I am strongly against culling in the form of killing the "unwanted" or "unworthy" babies, and refuse to work with any breeder who supports this awful act. As a breeder I am responsible for bringing these animals into life, and for that reason must take responsibility for the lives I have helped create. Every life is precious. If a rat is not show or breeding quality, it still deserves a happy, healthy life as a pet, and will be placed as such. I also believe that by killing the "undesired" rats, a breeder loses valuable information on the health and temperament of their breeding lines. When a breeder kills off half a litter before the rats are even a year old, how can that breeder honestly say they breed healthy animals?

I will only breed rats when I have a suitable pair available and the time, space, and money to care for the resulting babies. Although my animals are placed as pets, I do not breed to meet a demand, nor for wholesale purposes. I do take wait-list reservations for future litters. If you want to be guaranteed a baby, I recommend you make your request as soon as possible. After a female is bred, she is housed with the rest of her "colony" until about a week before she's due to give birth. At this time she is separated to a smaller nursery cage. I start handling the babies the day they are born. Since I do select for affectionate and people-oriented personalities, my mothers have no problem allowing me to handle their babies even at the youngest age. At about five weeks of age I wean the males and place them with an older male baby sitter. The females are left with their mother and reintroduced to the rest of the female colony. I keep all of my babies until they are six to eight weeks of age, at which time they start going to their new homes. Waiting this time allows me to fully evaluate the babies and pick out the best choices for future breeding plans. I only adopt babies in same-sex or altered pairs, I no longer make exceptions. Babies adjust best to their new home when they have a friend with them. Due to the social nature of rats, they bond closely with their family members and being separated into a strange home, even for the short three week quarantine before being reintroduced to a resident rat, can be extremely stressful and traumatizing. If you are not prepared to bring home two more babies, you may be asked to wait until you can.