Arizona Rat Breeder
Rattie & Mattie's Rattery
Arizona Fancy Rat Breeder
Located in Bullhead City
Hello,
My name is Amanda.
Rats have been in my life for 12 wonderful years. For those that don't want to
do the math that's since 1998!
Since I have been enslaved by these small bundles of joy I have done a LOT of
research on health, genetics, and basic rat care, as well as comparing their
lives in the wild next to their lives as rulers over their humans, and I have
tried to give them the BEST of both worlds, so that they will develop as sweet
and well adjusted happy rats. Also we're always switching out rat toys so that
they are NEVER bored, no two pictures or visits here will ever look the same, as
we continually switch around toys and cages trying to ensure that our lil
rattie buddies are happy.
Please make sure to read
ALL of the important pages about obtaining RAMR rats.
About RAMR, and Adoption Information.
If you have never
adopted rats from us, you MUST fill out a questionnaire.
Amy was here...
(Tag from
Amy at Camarattery, who helped me fix my site. ^_^)
I
carefully match up which parents will bring out the healthiest, best tempered
babies.
Most of the time though my rats all have the best temperaments and are super
healthy, so I will choose who will bring out the prettiest babies. Because here
at RAMR we want the BEST health and temperaments we can get!
ALL rats MUST be adopted in pairs, I WILL NOT adopt a rat out alone unless you
can prove that you already have a rat of the SAME gender, so PLEASE do NOT ask
if you want only one rat with no buddy!
Rats are VERY social creatures and NEED a companion while you are at work or
school, or away from home for the day/night, and they really like a snuggling
buddy when they sleep, and a buddy to play and groom.
These rats are born and raised in groups and need that their whole lives. Just
because you have more than one does NOT mean that they won't bond with you!
They take their humans into their colony and LOVE people when they are raised
right, or shown that you love them!
I ask that nontoxic bedding be used such as: CritterCare, CareFresh, Aspen, Yesterday's News or something similar.
Bedding
such as Cedar and Pine are highly toxic to a small animal's fragile respiratory
system. They can cause lung damage and flare
up Mycoplasma (Myco), damage the liver and decrease the immune response, which can lead to decreasing our time with our rats. Sure
it may smell good, but would you sacrifice your life just to smell a certain
way? I would hope not! If a rats cage is NOT over crowded and is cleaned
properly then your cage won't smell bad, and you won't need to chance their
life by using the cheap stuff that will shorten your lil buddies life and cause
problems.
I also ask that if a rat
is injured or sick, that it be seen by a vet. If you are ill, there is a good
chance you will go to the doctor's to get better. Please do the same for your
animals! It is every bit as important that they go to the vet, as you go to the
doctor.
All good breeders agree on those three requirements (adopt in pairs, use safe
bedding, and veterinary care). Also when pets are going to children under 18
years of age, it is STILL the parents responsibility to see to the rats welfare
(well that's really their job anyhow, to make sure they are taken care of!). It
is the parent’s responsibility to make sure that the rats are taken out for
playtime, given fresh water, and food EVERYDAY, and clean bedding and
veterinary care if needed.
RAMR Moose
I
really recommend wire cages for better ventilation vs. aquariums. Cages like
these make it easy to hang hammocks and toys and your rats can better interact
with you through the bars. Yes I do use tanks here for my mums and sometimes
for my adults. If a tank is used we have mesh lids and the rats spend more time
out of the cage then in.
I love all my rats and
to see them go to good, loving homes. To someone who will love and spoil them
every bit as much as I do, if not more!
If you can no longer keep your rat(s) from RAMR then
you MUST contact me and let me know and I WILL take them back in. If I find out
that you could no longer keep them and did not contact me, I will fine you with
a minimum of 200 dollars, because I really DO care about what happens to my
babies, I like to know where they are, their healthy and how happy they are.
Like any breeder should I CARE about my rats! I created that life and I WILL
take responsibility for that until they pass on.
Here at RAMR, I try my hardest not
to have too many litters per year, as I do have a lot of pet only rats (rescues,
retired breeders what have you), but I do have 3-4 litters at a time sometimes.
I will NOT produce any litters if I do not think they will not get the best of
my attention, I spend nearly all day, playing with my rats as I do house work,
and often I am cleaning house with 2 or 3 of them on my shoulders or in pockets
or where ever they decided to chill while I am doing things. Normally RAMR only
has about 10 litters a year, sometimes were as high as 30. 9 out of 10 times I
will have the parents and grandparents here, sometimes I have great grandparents
even. It's not often that I will adopt out retired breeders, but sometimes it's
necessary to be able to better the pet rat species, it's difficult to have
EVERY rat you have ever kept for breeding.
My cousin had once adopted 8 rats from me (5 girls and 3 boys) and she had kept
them separate for a while, then figured
oh they miss their brothers and sisters, so I'll put them back together, she
NEVER separated them after that, she later brought me 95 rats (she kept the
males and females together) and EVERY rat old enough to be pregnant WAS pregnant,
well add that to the 30 I had here of my own, (available babies, and my
keepers) plus a couple of litters on the way, I was sky rocketed to over 300
rats. Now can you imagine if I had kept all the rats that I had used for
breeding and what came from my cousin? I had to adopt out alot of my retired
loves and my rats from my cousin just to get things under control, but you
know, EVERY rat got out of the cage play time, EVERYDAY, and they were spoiled
out going babies (EVERY rat went to loving homes, as NO RAMR rat should EVER be
found in a pet store). But you see sometimes it is essential to adopt out
retired breeders.
For
our main diet we feed them:
Canidae All Life Stages Dog Food,
Barley, Banana Chips, Dried Fruits,
Rice and Wheat Puffs (not much)
Honey Nut Cheerios,
Honey & Oat Blenders,
Green & Yellow Split Peas,
Rotini & Fiori Noodles,
Texas Hold 'em Mix (pretzels, corn biscuits, rye biscuits)
Lab Blocks
Our diet stays nutritionally sound but we like to switch the ingredients every
month (not all at once, but a lil bit at a time)
Our Moms get the same mix as above but with a few extra things added in to
get them more nutrients:
Purina One Kitten Food, as well as some higher protein treats.
This
Mixture gives them everything they need, and they really seem to like it, over
our other tried mixes. It also gives them Lots of variety.
Along with this mix they also get fresh and/or Frozen Fruits and Veggies, every
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday they get
leftovers from our dinner. Saturdays get a different treat altogether.
And almost on a daily
basis they get whatever we had for lunch, which can vary from Peanut Butter and
Jelly Sandwiches to Teriyaki Chicken with Rice.
(Just notes, Rats are OMNIVORES
and that means they eat meat and plants, so giving them some meat is NOT going
to make them vicious, or anything).
Well we start ff in the mornings (various times based on what time we get up, and after the other animals are tended to since there are less of them), the first thing we do of course is say good morning to everybody, then we go around and fill every bodies water bottles and bowls, and refill the food dishes with their mix and sometimes start them out with a freshly chopped salad (ideas for salads can be found on our salads page) then we go back through and make sure that all our rats are happy and in good health, no over night sickly ratties, no signs of anything wrong that sort of thing. After we're satisfied that everything is ok, it's off to make a list of which cages need to be cleaned (I think that giving the rats breakfast is more important then making them skip a meal).
During the day I take a cage out to roam the couch while I am fiddle on my computer, or while I am doing house chores, or what have you, I also travel around with them on my shoulders and such, we also go around making sure that everyone is still ok, and there is food and water still, if not we refill it (If I didn't give them their salad in the morning I give it to them now). At the end of the day, we make sure they are still going strong and we refill their food and water, then we give them a lil snack and it's off to bed for us. *While taking care of our precious ratties we do incorporate our other animals in.*
Every so often when the kids have a day off we drag out another pool, fill it with toys, and put several cages together (just one gender at a time) and just let them play for an hour or more, then switch genders.
Usually I clean cages once a week, (unless a cage is in need of cleaning) when I clean cages I take the rats out of the cage and put them in a smaller cage (usually with a towel in the bottom) then I dump the bedding into the trash, and knock off any wet bedding, and into the tub we go! In the tub, I spray the cage down with scalding hot water, then spray it down with either hot soapy water or a mixture of Odoban and water, then with a scrubby and sometimes a toothbrush or stiffer brush I scrub every part of the cage, after that it's time for a rinse down again with scalding hot water (which I have gotten some pretty nasty burns from this) then I towel dry it. bring it to where it belongs, fill it with bedding, put the toys back in and a full food dish and water bottle/Dish (depending on the cage) *which every other day to at bare minimum once a week, I wash the dishes and bottles in hot soapy water* and then off to the tub again with the rats! We put all our ratties in the tub, and turn the water on, (a nice temp you would use for a baby usually works) I spray them down with the water, plug the tub up, suds em up (with my homemade rat shampoo) and then we get them all nice and dry and fluffy then back to their nice clean cage.
My Ratties get several hours of "out
time" a day. During their "Out time" the rats get toys to play
with and treats. Plus full a body look over to make sure there's no wounds or
anything out of the ordinary. Each rat also gets their own Personal out time to
ensure they get the attention they need, where they can crawl around on me or
the couch next to me.
Currently I stay at home, so there is lots of
time for them, when my roommates 5 kids are home from school that rats have
even more out time.
When the rats aren't out and about they getting their lovin's
through the bars and kisses with the door open, and lots of attention when we
walk by, we almost always stop and giving some love.
I am always available to answer your rat
questions. Just send me an e-mail:
Rattiemattiesrattery@yahoo.com
