Gallifrey Stud – Breeder of Pet Rats

An lot of rat owners would love more rats but worry that they won’t get on with the their current rats. Young rats are the easiest rats to introduce to each other. If you have an old rat it’s better to get 2 young rats than an rat of the same age. The old rat will not feel threatened by the young ones and having younger rats around can make the old one more active.

Even if you already have rats you should not get an single young rat the young rat will be scared of the new place they are going to and the introduction will be a lot worse for them. Also if all the rats are older than them they will not have anyone of the same age to play with. Just think if you go to an new place by yourself it’s very scary but if you go with an friend it’s a lot better.

Rats do not have to be related to get on you do not have to get siblings. I often have 2 litters at an time in order for new owners to have 2 totally different looking rats. Male rats can live together.

Rats like people may not always get on. But always go with the no blood no fowl rule. As long as they no blood they should not be made to stop fighting. Pinning of each other, boxing and screaming at each other is quite normal. Baby rats often scream their heads off and the other rats have not even gone near them. They can be big drama queens.

Things that don’t work and that can make things worse.

• Putting cages next to each other. (this winds the rats up they can smell the other rat but not get near to them which can make the intro later worse.)
• Vanilla estrate/washing them (you can not hide they smell the other rat will still smell it and putting it on or washing them is very stressful.
• Putting them in an large cage/with hides in. (the rats become territorial and fight more trying to protect an big space. They also hide away not wanting to get to know each other.)

The Best way

Their is various ways to do intros but I always use the carrier method. I’ve been doing it for years and it’s always worked only one time it has not and then I had that lone boy neatured and once recovered did an carrier intro again and it worked fine.

Jemma has done an great article on how to do it already personally I don’t put in do an neutral meeting first.

Find out more here

It’s often assumed anyone who’s an hobby breeder is good that is not the case and often some can be as bad as rodent mills. Breeding rats well is not an profitable business unless you cut some corners.  These breeders are often called back yard breeders.

et shops get their rats from rodent mills; they often say they get them from breeders, using this as a way to hide that it’s a rodent farm. However, no good breeder, especially one who cares about the well-being of their rats, will sell them to a pet shop. They want to keep track of how their rat is doing, and pet shops don’t facilitate this level of care. It’s essential to be cautious about the sources from which you obtain your pet rats, as some unscrupulous breeders may prioritize profit over the welfare of the animals, leading to potential health issues. Always consider adopting from reputable breeders or rescue organizations and ask for a paystub or other documentation to ensure transparency and responsible breeding practices.

Please get worried if they aren’t registered with NFRS. Anyone who doesn’t want to at least be on the breeders list normally means they are trying to hide things. Also worry if they keep the date of birth of they litters quite, breed hairless (which are banned from showing by NFRS due to heath issues and I also know of no good breeder that breeds them), Hide how they keep there rats, don’t make it clear if they cull or not. Anyone selling kittens before 6 weeks is an really worry. Most good rat breeders I know wait till about 7 weeks. Each litter is different and you have to see how they are doing I once homed an litter at 9 weeks because there were an few runts in the litter and I didn’t think they had grown enough. NFRS recommend minimum of 6 weeks before being rehomed. Just because an rat is weaned does not mean it’s ready. An rat breeder should have enough spare cages that they can spilit the boys and girls when they get to about 4 and half weeks. From that time it is possible for them to breed. Check which food the rat breeder feeds and the bedding they use. No good rat breeder feeds nuggets uses saw dust or keeps they adults in tanks. Also anyone willing to home out single rats doesn’t understand how an rat should be kept.

Most good rat breeders will have another job as you can’t make a living being an hobby breeder. Anyone breeding more than one type of animal is also an worry.

If an breeder doesn’t question you about how your going to keep the rats or doesn’t want to be kept up to date on how they are doing I would worry about this as well.

People also get confused about a few things thinking anyone who keeps there rats in an shed or out house does not care about their rats or in hutches. These are in fact some of the best breeders I know. It’s an great idea to do this as it makes quarantining of animals easier with separate air space.

It’s important to question the breeder yourself and find out about them also see what they ask of you on any application forms.

If I don’t have any kittens available I will always be able to recommend an good breeder to you.

Although I’ve closed my wait list you can add yourself to the interest list on this page. It will give you updates on litters available kittens and when the wait list is open. Please note this does not add you to the wait list for kittens it is for information only.

Please note in order to be put on the wait list or get kittens from me you still need to fill in an application form.