# Dumbo Rats in Australia



## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

There are dumbo rats in Aus!

There is a massive waiting list, and pricing can be up to $250. The breeder is only selling sterilized males at this point. I know lots of Aussie breeders have falsified having dumbos in the past, however this seems very legitimate. The original breeder was a feeder breeder and discovered the mutation in one of his litters. The breeder however is quiet in the rodent community after being criticized for also breeding feeder rats and having questionable ethics. 
This is a page following some Aussie dumbos: 
https://www.facebook.com/PizzaRounda/


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## Rattielover965 (Apr 26, 2016)

It is up to you,but I wouldn't pay $250 for a rat that comes from a place with questionable ethics and the original breeder was from a pet store,when I could get one from a reputable breeder. I wouldn't get a rat from a place that breeds feeder rats or has questionable ethics in the first place.


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

Rattielover965 said:


> It is up to you,but I wouldn't pay $250 for a rat that comes from a place with questionable ethics and the original breeder was from a pet store,when I could get one from a reputable breeder. I wouldn't get a rat from a place that breeds feeder rats or has questionable ethics in the first place.


I think the point of the post is just a 'wow' kind of thing because previously there were no dumbo rats in Australia because the rats didn't have the mutation and no dumbo rats would be allowed passed border control to be imported.

With the mutation present a reputable breeder could breed the mutation in to strengthen it surely?


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

It is pretty interesting. I've seen it discussed alot in breeder groups.

He does indeed have dumbo rats and only sells desxed males. Though soo many people are wondering if he somehow was able to smuggle them into the country rather then it just popping up. I mean anything is possible though.


IDK about his ethics, he is a feeder breeder and selling these rats for so much & desexed people are kindof cranky about it so how much is true and how much is just those being bitter? idk....

A good chunk of the price is from getting them to the vet and having them desexed. That is not cheap. But yeah he is still charging alot.

IDK on one hand supply and demand. I can't really blame someone for that at all. People are obviously willing to pay it or he couldnt charge that much. So if people wanna pay that much I don't care. I've paid alot of rats I have really wanted. I've seen rats sell for $100, and getting a rat neutered prob costs $100-$150 or more. So to me it is not a crazy price really. And really in the grand scheme of pets, $250 is not alot of money. 

I am ok with him selling them desexed. If it were me I would too. People suck. We can already see what happens when a new variety pops up, people seem to lose track of any ethics they had and breed alot. Everyone wants to be the first one to sell in an area, the first one to have a color or markings of that variety. Its bad and you get a whole lot of really poor rats from it. It is why some new varieties have such bad health issues or temperament issues.

IMO though he should find a few other breeders who he can trust and are good responsible people to also breed them and work on the lines. Keeping them all to himself does no good for the lines or the rat community. And worse if god forbid anything tragic happens to his lines- idk a fire, a disease, etc.. it could wipe them all out and then no more dumbos again.


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## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

> A good chunk of the price is from getting them to the vet and having them desexed. That is not cheap. But yeah he is still charging alot.


I think this is one of the reasons people are questioning his ethics, because he is going for a large profit margin. As a reputable breeder you make little to no profit in the end because of the amount of money, effort and time you put into your lines. It's just something you do because you love rats.



> It is up to you,but I wouldn't pay $250 for a rat that comes from a place with questionable ethics and the original breeder was from a pet store,when I could get one from a reputable breeder.


I would and I'm sure a lot of Aussies would agree. After spending so much time in different rat communities and seeing so many gorgeous dumbos, I never thought I'd have the chance to own one. It's very tempting but I really wouldn't buy into a breeder who is quiet about his practices at this point in time.



> MO though he should find a few other breeders who he can trust and are good responsible people to also breed them and work on the lines. Keeping them all to himself does no good for the lines or the rat community. And worse if god forbid anything tragic happens to his lines- idk a fire, a disease, etc.. it could wipe them all out and then no more dumbos again.


Exactly this. We did have true hairless rats in Australia (I believe they were somehow smuggled or obtained from a private laboratory that could import rats for testing). However, all of them died premature deaths and there were suddenly no more. I really do believe that dumbos could end up with the same fate and the fact they are being bred under unknown circumstances by a single breeder increases my fear.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

> I think this is one of the reasons people are questioning his ethics, because he is going for a large profit margin. As a reputable breeder you make little to no profit in the end because of the amount of money, effort and time you put into your lines. It's just something you do because you love rats.


Idk I think I disagree. By far most breeders are never going to make a profit, you are very lucky if you even get close to covering your costs lol. I always say it is an expensive hobby. But we all still charge for our rats  I think it is fine to get paid for your work. ALOT of work goes into breeding. 

I think I see it the same way as other small businesses where you create something like crafts or art. I own my own business actually making candles. It is my passion and I love doing it, but I still wanna make some money doing so lol. Far too often people try to shrug off people who do their own work and expect them to do it for free and its really offensive.

I run my rattery very professionally, just the same as my business. Almost every day I am doing something for it. I also pay for a website, business cards, etc... I spend alot of time and effort working at it apart from just the rats even. But I spend an insane amount of time and energy working on the rats too! I love it but they love eating as do I lol!

I kindof hate when people just shrug rats off as cheap pets and scoff at very reasonable prices. I once saw some people chew out a breeder who was selling rats for only $10..lol like what? I am paying for a living animal it shouldnt be some cheap thing I think, I mean I can't go out to a proper dinner on $10 lol I think for good lines that have alot of effort put into it you should expect to pay more for the breeders time and effort. I've paid $50-65 and even once $85 but it included a travel fee. Because the rats were worth that price to me.

But in this case, yeah I do not think he is really putting much effort into it really lol He obviously is just banking on the rarity. And it does kindof suck because then people might dismiss real breeders charging more.


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

moonkissed said:


> I think I see it the same way as other small businesses where you create something like crafts or art. I own my own business actually making candles. It is my passion and I love doing it, but I still wanna make some money doing so lol. Far too often people try to shrug off people who do their own work and expect them to do it for free and its really offensive.


As a freelancer I totally agree! People can see the result and never pay attention to the fact that there's A LOT that goes on behind the scenes. I don't mind paying money for rats that have a reliable background and breeder. 

I can't say much for this Australian breeder though, but it is concerning that they're not spreading their lines to other trusted breeders like moonkissed also brought up.


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## Rattielover965 (Apr 26, 2016)

moonkissed said:


> A good chunk of the price is from getting them to the vet and having them desexed. That is not cheap. But yeah he is still charging alot.IDK on one hand supply and demand. I can't really blame someone for that at all. People are obviously willing to pay it or he couldnt charge that much. So if people wanna pay that much I don't care. I've paid alot of rats I have really wanted. I've seen rats sell for $100, and getting a rat neutered prob costs $100-$150 or more. So to me it is not a crazy price really. And really in the grand scheme of pets, $250 is not alot of money.


I don't mean I wouldn't get a rat because it was $250,I know the vet bills can be pricey,I mean I wouldn't get a rat for $250 from a breeder that got the rats from a pet store and had questionable ethics.


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