NZ Fancy Rat Society (2024)

11/09/2024

A few of our registered breeders have litters at the moment! Check out Ratbags Rattery’s absolutely adorable litter!

07/09/2024

The NZFRS is home of the Registered Rat Breeders and maintains a list of approved breeders and rescues who have shown to have great knowledge, care, and ethics when it comes to rat keeping and breeding. Each Rattery has the support of all the other breeders on the list and everyone works together to breed healthy, happy babies that make wonderful pets.

Registered breeders have gone through a vetting process; All our breeders must pass an interview where they share their breeding and adoption processes and prove they're an ethical breeder. We check their setup to ensure their rats are kept to a high standard and that they're happy and healthy.

❗️️If a breeder claims to be approved but their rattery is not listed on this page, then they are not registered with us.** Unfortunately some breeders may claim to be approved when they are in fact not, so please double check and ask the questions down below so you can make an informed decision about who you adopt rats from. ❗️

- Scrufffians Rattery - Breeding Mentor, Auckland
- White Rose Rattery -Breeder, Auckland
- Winnie’s Rattery - Breeder, Auckland
- Misty’s Mischief - Breeder, Auckland
- Interstellar Rattery - Breeder, Wellington
- Bohemian Rattery - Breeder, Wellington
- Blossoms Rattery - Breeder, Wellington
- RatBags Rattery - Breeder, Christchurch
- Kemodo Rattery - Breeding Mentor, Christchurch

04/09/2024

Congratulations Tahlia Glatz (and so sorry for missing the L in your name in the photo!) you are this months prize winner 🏆

PM us your address and we'll get your prize pack sent off ASAP 😀

30/08/2024

Today is your last chance to enter the draw for this months awesome prize pack!! Made with love by Scruffians Rattery this prize pack includes a special green Sputnik, a snuggle sack, a Sputnik bed, a tunnel hammock, x2 flat hammocks and a cool fleece leaf rope!

If you want to go in the draw to win sign up to be an NZFRS general member:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJU4_GyK53EgySxsBftAXcBox89fGFXzMmQif_fUoAqZY56g/viewform?usp=sf_link

30/08/2024

Have you checked our NZ Fancy Rat Varieties section on our website?? We have some great info on the different rat coats, colours and markings available here in New Zealand.

Have a scroll through the pictures below of the different markings we have. Let us know which markings your ratties have ❤

https://www.nzfrs.co.nz/resources/general-resources/nz-fancy-rat-varieties/markings

29/08/2024

Tonight we are sharing a post from the lovely RatBags Rattery,

I want to introduce my unusual but sweet girl PomPom. She was born with incredibly small eyes, it wasn't known until she was two weeks old and her eyelids did not open as they should have. It is a known issue in angora rats in New Zealand, going back to over a decade. The issue has nearly become obsolete due to ethical breeding (not breeding rats with the issue).

Due to this genetic deformity she became a pet only rat which I am so happy with, she has been such a sweet wee girl. While she has been a sweet and very affectionate girl, it is incredibly important to keep genetic issues such as this from passing down into future generations

Pompom from the time she opened her eyes was so quiet, loved tucking herself into my sleeves and licked my fingers regularly. I absolutely loved having her beautiful personality in my life.

28/08/2024

Dig Box
Have you ever set up a dig box for your rats? Rats are instinctive diggers and most love to get their paws dirty. We recommend using coconut coir and a large plastic tub to make your dig box - You can add it to their cage but it tends to be a bit messy so having it as part of your play table or free roam space is usually a better idea. You can buy coconut coir in small bricks from bunnings for a few dollars which expand into lovely soft bug and toxin free soil when you add water.

27/08/2024

The weather is slowly warming up and soon it will be toasty enough for pea fishing! A pool of water is a fun thing to add to your play table or free roaming area and most rats enjoy playing in water if they’re given a bit of time to get used to the idea. A great way to encourage them is to put peas in it - some rats like to fish them out with their hands but some will put their whole faces in the water to grab them with their mouths. If your rats aren’t experienced, pea fishers start with shallow water that barely covers the peas and increase the depth as they get the hang of it. If you have pro pea catchers then you can add extra challenges like a bridge made out of a branch to balance on or leaves and flowers that float on the water.

26/08/2024

Hi there! Lisa from Ratbags Rattery here. I am a new breeder in Christchurch, South Island and so looking forward to establishing myself. I began my journey in 2023 and am eager to provide alongside the other registered breeders some well socialized, healthy rats that are able to live long, happy lives. I have owned rats since I was a child so I have been exposed to many health issues that can come with poor breeding ethics, it has become my drive to see the health of rats improved. I am looking forward to sharing some amazing little souls with others. As a new breeder I have always had such a love for the irish marking but am quite interested in the many markings available in New Zealand.

25/08/2024

Today we have 3 fluffy boys - Scruffians Sherlock, Watson and Boxer - showing of some more garden snacks.

Nasturtium (modelled by Sherlock, Dove self) is one of the very best rat plants. It has quite fleshy stems which hold lots of water so it stays looking nice for ages before it starts to wilt and the flowers are really pretty. It's great for floating on the surface of water for an added challenge when pea fishing, wrapped around branches in cages and on play tables, and chopped up and added to food for a bit of extra colour.

Roses (modelled by Boxer, Silverfawn hood) are another safe plant to give to rats. The flowers, stems, and leaves are edible - but watch out for the thorns! Make sure you know where any roses you use have been grown - most cut roses that you buy from the shops will have been imported and covered in chemicals so get your flowers from your own garden or gardens that you know for sure haven't been sprayed with anything.

Dock (modelled by Watson, Dove self) can be a rather annoying w**d but it's edible - for humans as well as most animals - and the long tap roots are really good at breaking up compacted soil. You can pull it out by the roots so that it stays fresh in cages for longer and the leaves can also be picked, chopped up, and added to rat salads.

24/08/2024

Hello from Scruffians Rattery! I’m on a bit of a breeding hiatus at the moment while I have my own human babies but I’m really looking forward to getting back into things hopefully mid next year. I have my next stud boy waiting in the wings, a gorgeous fluffy black self called Tiberius, who combines the kahnites, one of NZ longest running lines of rats, with the fluffy line.

I’ve had rats since I was a kid, started breeding properly in 2017, and helped to start the Registered Rat Breeders a couple of years later. I’m now president of the NZFRS and I’m very excited to see us become more established, and I’m especially looking forward to our first shows. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or ideas you might have! Through here is probably easiest (either messenger or email - [email protected])

23/08/2024

Todays post lists a few recommended substrates for your rats cages and where you can purchase them in NZ. Comment below your preferred substrate and why 😊

22/08/2024

Did you know that we have a very special type of long haired rat that is only found in New Zealand. The fluffies/NZ Angora showed up in 2010. They were listed on trademe and were adopted by a few people after someone noticed the listing and shared them on the old ratclub forums. The line was bred by House of Kahn for a long time before a few other breeders came on board in 2017.

The fluffy line used to have quite a few problems but through careful breeding health issues aren't that common anymore. They tend to be very calm and relaxed rats (some would say lazy!) who love food, sleep, and cuddles. Some are prone to getting quite chunky so their weight needs to be watched and their treats limited.

Do you have one of NZs special long haired rats? Share a photo in the comments!

21/08/2024

Black eyed whites (BEW) and masks are a bit of a mysterious gene that’s popped up in the last couple years with a few ratteries. Despite not being common, the BEW gene is not actually new!
A breeder in Wellington had a couple BEW pop up in their litters back in 2012(ish), but were assumed to be a lost gene when the remaining BEW passed away. However, many many years later it came back - this time with the addition of masked rats.

BEW’s are not to be confused with buff, or minks & doves who haven’t moulted yet. BEW and masks have pure white fur (as white as an albino) with pitch black eyes.

The masks can be as dark as graphite or as pale as a small shadow. The marking typically only covers their head, but sometimes they have spots on their back. More often than not, they’ll fade to white before they’re a year old.

An interesting fact is that the masked ones aren’t necessarily black, nor are they always hooded!
We had an agouti hooded mask, who looked identical (colour wise) to any other masked rat. So it was a surprise when she produced agouti babies (as the dad of the litter was black).

Breeding rats with this gene can be troublesome and devastating. Unlike overseas where BEWs don’t appear to have any issues as newborns, the ones here are not so lucky. When BEWs are born, some come out a noticeably different colour - kind of a pale anaemic colour. The pale ones often struggle to keep up with their littermates, and are often a lot smaller. Because of that, it's not uncommon for them to pass.

The ones that do make it, typically catch up once on solids and have the same health as any other kind of rat.

At Interstellar rattery, we’ve had 7 litters so far with BEW or masked rats in them, and we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in their start to life. Our litter here we had 5 incredibly healthy masked rats, which was such a pleasant surprise.

So hopefully as we continue to breed rats with this gene, we will be able to understand it more and continue to improve the overall health of the gene.

1. Newborn babies, and you can see the wee BEW has a noticeably different skin tone
2. Baby Glitter, showing off her extra cute mask
3. Another example of a BEW who is a couple days old, next to his PEW sister
4. Masked boys Glaceon & Goblin
5. The adorable Hopper, who is fluffy and Masked. Although his mask faded pretty quick!
6. Echo, the only BEW we (interstellar rattery) have every produced.

20/08/2024

Here’s another couple of plants you can grow for your ratties - mint and calendula/pot marigolds modeled by House of Kahn Squid and Scruffians River's boys - Fennec and Flick.

Mint is an easy to grow herb, so much so that it can become almost a w**d. Some people say rats don't like mint and we’ve even seen it recommended as something to plant to keep rats away, those people clearly don't have pet rats though because most love it so it's probably a bit of a myth. It does have a strong smell though so it'd be a good idea to watch your rats carefully when you first introduce it to make sure it's not upsetting anyone. Mint has some medicinal properties that you should keep in mind when giving it to you pets, one of which is that it the antioxidant it contains (rosmarinic acid) reduces asthma symptoms in rats so it would probably be good for resp (as well as antibiotics of course) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29983238/)

Calendula is an easy to grow plant with bright happy flowers that tends to grow and flower pretty much all year in warmer parts of NZ.. Most rats find the flowers pretty tasty. Like mint it has a number of medicinal properties to keep in mind, most importantly for breeders is that it has been shown to cause reduced pregnancy weight gain so isn't a good thing to give to pregnant mums.

19/08/2024

Today White Rose Rattery would like to talk about a special little girl called Gecko. As you can see from the photos, Gecko was born without her tail and is known as a ‘manx’ rat. Despite opinions that this is a gene like pink eyes or a fluffy coat, unfortunately it is more akin to a birth deformity. Rat’s tails are a part of their spine and with manx rats, their tail does not fully develop in utero and thus, they are born without one.

I first noticed Gecko’s lack of a tail almost immediately and my thought was - oh no! Her mama has overgroomed her or chomped it off. However there was nothing to indicate that an injury had taken place, so I could only come to the conclusion that she was born this way.

Aside from her tail, little Gecko kept up with her siblings and it wasn’t until her eyes were open and she was ready to explore that I could see how much of an impact her lack of tail gave her. Rat’s use their tails for a lot of things, but namely they use it for balance and to regulate their body temperatures. As Gecko was born without one, she wouldn’t have to adjust to such a sudden change as having a tail was normal for her.

However the deformity with her spine left her pelvis in poor condition and this was very obvious with how she walked, which was on the back of her heels. I never saw her use her back feet properly, but boy was she fast! Gecko had no problem moving around, it was just very peculiar how she did it. Watching and assessing her, I came to the conclusion that she wasn’t able to climb - her back legs simply would not allow her to and because of this, I altered my cage so that she had easy access to food, water and other necessities so that she wouldn’t struggle to find what she needed or get herself hurt.

While Gecko was happy, she unfortunately wasn’t all that healthy. She remained on the small side and due to the shape of her pelvis and ge***al area frequently had urinary tract infections. Sadly at just shy of five months old, Gecko passed away. While she was a lovely rat with a huge personality, her birth deformities are an unfortunate yet realistic side of breeding that was unforeseen. Before Gecko, there has only been one recorded instance of a manx rat in New Zealand and I was wholly unprepared and did a lot of research to try and accommodate her.

The novelty of having a unique rat will never outweigh making sure that they are sound and healthy first and I hope little Gecko enjoyed her life to the fullest when she was here.

18/08/2024

Hello, Zoe from Interstellar Rattery here. We are a Wellington based rattery, and have been involved with the NZ Registered rat breeders since 2019. Now that the NZFRS is being launched, I hold the role of Treasurer and I’m really excited to watch our society grow.
Our main goal is to produce wonderful pet rats, who are both healthy and have great temperaments. We focus primarily on our markings line - particularly variegation, blazes and BEW/masks.
We had a wee change in direction this year, and decided to stop breeding the NZ Angora coat type and to focus solely on our markings line. After having an almost half a year break, we are really looking forward to our upcoming litters with you all.

17/08/2024

Do you ever set up a play table or area for your rats out of their cage? Having a play table is a great way to give your rats some more messy experiences without wrecking their cage, it can be a low stress way to introduce new rats, and having an area specially set up for them can make worried rats feel more comfortable when out of their cage.

Some ideas for you play table:
- A dig box with coconut coir for tunnelling in
- A planted dig box for tunnelling AND nibbling (bird seed mix is great for growing a mix of edible plants super cheaply, mustard seeds are also fun and you can get them from the spice area of the super market, but any edible plant is fine to use)
- Pea fishing is a great way too cool down in summer. Start with a shallow pool and gradually make it deeper until you have champion divers!
- Add floaters to your pea fishing pool for some variety - salad greens are good

16/08/2024

Easy meals for ratties. Have a scroll through the photos below for some easy, yummy meal ideas for your rattie mischief. Variety in the fresh foods you provide your rats is important, but sometimes it can be hard to come up with new ideas. One of the great things about rats is that they can eat so many different types of food.

Here are a few fresh food ideas that have protein in them. Any leftover meat from your own dinners/lunches are going to be great for your ratties dinner. The pictures below show a variety of little rat dinners that include chicken, Salmon, Egg, and an extra special little piece of pizza. All these little dinners still include vegetables/fruits while also providing a good source of protein. It is good to feed your rats healthy meals, but a little treat here and there is definitely needed!!

15/08/2024

Introducing another of our registered breeders, Winnies Rattery! Winnies Rattery was mentored by Scruffians Rattery and has been breeding since 2020.

Hi everyone! Kate from Winnies Rattery here. My goals as a breeder are to produce happy, healthy, friendly babies. Alongside these goals I am working on the NZ Angora coat type which is only found in NZ!! My love for rats began in 2013 with my first pair of girls, I have continued to own rats since then and am always finding more reasons to love having them as pets! By 2020, I had owned a number of rats who had passed away due to health problems; this inspired me to look into the ethical breeding of rats to see if I could work on reducing health issues within the NZ rat population.

After reaching out to the Registered Rat Breeders in 2020 I started my rat breeding journey with the help of Scruffians Rattery. Since becoming a registered breeder I have had the amazing experience of breeding both the Angora and Markings lines, producing a number of lovely friendly babies. After a bit of a break from breeding, I am refocusing my plans and choosing to work primarily with the NZ Angora line. My hope is that the fluffy coat can become more common throughout New Zealand so that more people can get to own these beautiful fluffy friends!

14/08/2024

Today we are sharing a post by Misty’s Mischief:

While the registered breeders all aim to produce healthy, happy rats with good temperaments sometimes issues arise.

In September 2022 one of my litters had two born with Hydrocephalus, which is when cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the cranium resulting in an egg-like shape to the head. When I first suspected one of the babies might have hydrocephalus, I took the whole litter with the mother to the vet. Each rat was examined and two of eleven were confirmed to have hydrocephalus. She confirmed neither babies were in any pain and that sometimes rats can live with mild cases so I elected to give them their best chance. Sadly Demoleon passed the next day and while his sister Dido lived another week she too passed. If you’d like to learn more about the science you can read up here: https://ratguide.com/health/neurological/hydrocephalus.php

Picture 1: baby on far right has hydrocephalus
Picture 2: baby in hand has hydrocephalus

13/08/2024

Easy meals for ratties. Have a scroll through the photos below for some easy yummy meal ideas for your rattie mischief. Variety in the fresh foods you provide your rats is important, but sometimes it can be hard to come up with new ideas. One of the great things about rats is that they can eat so many different types of food.

Here are some healthy veggie/fruit options for your ratties. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of your rats diet; they offer vital nutrients and provide variety from the usual lab block/pellets while still keeping your rats a healthy weight. Most rats love any fruit/vege you give them. However, some are fussy and will leave certain parts of veggies, e.g. the skin of peas!! Even if you have fussy rats, it's still good to offer them the veggies at least once a week.

The pictures show grapes, veggie sushi, mescalin, creamed corn, cucumber, yogurt, carrot, and apple.

12/08/2024

Mischief is the collective term for a group of rats; adopting this awesome word combined with my passion for pet rats, Misty’s Mischief Rattery was established in 2022.
We strive to match our rats with their perfect forever family. For potential adopters who live nearby you will be invited to come let your rats ‘choose you’ when babies are around 6 weeks old, this gives you time to ask questions and do any final preparations before picking your baby's up. For people farther away we can have a video call so you can meet the babies remotely. Our rats will not be adopted out under 8 weeks of age.
We promote and encourage responsible pet ownership and offer education, advice and ongoing support on rat care to our extended family.
We aim to breed healthy pets with fantastic temperaments who will make beloved companion animals. We achieve this by monitoring our lines, asking adopters to complete health surveys and only breeding females once between 6-12 months of age and only pairing to males over 18 months.
All rats from this rattery are recorded in a database with the adopters name and email address for monitoring the health of our rats. We will take back or rehome any animal from our rattery should your circumstances change.

11/08/2024

Easy meals for ratties. Have a scroll through the photos below for some easy yummy meal ideas for your rattie mischef. Variety in the fresh foods you provide your rats is important but sometimes it can be hard to think of new ideas. One of the great things about rats is that they can eat so many different types of food.

In the photos below, our ratties got a big sq**rt of baby food one night when leftovers were low. There are many yummy healthy baby food pouches that are great for ratties; a particular favourite of our ratties is the spaghetti bolognese pouch. Pouches are only a few dollars and can make a great fresh meal when you don't have any leftovers for your mischief.

The other photos show some leftovers such as rice, egg, bread, salad leaves, a leftover wrap (ratties love eating kid's unfinished school lunches!) and a special dry mix rather than the usual lab blocks.

10/08/2024

Time to share a great post by Scruffians Rattery about rat safe plants!

"Now that it's spring and gardens are waking up we thought it’d be good so share some of the plants you can grow for your rats. First up - borrage, silver beet, and viola/pansies modeled by some of Scruffians black boys: R2D2, Cricket, and Zero.

Borage (modeled by R2 - black vairberk) is a herb with fluffy-ish leaves and blue star shaped flowers. You can use the leaves in salads sometimes and the flowers as a garnish to pretty up all sorts of things. Rats can have both leaves and flowers occasionally and tend to only have small nibbles so it's enrichment rather than a main food. It has some medicinal properties so keep these in mind when you're feeding it to your rats - it has been used for respiratory and cardiovascular disorders as well as to increase milk production among other things. It's really easy to grow and is an annual but seems to come back every year anyway.

Silver beet (modeled by Cricket - black self) is spinach-y green that’s super healthy and so easy to grow year round. It's a particularly good source of iron so if you have vegetarian rats or mums and bubs its a great thing to give them regularly.

Viola and pansies (modeled by Zero - black splitcap) are cute colourful edible flowers. They don't taste like anything much but rats usually love them and they look so cute holding them in their little hands. They're easy to grow and flower through winter and spring when your garden might not be producing much else."

09/08/2024

We’d like to introduce one of our Registered Breeders - White Rose Rattery. White Rose Rattery was founded in 2017 with the goal to improve health and temperament in NZ, specifically targeting hormonal aggression and working on the NZ Angora coat.

Hi everyone! My goals as a breeder have changed over the years as I’ve started focusing on variberk, masked and blaze markings alongside Angora (fluffy) coats, but ultimately I want healthier rats so that these special little guys can stay around us longer. I started owning rats in 2014 and fell in love with them completely. Working alongside Scruffians and Shiloh’s Rattery, we founded the NZ Registered Rat Breeders to help bring together a community of ethical breeders to improve the standards that we breed by. Now with the launch of the NZFRS, I hold the role of Vice President and I’m super excited to create a wonderful community full of rat lovers. In particular, I’m also really looking forward to our contests and shows!

My planned litters this year are a mix of fluffy and markings - specifically I am aiming to try and produce blaze rats with my amazing boy Solosis. Huge thank you to Winnie’s Rattery for capturing him in all his cute glory!

08/08/2024

Ending our cage series with "what makes an unsuitable cage?". Check out the post below to see what you should think about before purchasing a cage for your ratties. It's important that your rats live in a cage that is safe, spacious and does not pose any risks to their health.

07/08/2024

Cage #3 the strong rat cage! A super great cage for your mischief!

06/08/2024

Check out cage #2 of our NZ rat cage series, the AVI One 604T.

05/08/2024

Over the next few days we are going to be posting about the three most commonly sold rat cages in NZ, the pros and cons of each cage and what makes an unsuitable cage. Stay tuned to see which NZ cage would suit your ratties best!

NZ Fancy Rat Society

11/09/2024

07/09/2024

04/09/2024

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