About Us

Jellybean Rattery is focused on breeding pet-quality rats with an emphasis on health, longevity, and temperament. We started breeding with the goal of increasing the average lifespan of our lines and aiming for the friendliest little fluffs we can.

To that end, we require that all adopters notify us of any notable events regarding rats you get from us, including but not limited to sickness (respiratory infections, cancer, etc), death, sudden behavioral changes, aggression, hind leg degeneration, etc. We strongly encourage adopters to keep in contact with us so we can get occasional updates on how our rats are doing, how their personalities develop, and anything you’d like to share! <3 This information is essential in helping us decide the best pairings to produce healthier and friendlier rats in generations to come.

We are a closed rattery. This means that no one can enter my home for the safety of me, my animals, and my adopters. I don’t allow potential adopters to interact with my rats while they are in my possession, but I am happy to send videos of litters so you can see how they behave to make your selections! We also do not take in rats/rescues that we did not produce, however we will attempt to help you find a new home or rescue for your rats if you need assistance. We are happy to provide photos of setups, answer questions about our rattery or any questions you have about rat husbandry, and assist in any way we can in relation to rats - message us any time!

Our Goals

Rat genetics are very complex, especially personality and health expressions. Every single rat won't be able to meet these goalposts, but the end goal is to keep increasing line stability so more and more do. Our various lines are at different points on the way toward these goals or stabilizing them.

Temperament

Our goal is to select for genetically based predispositions toward squishy handleable animals, curious and outgoing reactions towards new stimuli, a complete removal of bite reactions for any reason, and rat to rat introductions involving only positive interactions and easy group bonding. These behaviors and reactions should be based in their genetics, which leads to more stable and predictable individuals than using masking, training, and desensitization through excessive handling.

Personality

Personality goals vary by line. For most of our lines we are selecting for human attention seeking and cuddly personalities as the priority. Some lines are more laid back and cuddly, some are more playful and interactive. In a couple lines we are testing out selecting for intelligence, curiosity, and confidence - mischievous natures, trainability, entertaining personality quirks. We prefer to see personality and desires in our rats, rather than aiming for stuffed animal levels of apathy.

Health

Our current health goals for all standard sized rats are to select away from any displayed health issues before 2 years of age. Eventually we'd like to push that to 2.5 years. For dwarfs, the goal is 2 years 3 months currently, with an eventual goal of 2 years 8 months. Hopefully we'll be able to keep pushing those goals further.

Structure

While color, marking, and coat goals vary by line, across all lines our goal is to have well-structured heads with wide muzzles, rounded noses, as little pinching behind the whiskerbed as possible, and wedge-shaped heads. Eyes should be large, round, and clear. Ears should be wide, round, and sturdy with thick skin. Bodies should have notable muscle and substance with smooth contours and a smoothly arched spine over the hips. Hips should be wide and taper smoothly into the tail. We select away from thin, bony bodies, thin hips, pointy and thin snouts, and squinty eyes. Structure goals are to improve the health of the rats, not for pure aesthetics.