# Laboratory Rats



## ArborWeek (Feb 18, 2014)

Hello, everybody. I was wondering if anybody here knew where I could purchase laboratory rats? I'm talking about Wistar rats, Sprague Dawley rats, Long-Evans rats, etc. These are all very beautiful rats and they have special characteristics that no other rats have. It seems like these rats are very specially bred for their optimum genetics in laboratory experiments, but I can't seem to find a place to purchase them. Are they reserved exclusively for the scientific community? Is the scientific community hoarding these wonderful rats from the public? I would pay top dollar for one of these rats.

Kevin


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

They are. In the right areas, you can rescue rats they're "finished" with.


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## ahrat (Aug 12, 2013)

Look into universities. My college has rats they're using, and I've told them I have interest in rehoming "retired" rats. And they're really interested into giving them decent homes when they're done with them.


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

I'm not sure about the rehoming thing, I've never heard of that being done in any of the labs that my friends and I have worked in, but getting the older rats depends on the type of research being done on them. My peers who work on mice and rats to study Alzheimer's can't give up the retired breeders as they are autopsied at the end.

You also have to remember that even the breeders have these genes, and some genotypes will require in special care. For example, there are rats that are immunodeficient and have to remain in clean rooms (obviously an extreme example, but provides my point). Are you ready/willing/equipped to give that kind of care?

As for paying top dollar, you can buy them straight from the source but it costs a lot. Some of the mice we work with are $100+ for 1, but those were made to glow in the dark when a certain protein was inherited. And I've seen some rats go for $450 for homozygous strains. Lab rats/mice have cool genetics, but a lot of time, effort, and resources have gone into making them have those genes - be it to glow in the dark or be tumor-free or whatever their genes have been manipulated to do. You would really have to be willing to pay a lot just for one of those rats.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Im not sure they have optimum genetics as such, they just have repeatable known genetics, this includes genetic weaknesses and strengths.


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## ahrat (Aug 12, 2013)

The rats used at my college don't really have any special genes besides a nice temperament. It's for a psych class. And some of the older ones are dissected at the end of their life, but the professor said ones that are no longer needed, are given to a local rescue.


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

The rats you have looked into getting aren't as superior as they are predictable. They are outbred to make them all very similar in genetics that way science experiments can get close to them all being constant to one another this improves the accuracy of the experiments. You can contact a company such as Harlan to potentially purchase an outbred rat. 

http://www.harlan.com/products_and_...research_models/sprague_dawley_outbred_rat.hl

You may be able to place an order with Harlan for these rats.

The pricing for a small rat $13.40 to $20.00 They are priced based off of gender and weight.

13.40 for a rat around 20-21 days of age.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Generally, the rats are myco free and sometimes don't get tumors.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

They may be myco free I sterile conditions but when they get near other rats eg at the vets they will pick it up and have no resistance


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## RedFraggle (Jun 4, 2012)

They also still get tumours, same as any rat can.


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