Pocket Potatoes Rattery

As my followers can see I do have a litter, but I don't really feel comfortable selling just yet. The dad is super friendly, and as you can see the mom has no MA, but one of the dads brothers is pretty aggressive to other rats.

Poorly bred rats/rats with poor genetics bite. If your rat bites hard enough to break skin than the rat is poorly bred. It does not matter if you smell like food or a predator or that you stick your fingers in the bars. It also does not matter if a female has babies. I also have video of me sticking my fingers through the bars with yogurt all over them. No bites.

** "But my rat came from a breeder"
Sadly sometimes that doesn't matter especially if the breeder is no good. If they are not holding back to watch for aggression, or culling moms with MA and pups. Sometimes too flukes happen and even the best breeders can have aggression pop up out of no where. That rat still has poor genetics

** "But his/her brother doesn't bite. How is it poor breeding?"

This is where selective breeding is important. So like with humans you can have siblings be completely different personality wise. Rats are no different. A good breeder would continue their line with the rat who has a good personality and cull the one showing poor traits.

" She's just protecting them"

She has no reason to protect them. Rats are domesticated. This is why there are so many aggressive rats that are biting. Poor breeding. Aggression is hereditary and if a mom has MA then the pups will potentially be aggressive when older. Not always 100%. But it's a likely hood that should not be chanced. If someone claims to be a breeder and does not cull a litter of a mom who has MA stay far away.

Gwendolyn had her babies! 7 healthy little beans.

***EDUCATION TIME***

THIS ⬇️ is how a mother rat should react to you touching her kits/her while near her nest.

** Maternal aggression should never be accepted and any rat breeder who says other wise should be avoided. imo believing that maternal aggression is acceptable is a red flag and that person should NOT be breeding.**

** rats have been domesticated and have zero need to protect their kits from us.

** aggression is hereditary. kits are much more likely to grow up aggressive if the mother had maternal aggression.

** we see it all too often. "my 6 month old rat suddenly started to bite me". well that's hormonal aggression and I bet the mother had maternal aggression"

** Maternal aggression can be mild to severe. it can include frantically carrying kits around because you touched them/moving pups after you
touched them to placing teeth around your finger/slight nips to full on charging from across the cage and latching on.