Adoption Fees

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Adoption Fees

What are the adoption fees used for?

	We breed rats as a hobby. This means, I do not expect to earn any financial profit from doing so. In fact, I do expect to loose money. The adoption fees that we incur from our rats helps us to be able to continue breeding, as it is not inexpensive. Our 50lb bags of lab blocks typically last the rats about 1 month. We also must buy bedding for our rats. We go through about 80 lbs of bedding in one month. We buy Carefresh Ultra bedding for the maternity tanks, which is fairly expensive.The rats also need vet care from time to time, and on occasion, surgeries are required. This can be very expensive. All of the litters born here at Darling Road Rattery also pay a routine visit to our veterinarian for their health certificates. Out ratty vet is approximately 45 minutes away, so gas bills are incurred too. We must purchase replacement food crocks and water bottles when the others get damaged. We need to buy replacement tanks when the maternity tanks get dropped or broken. We buy fresh fruits, vegetables, yogurts, grains, and oats for our rats. We all know how expensive those foods are! Especially in Maine and during the winter, the cost of fruits and vegetables rises significantly. Those are just the bare necessities! What about making our rats comfortable? Well, to do so, we must buy fleece material for hammocks. We also purchase plastic igloos for sleeping in, lots of treats; yogurt drops, dried fruits, veggies and seeds, chew toys for gnawing on, toys for climbing on and playing with, critter kabobs and veggie baskets for suspending veggies and fruits from their cages, and much more. We also must buy shampoo, combs and grooming supplies for our babies before they go into new homes. But that's not all! We buy receipt booklets, print off and photocopy rat literature, rat birth certificates, and much more. We must also invest much time to caring for the rats, socializing them properly, answering many emails per day from interested rat buyers, and emails from past buyers. We must update the website regularly, fill out paper work, keep proper records and much much more. As you can see, the adoption fees are evaporated fairly quickly in buying much needed supplies and accessories for our rats. Only on rare occasions are there any funds left over.

What are our adoption fees?

Our adoption fees vary from rat to rat. Generally speaking, here are the ranges. All of these prices are NOT quotes, just basic outlines and are subject to change. The final price will be determined when the baby is of proper age.

Black, capped, hooded, berkshires, masked, self or irish: $10+

Champagne, hooded, capped, masked, berkshire, self or irish: $11+

Blue capped, masked, hooded: $12+

Blue irish, self and berkshire: $13-$14+

Blue beige masked, capped or hooded: $15+

Black Eyed White: $20+ depending on quality

Dalmations and variegateds: $15+ depending on color

More unusual varieties/mutations (Russian silver/platinum, Russian blue agoutis, lilacs, etc are priced accordingly and generally start at $20.)

Generally speaking- any basic/common variety will start approx $10 whereas more unusual/multi-mutations start approx $20.

For blazes: Add $5-10+ depending on quality, type, and color.

For dumbo: Add $5-$10+ on the price of each baby, depending on variety.

For rex: Add $5-$10+ depending on quality of rexing and color.

For hairless: Add $15-$20+ depending on color.

Determining Our Fees:

Some ratteries just have one set base price, others price according to variety. We do not have a set fee per rat; rather we do price according to age, variety, color and markings. Compare breeding rats to crafting jewlery. The crafter may make both rope necklaces with wooden beads as well as gold necklaces with diamonds. Although both necklaces may be quality made with love, and are both beautiful in their own ways, the diamond necklace takes more time, planning, and expense. Therefore, this necklace would be priced higher than the rope necklace. This situation can be compared to rat breeding exactly. A black berkshire may be a beautiful, quality animal just as is a blue rex dumbo. However, it takes more time to create the latter rat because of the multiple mutations, more money to buy the stock that carries the genes to produce that rat, and more planning to arrange certain compatible breedings. Therefore, we price rats accordingly.

EMAIL FOR ADDITION TO OUR WAITING LIST FOR VARIED HAIRLESS BABIES COMING SOON!