Getting Two New Fancy Rats!!

[Die Fledermaus]

I am finally taking the plunge this week. More to come with photos in due couse.

All advice and suggestions are welcome!

[Die Fledermaus]

adoptaratcanada.proboards70.com/index.cgi?board=basics&action=display&thread=1157583761

I was reading that, and it seems females are more jumpy, as the two were in the store. Plus they are much more prone to tumors.

I am wary of breeding for a pet store as I have no experience.

I like the light color (champagne?) of the two females, but maybe the males are the way to go? One is dark choclate brown and the other the same but with a lot of white. I wish one was that champagne color.

The rats were in very good shape and in very good conditions at the store, and I trust the worker in charge of them.

[hamwolf89]

congrates!

but not so good in advice

[Die Fledermaus]

Thanks. I am very unsure as to whether I will get 2 females or 2 males. But no breeding. I am getting advice elsewhere, but it is still confusing.

[Die Fledermaus]

This is from our resident rat expert, Rasputin. . .

>> I'd recommend females.

Among the rats it is my experience that the girls are more friendly and
less likely to have in-fighting than the boys. My girls do squabble
sometimes but it's nothing serious - I have a boy who likes to bully
his
cagemates to the point of injury and has to live by himself. I don't
want to neuter him but that may be the only answer to his problems.

Girls are also smaller and more fastidious. I still have to wear a
rodent-safe shirt with them because they pee on me but it is infrequent
compared to my boys. Girls will tend to be just a little less
problematic with adding more girls later if you wind up with more space
and time and want to enlarge the clan.

I have one girl, Hectic, who wants to do nothing more than groom my
beard and mustache. She combs it with her claws, licks the hair clean,
and tries to stay up against my beard for much of the time she's out of
the cage - as it says in the article you reference, she has definitely
imprinted on me. Even when she's running free she always returns to my
feet before running in a new direction. The whole effect was annoying
at first but she's hyper-affectionate. I've never had that kind of
connection with Orson, Bertrand, Janus, or Buttons.

I have seen that the older boys are more likely to slow down for a
while to just receive attention in relation to the older girls, but overall
my experience has been better with the girls. <<