# Blue rats. :(



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

I just gotta get it all out.

This rant is pretty unimportant because it's about looks, but it has been chipping away at me.

There are so many breeders who specialize in blues... I mean soooo many. Which is too bad for me since I prefer warm colors like agouti fawn cinnamon etc. Blues always just... they look gray to me. I _don't see it,_ the special factor that makes them so popular, I guess.

And I mean reputable breeders, though we all know that BYBs also jumped on blue rats. Obviously you want a rat who's bred to be healthy and sweet by an awesome breeder and that's great because temperament/health > colors, I just wish that there was a bit more variety, I guess. They've been the *it* color for so long.

I just hope one day I'll finally find the healthy happy orange rat I've always wanted, but I've never found a reputable breeder who has worked with fawn.


----------



## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Its a coincidence that a thread like this today was posted because this morning I found my one year old female Possum dead in the litterbox. I just buried her 3 hours ago. 

She is what you would consider a pretty looking rat. She was a double rex Agouti variberk with a nice clear headspot. She had super cute curly whiskers and her coat was thin, curly, and almost bald in some places and a she had the most kissable white mouth.

But she had a fairly weak immune system and a chronic uri problem. She always had discharge around her eyes, morso in the last 6 months. And when she got sick she went downhill pretty fast. Constantly sneezing, like every 10 seconds she'd have a sneezing fit. Tried her on a bunch of antibiotics but nothing worked. Though I'm still not entirely sure what caused her sudden death, she was acting fairly normal last night, nothing out of the ordinary.

But as I was holding her stiff, cold body I realized something. I didn't love her for her funny looking coat, her curly whiskers, or her interesting markings. I loved her for her weird, quirky and playful personality. I loved that when she was on heat, if you so much as looked at her, she would bounce off and wiggle her ears and then come back for more. I love that when all my other fattie rats would be fighting over food and she'll just be clinging on to the cage bars, begging to be let out.

Whats the point of having an interesting variety with unique markings if you have to bury them so soon? I don't care about looks anymore, I'd rather have a plain old hooded black rat that was hardy and long lived. My oldest rat Merry is a boring old unmarked Agouti but she is almost 3 and a half years old and she still runs around and climbs things (though I have to stop her because shes clumsy and falls alot) shes only just starting to show signs of HLD which I think is pretty impressive.

Btw, I prefer Agouti based colours aswell and cinnamon is one of my favourites but nobody breeds them anymore. I also think rex coats look better on Agouti varieties. It really shows of their beautiful smokey gray undercoat.


----------



## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

I also forgot to add, Merry is also completey tumour free.


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

I'm sorry that you lost your girl Possum. I have a similar sentiment as my dear little PEW girl passed on within the same week as one of our very lovely blue marble girl. She was the rat anyone would pick, she had dumbo ears and a bit of rex in her fur, and a very sweet face with a white spot on her nose. But she was always very fearful, and even at her best she still didn't enjoy being with us, still squeaked often when we held her and everything. Meanwhile our PEW who'd have been the last to be picked by most people was an absolute doll, even as a baby she'd go limp in your hand to be picked up, she could never stop giving kisses and just loved nothing more than to be with us. One of the most affectionate kissiest rats I've ever had. Of course, she looked more beautiful to us than most other rats with more flashy appearances because her personality was beautiful, while our marble girl was loved, but she wasn't really a rat you could interact with so we weren't as close with her. We were devastated when they both died. We loved them both, we cried for them both and still talk about them all the time. But I do believe that a rat really becomes most beautiful when they have a lot of love to give. It's why PEWs are one of my most loved colors!


----------



## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

My first rats were brown agouti and black <3. My girls now are Russian Silver Agouti, which is kind of an amazing color to see in person since there is silver, brown and white mixed in. However, I got them because I met their very sweet and out going mother, and I knew I wanted rats with that behavior. It wouldn't have mattered to me what color her babies would end up. 

The next rats I get I plan on rescuing, so the colors won't matter to me as much as the temperament of the rat.


----------



## shortnsweet33 (Jul 30, 2017)

I am going to end up adopting a pair of 2 blue rats, one hooded. But for me, the coloring didn't really matter at all! I wanted to make sure I was able to get healthy rats, not too old, well socialized, and from a knowledgable person. I found someone online whose rat had babies and they have been socializing them, lots of playtime, and separated the males and females at 4-5 weeks. They have been able to provide me with lots of knowledge and have a double critter nation, are feeding a suitable diet, and seem experienced. I feel safe after figuring all this out. 

Prior to finding this person, I had messaged a different breeder online and inquired about some rats, and was sad to have them tell me they needed me to get them ASAP or they were going in their freezer(!!) since they did not need those boys in their breeding process as they were not the variation they were going for and already had enough males. This person made me appalled. I think there is a HUGE difference between these people and it does upset me when some rats are not given a chance because they are less desirable.


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

shortnsweet33 said:


> Prior to finding this person, I had messaged a different breeder online and inquired about some rats, and was sad to have them tell me they needed me to get them ASAP or they were going in their freezer(!!) since they did not need those boys in their breeding process as they were not the variation they were going for and already had enough males.


Wow that's horribly messed up.


----------

