FAQ
Do You Ship To Other Islands? Yes! We ship through Aloha Air Cargo to Maui, Big Island, and Kauai! Will Your Rats Make Good Pets for Kids? Our rats have excellent temperaments to be pets for kids and are a great way to teach kids responsibility. However, rats are small animals so kids should be supervised and taught how to properly handle them to keep them safe. Parents should always be involved in the day to day care to ensure the rats needs are met. Can We Get a Smaller Cage For Our Rats and Provide More Free Roam Time? Even with plenty of out of cage time it is important to provide a proper cage to house rats that allows them to move about and explore. This provides important enrichment for them and is why we require a minimum cage space. See our Cage Selection page for suggestions! How Often Are The Rats Bred? Our does are not bred until they are fully mature both mentally and physically as well as reaching a weight of 200 grams. This puts them at 5 to 6 months of age for their first litter. Our does are not bred more than 2 times in their life and their last litter will always be before they reach 13 months of age. This prevents the does from carrying a litter in their senior lifestage when labor complications are more likely to occur and raising a litter may cause unnecessary stress. Bucks aren't bred until they have reached maturity to ensure no hormonal aggression shows up. Bucks may be bred at any point in their lives to increase longevity in the lines. How Long Do Rats Live? Unfortunately Fancy Rats have relatively short lifespans but we will be actively breeding towards longevity. The average lifespan of rats is around 2 years but anywhere from 1.5 to 3 years is considered normal. Can We Get Just One Rat If We Give It Extra Attention? Rats are very social animals that live in large communities in the wild. They form very close bonds with their rat family and often become very depressed without a same species friend. Although rats love their human friends, they thrive with same species companionship. No worries, having rat companions does not change how closely your rats will bond with their humans as well! How Many Rats Should We Adopt? Studies show that rats actually do best when kept in groups of at least 4 due to the complex family relationships they make! However, many people keep rats in pairs and the rats are perfectly happy. It is important to consider your rats age as well. Babies need a similarly aged friend to play with as their energy can be a bit much for adults. The number of rats you decide to get should be dependant on your cage dimensions, financial status, and the time you have to care for them all (more rats means more cleaning!). Which Gender Should We Get? There are pros and cons to both but either gender make great companions! Males tend to be more laid back and snuggly. They usually have calmer temperaments and are easier to handle. However, they do tend to "mark" more and have more odor. Neutering can help with the marking/odor but will cost around $150/$200 to be done. Males tend to be a bit larger than the females and have fuller coats. Females tend to be more playful and active. They can be more mischievous and maybe more likely to chew through their toys/hammocks quicker. My girls tend to enjoy learning tricks more and are very intelligent. They may prefer to hang out on your shoulder instead of being confined in your hands. Females are also smaller in size.