The Firefly Rattery

now. My policy is, my rats are my pets first. This means, I will never put them in danger or use them just to make money. I breed rats to give people the option of healthy rats who are well socialized and will make excellent pets. I will be choosy about the people I adopt to. If I do not feel you are ready or can take care of them properly then I will not adopt to you. In all reality I do not make any money on the rats. The adoption fee pays for the supplies my rats and their litters need. Any left over goes into a separate bank account and is saved for the rats. I use this money for their supplies during the months I do not have litters and for medical bills. (When breeding you must be prepared to take a pregnant female to the ER for a C-section if something is going wrong. That can be around $500 to $2500 depending on what they have to do.) My rats come from healthy backgrounds. Their parents and grandparents are healthy as well. (Of course tumors do arise and I adjust accordingly.) I have traveled several hours to some good, reliable breeders in other states. If my rat develops a health problems I stop breeding them. If the health problem is genetic then I do not breed their offspring. My rats are fed rat food (Mazuri Brand as recommended by the veterinary hand book for exotics) and human food (cooked bones, cooked meats, eggs, steamed vegetables, fruits, high quality dog foods, etc.). So they are not lacking any type of vitamins or nutrients. Their cages are cleaned about every three days (Every Tuesday and Friday). Every day the levels are wiped down. The cages, hides, and toys are washed every Friday. My rats are never bred more than three times in their entire life with the average being one to two times. They are given ample time in between litters to recover. If they have a complication with their birthing, nursing the litter, or raising the litter then they are never bred again. I take the health and well being of my rats and their offspring very seriously.

}¡{ Deposit Policies }¡{

I require a deposit to hold rats. If you do not want to send in a deposit I can not guarantee there will be babies left. I hunt down homes until every pair has a deposit on them. The deposit is half of the adoption fee. The other half of the adoption fee is due at the time of pickup. Deposits are accepted once the application is approved. Deposits are nonrefundable.

¤ Application questions. Please email them. Please do not send them as an attachment. - https://thefireflyrattery.github.io/contact.html

If you decide to transfer your deposit to the next set of litters then I will need to know by time the babies are three weeks old. If there are not enough babies to fulfill deposits then the deposits will be transferred to the next set of litters. People pick babies based on the order that they sent their deposit in. People pick their rats from the individual photos. I take several group photos and one set of individual photos along with group videos showing their personality. Individual photos are usually taken the weekend before pickup. The babies are around five weeks old then. (A set contains 15+ photos of each baby to show their color and unique pattern.) People have to pick babies from the same litter unless otherwise noted. (Like in the case of a solo baby needing to be paired with another solo baby from another litter.) When it's your turn to pick I'll send an email with links to the litters' albums. If I do not hear from you within 72 hours of the first email (I send reminders) then I will have no choice but to move to the next person in line so picking can continue. You won't lose your rats but you will lose your turn. I have others waiting to pick and I need to be fair to them. I'll keep going down the list until I hear from you. Deposits are nonrefundable in most cases. There are few exceptions where they are refundable; it is at a case by case basis and completely at my discretion. Your deposit lets me know you are serious about adopting rats and are fully committed to these little living beings. I reserve the right to refund your deposit and cancel the adoption at any time. Depending on the situation, for my mental health, I may or may not give you a reason and I will cease communications. Such instances would be in extreme cases. Like finding out information that makes you an unsuitable/unsafe home, me being verbally abused or treated rudely, inconsistent/lack of communication (such as me having to email and text multiple times over multiple days to get a reply to time sensitive questions every time I need to contact you), etc. If you put down a deposit but for some reason can not adopt any more, need to wait longer, or you have skipped four sets of litters then I will only be able to hold your deposit for a year from when I notify you of this deadline. After that your deposit is forfeited. If you can not give me a definite time frame (such as you sent a deposit in March there are babies available in May but you want to adopt after September) then I will need to take your name off of the waiting list. (It will go on a different list that keeps track of your deposit for the year. But it is not holding your picking spot on the waiting list.) This is because the waiting list sets the order in which people pick their babies and it let's me know how many homes I have secured. It makes things confusing when your deposit is included in the count but it's unknown when you will actually adopt. It's also inconvenient for others who are waiting because they do not know their true place on the waiting list. (They could be planning on a certain time frame due to their place in line and waiting to buy their cage closer to the expected time. However because of the unknown time frame deposit they could then be moved up several places and suddenly babies are available much sooner than expected. This means they do not have everything they need yet because they thought they had more time.) You must contact me within the year to get added back onto the waiting list. I will not contact you because I am waiting on behalf of your request. (I will only contact you with available babies if you gave me a specific time frame.) Once you contact me I will add you back onto the waiting list and tell you your place in line. Once added back onto the waiting list you will need to adopt within two sets of litters when babies become available to you. (Meaning, you can only skip a set of litters once. You must adopt when I contact you with the second set of available babies.) This is so people do not use this as a way to have me hold the deposit indefinitely. More information of the deposit policies - https://thefireflyrattery.github.io/policies.html#3

}¡{ Adoption Policies }¡{

Before the pickup weekend I will ask that you reverify the food and bedding you are using. I will also ask for a photo of your cage all setup with all the accessories in it. I need this information before you can pick up your babies. I let you know several weeks ahead of time what weekend the babies will be ready. (If I am unsure I give you two weekends.) I ask that you pick them up on that weekend. If you can not and need more time then I ask that you pay a fee to cover the costs of their supplies and care. I only factor 6 weeks into their price (If I choose to keep them for 7 weeks I do not increase the adoption fee.). For the extra time I am keeping them I have to house them in a separate cage, pay for food and bedding, care for them, and I have to continue to socialize them every day. Of course if you have only just contacted me on the weekend they are ready and can not come that weekend I understand. But then you will need to come get them the next weekend. Otherwise I will have to charge a fee for every week they are with me there after. Thank you for understanding. If you own rats I will ask that the day you are coming to the rattery that you wear clothes that your rats have not come in contact with and that you not hold your rats that day. I ask this of all clients who have rats. I also ask that you do not visit a pet store 72 hours prior to visiting my rattery. Pet store rats are often sick and you could easily carry something home on your clothing or in your nasal passage way (like mycoplasma). All of this may seem silly but it is to keep my rattery safe and allows me to continue to have an open (allowing people to come into my home) rattery. If you use Carefresh bedding or anything like it that uses recycled paper/paper fluff, cedar, or scented bedding then I can not adopt to you. My fact page explains why.
¤ Bedding Info - https://thefireflyrattery.github.io/facts.html#8
(My fact page has a list of beddings that are not acceptable but the list is not all inclusive.) If you will feed the rats a seed mix or a homemade mix as their main diet then I can not adopt to you. My fact page explains why.
¤ Food Info - https://thefireflyrattery.github.io/facts.html#9

If you have a cage that is too small, too big of bar spacing/an escape risk, an aquarium, or a cage that has wire levels then I can not adopt to you. My fact page explains why.
¤ Cage Info - https://thefireflyrattery.github.io/facts.html#7

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I love my rats and only want the best for their offspring. My fact page explains why I feel this way and explains the knowledge I have to back up my beliefs. Once you read it and know how harmful Carefresh (and other beddings like it), wire levels, and seed mix as a main diet can be to rats I am sure you will understand and agree. I ALWAYS take back my rats. No judgement passed. If you can not keep the rats or you feel the rat has a social problem I will take them back. I only ask questions to better determine what I may need to do for the rats and to alert any potential new adopters about the rats' personalities. In most cases I do require that they are returned with their cage. I do this because One: I do not have extra cages suitable for long term living for the rats to live in while they are being evaluated, quarantined, and then waiting to be adopted. Two: If you are getting rid of the rats, you do not need the cage. I have seen people return rats and then get another pet and use that cage. Which shows me they grew tired of the rats and I find it highly unfair to the animals. Three: Most times when I adopt out older rats who were returned, they are free with the purchase of the cage. (That money from the cage pays for the supplies and the time they spent back at my home.) Or if someone already has a cage I can sell the existing cage to pay for their care. Depending on the situation a refund may be given. Refunds are given on a case by case basis and are only given at my discretion. If you just grow tired of the rats I will not give a refund, if you no longer have the time and/or money to care for the rat I will not give a refund, if it has been a few months and this is the first you have contacted me about an on going problem I will not give a refund, if you have not followed my advice then I will not give you a refund, ETC. I only adopt out in same s*x pairs or more. I will not adopt out rats of the opposite gender to the ones you already own. (If you have females, I will not adopt out males to you. If you have males, I will not adopt out females to you.) If those rats are spayed/neutered then I will. But I will need to see the vet bill/record as proof. I do not support back yard breeding and the rats will come with a contract that states that you will not breed them. Breeding contracts can be given to people with proven experience in breeding rats. The contract will also state that if you can not keep the rat for any reason, you will return them to me (refunds are based on the individual situation). (I do not often sell to breeders. I would rather trade rats with them. Thus we would become breeding partners and help each other with our love of rats.) If your rat develops any illness you will report it to me so I can make a note of it and adjust my breeding rats accordingly. I do not want to have any health problems in my lines and the only way to know is if my adopters keep in contact.

¤ More about my policies - https://thefireflyrattery.github.io/policies.html