SUPER Rats

Hi guys,

At this time we are no longer breeding pedigreed rats due to time constraints. We do not know if or when we will be back.

If you are looking for pets, we recommend Rough and Puff Rattery, Jozzy's Rat Pack Rattery, and White Stag Rattery.

Thank you for your understanding, and thanks for all your support.

I have a pair of older boys who would love to be someone's best buddies - a pearl and his best friend, a marten. Good home most important.

Oh you curious little thing. ❤ Black bristle coat female riding my hand like a parrot. Black rat lovers, I've got you covered right now!

Kind of shocked I still have sky blue dumbos available! This is a really fun variety from Jozzy's Rat Pack Rattery lines. I kind of doubt that I'll keep producing this variety after my pair is no longer breeding age, but they're two of my favorite pets, so here they stay. Their father, Nimbus, is the funniest rat ever 😂

I do like dumbos, so I'll be breeding the gene into my pearl and Russian blue lines. Just trying to downsize in project numbers.

Let's talk black rats. Almost no one asks me for my black lines, but they love them after they get them. Why don't black rats get more love? They're glossy, they're shiny, they're BIG and chunky. And more often than not, they get passed over for adoption most.

In conclusion, give your love to a black rat.

So I like making and then keeping Russian Blues. SUPER Halfblood (she's half Marten 🦇) posing.

Pairs of male black + sky blue dumbo rats ready. Very squishy and naturally friendly. Going to be big! Check comments for info.

SCRUFFING - a (well-meaning) person commented on my previous photo, and I thought this reply was good enough to share.

Why scruff rats?

I've worked with assorted mammals, including rats, cats, and wildlife rehab, both professionally and as a serious hobbyist for years. Scruffing is a common technique across these areas for handling mammals. They have naturally loose skin there, and it is instinctual for them to relax when handled there by mothers. You'll often see baby rats being moved in this way! Their low body weight allows them to be scruffed safely as well as easily survive large falls. This is why a rat or squirrel can be scruffed safely while a large dog can't. (You see an increasing ability to survive falls and avoid other body-weight-related injury as the animal's body weight decreases. A surprising number of traits are connected to a species' body weight!)

Rats can be quite vocal about pain - they have vocal cues (such as squeaking) as well as body language cues, like the rat grimace scale. In addition, repeatedly scruffing a comfortable rat does not result in avoidance behavior. If they were in pain or distress, they would be conditioned to avoid the hand and would not relax. All of my rats with good temperaments are completely relaxed before, during, and after scruffing.

The purpose of scruffing these babies is to test temperament. My lines have been selectively bred for decades to be friendly and trusting towards humans. Rats that struggle during proper scruffing are distrustful of humans. I cannot use them as breeders, because I cannot in good conscience produce animals that might not be able to be handled safely and without stress. Sometimes, scruffing is necessary in an emergency: for administering medical treatment, for example. I select away from rats that show stress or distrust when being handled for necessary reasons. Rats that do not tolerate human scruffing are also often fearful or aggressive towards humans.

I hope this helps you to better understand why I do this as a breeder. I consider scruffing a useful tool in my handling kit to use when necessary.

Photo from Reddit.

One of the "wild belly" babies growing up. This one reminds me of a splotched cow.

ALSO - scruffing (shown here) is one of the safest ways to restrain rats. It is painless, and I do it to test that the babies can be safely handled. No rats were harmed in the making of this photo. ;)

“You get what you pay for.”

I’ve recently been talking to Jennifer from Rough and PUFF Rattery and a few others about the state of rat pricing in Texas. Coming from horses and other animals originally, I didn’t realize how much people could object to the cost of a rat. In my other hobbies, good animals cost money. And a good rat is $35-50 compared to $5-10 for a feeder rescue. How much could people object to that increase if they were buying a companion for the next few years?

What the community needs to realize - yes, “good” rats exist. If you want something pretty, huge, healthy, free from viruses, and genetically inclined to be friendly, it’s going to cost more than a feeder bin rat. It costs money to pay attention to health and temperament. Good breeders pay to test for viruses, medicate for parasites or illness. They lovingly raise babies for the first six weeks of their life, and only the best are offered for sale. They start and end pet sales with the best lines, and lines that need to be developed are held back.

The only thing you should be worried about as a new pet owner or breeder is picking that “good” breeder. I’ll write a guide to picking a breeder later on. Make rat ownership easier for yourself.

Every debt is eventually paid. Photo from AFRMA.

Description on each photo.

This is my holdback, SUPER Gomorrah. She is a cross between my best berkshire male and a UK import line pearl. This depth of head is so nice!