Whispering Wise Rattery

Contact: Ayri Wylie
Email: ayriw@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.members.shaw.ca/ayri/
Location: Courtenay, British Columbia

I sell/place my rats privately as pets

Describe the types of rats that you breed or intend to breed.

Specialising in tailess and possum faced rats but most coat types and colour and markings are available.

Do you keep records?  That is, do you have knowledge of the 
health, temperament, and colour of past rats in your breeding lines?

I have pedigrees on ALMOST all breeding rats. There are some exceptions 
to this rule but this is generally how I do things.

What type of bedding do you use?

Carefresh and newspaper (the ink here is not toxic)

Do you also rescue rats?

No

Describe the steps you take to quarantine new rats.

At least 3 weeks quarantine on all new rats in a separate household.

How many rats do you currently own?

24

Describe your cages.

I have 6 cages for my rats. They are all martins and are all very good cages. 
Would take me a while to describe them all but they are on my website!

How many litters do you have or expect to have per year?

7-10

Do you wait until you have waiting lists to breed your rats?

Yes

Do you insist that people adopting rats from you must sign an adoption contract?

Yes

Describe your goals with respect to breeding rats.

I would like to better pet rats in general. My #1 interests are health and temperment, 
looks are simply an added bonus. I do breed rats for show and have some nice show 
rats but many are simply GOOD PETS!

Is it your intention to make a net profit from breeding rats?

No

How long have you cared for rats?

14 years

How long have you been breeding rats?

5 years

Do you ship your rats? If so, how?

Yes, Via air (SAFELY)

At what age to you adopt out babies to people?

6-8 weeks

Describe your breeding techniques (inbreeding, linebreeding, outcrossing, etc.).

Inbreeding is strictly out of the question for me. All lines are totally different and as far 
as my records tell me my rats are never bred to relatives (I have about 4 generations of 
info on most rats)

Are you a member of a rat club such as the RMCA RMFE or rat fan club?

Yes, RMFE and RatsPacNW

Do you keep in touch with people who have adopted your rats in order to 
keep track of trends in health and temperament?

Yes

Are there any additional comments that you would like people to know when
considering adopting from your rattery?

My rats are held from birth till the day they are sent off to their new homes. This is 
not a profiting business for me I lose money:( I have been known to cry when my rats 
leave and to this day have never had anyone COMPLAIN about my rats. I offer 
people the option and encourage them to bring the rat back to me if they are not happy 
or they have any other reason for not wanting their rat. I will not even ask questions 
i will take the rat back!

Date form was completed: December 2001
Last updated: October 2004