what type of breeder rat to get

[NickMyers03]

i currently have 2 albino female rats and 1 albino male rat. im goign to start a small breeding program and am looking to pick up 1 or 2 females and 1 more male. my question is what "type" of rat should i get to be paired with the albino females or should i just use the albino male? also if im going to use another type on the albino female what type of female should i get for the albino male? or should i just feed off the male and pick up 2 new breeder males that arnt albino... im picking these up next sunday from a friend who breeds ( not great with genetics though...but havent asked him yet) and i have the option to any type i want.

im bringing my albino male ball down for breeding loan and helping him build another rat rack...

[Royal_Rodents]

i currently have 2 albino female rats and 1 albino male rat. im goign to start a small breeding program and am looking to pick up 1 or 2 females and 1 more male. my question is what "type" of rat should i get to be paired with the albino females or should i just use the albino male? also if im going to use another type on the albino female what type of female should i get for the albino male? or should i just feed off the male and pick up 2 new breeder males that arnt albino... im picking these up next sunday from a friend who breeds ( not great with genetics though...but havent asked him yet) and i have the option to any type i want.

im bringing my albino male ball down for breeding loan and helping him build another rat rack...

okay heres my answer its only my 2 cents but here.
i would say that i would have the 1.2 stay as a pair. But i would seperate the male from the females. Also with your breeding your going to need a "hospital" or maternity ward for your rats. so when the/ or female(s) are bred you move them. i also would recommend a cycle breeding. and a dry ice euthinizer check the stickys


if your looking to pick up 1.2 just keep going with the albinos to me they would be the best choice to feed. as i hate rats

[Reediculous]

Nick! Hairless of course! You know how we roll!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I would recommend to stay away from high whites (this does not include albino), blazed, I would not recommend hairless either, they do have more health problem and the mother are not that great of mothers.

Also I would recommend you to get them young and raise them to proper breeding weight (250 grams) rather than get older rats.

[littleindiangirl]

i currently have 2 albino female rats and 1 albino male rat. im goign to start a small breeding program and am looking to pick up 1 or 2 females and 1 more male. my question is what "type" of rat should i get to be paired with the albino females or should i just use the albino male? also if im going to use another type on the albino female what type of female should i get for the albino male? or should i just feed off the male and pick up 2 new breeder males that arnt albino... im picking these up next sunday from a friend who breeds ( not great with genetics though...but havent asked him yet) and i have the option to any type i want.

Well, what do you want out of these litters? Are you against PEW/albino's for some reason?

If you breed the albino male to the albino females, you will get all albino animals. Albino is a simple recessive gene.

If you breed the albino females to a black or brown male, you will have black or brown offspring unless that male is also HET for albino.

I don't know why your trying to avoid albino's, there is nothing wrong with that gene. You can produce only albino's if you dont want to deal with the "cuteness factor".

If you do decide to pick up any more rats, like Deborah said, stay away from an animal that is high white. (This doesn't necessarily include hooded.)
Stay away from badgers/blaze and try to stick to Selfs (solids) Berkshires, hoodeds etc...
EDIT: agreed with Deb on hairless, not worth the trouble.

That's pretty basic info there... if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

[NickMyers03]

i have no problems with Albinos, rats are rats. i just know as you said " stay away from high white animals" that there are genetic defects that come with crossing certain animals. the guy im getting them from has NO albinos and this is why i was asking what i should do. thanks for the tips ( and the one about raising them rather than buying them big...whats the reason of this though? im taking your word for it but thought i would ask).. i just want to make sure the two to three animals i get do not have any defects when it comes to genetics and that if i feed off one male the other can take over and will produce perfect litters.

[littleindiangirl]

thanks for the tips ( and the one about raising them rather than buying them big...whats the reason of this though? im taking your word for it but thought i would ask).. i just want to make sure the two to three animals i get do not have any defects when it comes to genetics and that if i feed off one male the other can take over and will produce perfect litters.

Albinism is the inability to produce melanin and is a simple recessive gene. The high white rat is a dominant trait (often referred to as Dominant white) and is closely associated with megacolon. These animals can produce melanin, but the distribution of melanin producing cells has been limited during the development of the embryo. This is why the animals are white.

Hooded rats are sort of the same, except they are low risk for megacolon. Hooded is a recessive gene as well.

The benefits of raising the rats from weanlings are just as obvious as buying a puppy or kitten over an adult. It's easier to get the animal adjusted when young, and also reassures you that you are providing the best environment and feed possible. You will also know that the rat is not just a retired breeder, and dies on you in a few months.

The only real way you will know if your animals have genetic defects is by holding back from litters to raise up and breed.

Your albinos may throw blazed, husky, high white rats with odd eyes (That's a bad combo), but you wont know until you have that first litter. Megacolon affects young animals, and in severe cases will affect them before they are weaned. It has been recorded in animals up to 8 weeks of age, but is most common right around the age of being weaned. Their bellies will bloat up, they may have runny diarrhea, they will be experiencing the same pains and cramping you or I do when we have "tubing" problems. It's painful, and they will literally die of impaction and starvation.

Sorry to get all in depth about it, but it's not a fun disease.

It's just safe to stay with animals that have a lot of color and minimal white spots. Mainly on the belly and chest. No head markings/lightning marks, white spots on the top of the head or high white sides. Odd eyes are a no go.

I hope that clears some things up

[littleindiangirl]

LOL, ok, I'll stop posting I swears! If you want a pretty nice list of what's good or bad, check out my other post 'Here'

[NickMyers03]

NO!! keep posting. im not new to ball pythons but rats yes. im just use to picking up my rat order and feeding them off. housing and breeding are a whole new thing to me

[littleindiangirl]

If you need pictures of what all of these rats and markings are, I have probably 1000 on my laptop I can run through