# Just curious...-rat inquiry-



## Adalii (Aug 18, 2012)

I was just curious if anyone had any younger rats(younger than 1 year) available. I currently have 4 lovely females(spayed I assure you!) and they are really energetic. I love them but I'd really like a cuddler. Probably preferably male, but I wouldn't mind another female. x)

I'm in Virginia near the DC area if anyone wants to know. I can easily provide pictures of my rats, and the cage. I can assure you my rats are extremely spoiled haha, all of mine are rescues. 3 are from an actual rescue, while my little midget girl Indi is from an owner who neglected her. She is actually permanently small D: 

I figured I would try here first, and also try contacting some rescues. I would never ever buy from a petstore, and I would only go to a breeder if I cannot find any rats within a few months. 

I'm completely willing to answer any questions and provide pictures of my rats and even hamsters if you request. I've spent a lot of money on them and they are spoileddd haha. I like showing them off


----------



## never-sleep (Mar 3, 2012)

I was looking online a few days ago and I think I saw a rescue or a breeder in virginia... good luck with your rat search!


----------



## faeriefolk (Nov 13, 2012)

Hello, I have a pair of un-neutered male fancy rats who are about nine months old. They are handsome, sweet-natured fellows. Both are dark gray and white. Nibbler has more gray, with white on just his belly and paws. Wheatley has more white coming up onto his back. They love attention and being handled. They will come to the door when they see us to be petted. They are a little reluctant to be picked up, but once you have them in arms they calm down quickly. Nibbler is an explorer and will immediately start burrowing around, while Wheatley will climb into your shirt and settle in. Neither of them has ever bitten us. Wheatley is a mouther, he will take the hem of your shirt or your finger into his mouth, but he has never bitten down. They both seem to be in good health. They have shiny coats and as long as they don't get too many orange veggies their digestion is normal. They're good eaters. We usually feed them a couple of slices of whatever protien we're having along with dried whole wheat pasta, total cereal, fruit slices and steamed or raw veggies. They get along well with each other as well. They have the occasional wrestling match as males will do, but neither of them has ever injured the other. 
My daughter and I have loved having them as pets, but recently we have had a loved one diagnosed with terminal cancer. When he goes, we will be adopting his dog. While our dog understands that any animal that we bring in is part of the pack, I'm not sure that the new dog will get that and I'm afraid that she will scare the boys. Also, we have been spending a lot of time away from the house and will be for the foreseeable future. I would love to find them a home with someone who has more time for them. 
They would come with a multi-level cage, a large wheel, a corner hammock made of fleece and a large pocket hammock made of wool, a doughnut bed, a glass water bottle, several stainless steel food dishes, another metal container that they have used as a litter pan, (not exclusively by any means, but they do use it sometimes.) and a harness and leash. The cage was second hand when I bought it. It was originally a tall rat cage and the original owner wired a small bird cage onto the top, making the whole thing about five feet tall. When I got it I added ladders made from wire closet shelves. They seem to like it well enough.
We are in Southern Maryland, but we are driving into Alexandria several times a week and at least once a weekend these days so we would be happy to deliver them. I would also be happy to send out some pictures of the boys and I would love to see pictures of your girls and their set up, just to make sure that our fellas aren't going to be feeders. Please let me know if you might be interested. Thanks very much!

Mary


----------



## Adalii (Aug 18, 2012)

Nice to meet you Mary!

I am very interested in the rats. I have several pictures of my rats, and I will have to take some pictures of the setup. I recently went out and bought my girls a brand new cage, and its about 3x as large as their original(call me crazy, it takes up nearly half of my wall). I will have to get pictures of the setup ASAP.

I also have a video of my alpha girl Hazel(and also little Indi!) doing her come and cage command!
Hazel;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zdToT64a6M


And Indi(She learned this by coping Hazel in a day!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAnMv472PO4

Lovely Hazel;
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Adali_02/Pets/DSC01304.jpg
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/279424_409913152402170_387586957_o.jpg

Casper;
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Adali_02/Pets/DSC01291.jpg

Indi(She's a little active xD Pretty hard to photograph)
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Adali_02/Pets/DSC01297.jpg

Bean(She's a bit shy still!);
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/257316_409913322402153_2051333655_o.jpg
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/257252_409913465735472_1643589549_o.jpg


----------



## Adalii (Aug 18, 2012)

Oh and don't worry about their diet! I feed them really high quality lab blocks and cut up one apple and give them 4 carrots(chopped) every other day. My girls generally run around for 3-4 hours a day, and a minimum of 2 hours when I"m really busy. When I am unable to be home I allow my neighbor to let them run around to their hearts content(supervised--she loves animals and she actually owned a few rats.) I also normally fix their lab blocks with cheerio's, but not so many so they will be overweight. My girls are all pretty fit 

If I did get them I'd probably neuter them pretty soon after, while I'm positive I would have no pregnant girls I just want to be sure I never have any accident moments. Don't worry I know the consequences and hardships of unintentional breeding of rats. I never intend to let them breed...in fact that's probably one of my nightmares haha.

Also I'd love to see pictures! They sound adorable.


----------



## faeriefolk (Nov 13, 2012)

What beautiful girls! They are svelte and lovely. I thought that my fellas were fit but now I wonder if I wasn't overfeeding. Your set up sounds great and I would love to see it, but you don't have to take the pics to prove that they are pets and well loved. That is obvious from the pictures/video that you sent.

I snapped a few pictures of the boys today. Nibbler was as cooperative as he could possibly be. I had several good shots of him inside of two minutes. Wheatley on the other hand... That boy has a rare talent for moving just as the shutter snaps. He seemed more interested in the smell of simmering stock coming from the kitchen than he was in anything that I was doing. Still, I managed to get a couple of decent shots. 

Okay here is Nibbler, (Named after the Futurama character because he is clever and he has a white belly.)





















And this is Wheatley, (My daughter named him after one of the spheres in Portal because, like the Wheatley of the game, ours is a talker.)






















Please don't mind the raggedy old flannels. They are a favorite for hiding and chewing holes in. My husband can't wear them out fast enough. 

Getting them neutered is a good idea and something that we should have done. I can only imagine how quickly a pair of rats could populate a house to the rafters. And I've heard that they have fewer health problems if they're neutered as well. 

It sounds as if you're pretty well set on gear, but let me know if you can use any of the stuff that they have. Even if you end up giving some of it away, having a second cage might make the transition easier. My boys were Petco rats so they probably haven't seen a girl since their mom. The hammocks are hand sewn but pretty sturdy. I just finished the large wool one last week, our family room is cold and I wanted them to have someplace warm to snuggle once the temperature dropped. Plus their old pocket hammock was chewed to the point where I was surprised that it still held them both.

So let me know if you'd like to set up a time for us to bring them by, or if you'd like to come out and meet them first that would be okay too. We are about 45 minutes to an hour outside of the District, depending on traffic and where you're coming from.


----------



## Adalii (Aug 18, 2012)

I sent you a message


----------

