.
Usually if someone has run a rattery for two years, they've seen the life cycle of their animals, including the heart break of their animals passing on, and have decided they will stay with it. I need to protect my children's babies, they are like my grand children and great grand children to me!
Special Note: I will not offer any breeding stock to anyone I believe is producing them for wholesale uses or raising my lines offspring to be sold as feeder animals!
I do not want to contribute to the numbers of unwanted pets, therefore I will not adopt to anyone I think would use one of my pets for breeding a casual litter just to have some baby rats of their own.
I have a strict non-breeding contract that each person must sign and it's legally enforceable. Read this contract carefully to assure you can follow all provisions successfully. It's in place to protect my babies after they leave my rattery. You will be expected to sign it upon picking up your pets.
I adopt out under contract. Here is a link to my pet only contract so you may review what you will be signing in advance of scheduled pickup.
I also adopt out under contract for people wishing to acquire breeding stock if they meet my requirements stated earlier on this web page. Here is a link to my breeders contract so you may review it in advance of contacting me for stock, because if you aren't willing to abide by it don't bother contacting me to begin with.
I would like to encourage the rat fancy and people interested in it and not discourage them, but even so, my main concern will always be the well being of my pet rat children. It is very important to me that every pet rat that gets adopted to a new home have a happy, healthy life after they leave my rattery. Therefore, I will only place my pet fancy rats into homes and environments that offer all the components that will make their little lives thrive. If there is any doubt of this happening with a perspective buyer I simply will not sell my pet rat to this person. That being said, if you want one of my pet fancy rats, be prepared to go through a series of questions. I will also want to spend time talking with you and getting to know you better before I make a decision to sell any of my pets to you. I do not have anyone fill out a questionnaire, but I will ask the questions I need that are important to me, during our correspondences. These correspondences happen through our email communications.
My main concern for the perspective buyer of one of my pet rats is, that it be healthy, tame and people friendly. I've been trying to develop lines with these qualities first. I don't breed for colors, I breed for markings and uniqueness, such as the perfect capped, bareback, or hooded, Berkshire or Irish. I have a long way to go to get to that level of "perfection." My fancy pet rats have to be an excellent human pet companion first and foremost, the show aspects I'm working on are just an added benefit of my lines.
What is a dwarf rat?
Many people favor the size of hamsters over how big a pet rat can grow. But hamsters personalities and temperaments are not as nice as a pet rats. Pet rats are very social and friendly. They rarely ever bite their owners and if they do there is usually a "misunderstanding" or communication break-down between owner and pet. Therefore, dwarf ratties are becoming very popular because they don't grow any bigger than a hamster but still have the sweet dispositions of a friendly pet rat. Monkey-minded and curious, affectionate and loving, not like a hamster who is detached and anti-social. This is why I've decided to add a limited amount of dwarf ratties into my lines. Personally I still like the size of normal pet rats, but the darling little personalities of the dwarfs have won me over, lol. :>)
What is a "hooded" pet rat and a "banded" pet rat?
A hooded pet fancy rat has it's entire face, including under it's neck all in one color. The color goes back behind their ears. They can have a headspot in between their eyes or forehead. They also have a stripe that goes down their back to their tail. The stripe is not any wider than half their back. The straighter the stripe and the less broken it is, the better quality they are for this marking.
A banded pet fancy rat looks just like a hooded except the stripe on their back covers most of their back and may even cover some of their sides. If a pet fancy rat has color all the way down their sides but it stops at their belly, they are known as the marking/pattern called Berkshire.
Breeding Schedule from 2008 - Take a look at the past pairings here at the rattery. See the pictures of the darling babies that were produced! :>)