Bleuming Tails Rattery

08/23/2024

Oh, to be able to fall asleep anywhere in any position.

08/11/2024

How I cohabitate nursing litters and what I like to see. This is more than I like to have in this cage, but it's temporary. The eventual goal is to get a Prevue Ranch for this purpose and use the 528 for the bucks once babies are separated.

That igloo house is old enough to enter 4th grade this fall.

07/28/2024

Treated the rattery to a brand new light box.

It can eat the old one.

Jacinda got to be the first model, and what a lovely one she is.

05/30/2024

Like mom like son. Nosy.

05/02/2024

Please contact Jessica Booher for any questions. This is a courtesy post.

05/01/2024

The voidlings would like a word.

04/26/2024

Sometimes pictures just don't go to plan.

Don't worry. She's just fine.

03/22/2024

Robin got some new glamour shots! He's approaching a year old, and his last photo set was when he was a wee 8-week-old.

01/29/2024

Plenty of rat lovers believe that breeding sounds like a great hobby - and it is!

TW: rat death and euthanasia

But an important part of breeding that many people don't consider is what to do when something goes wrong. The hard decisions.

Last night, a 4 week old baby presented with pretty severe rapid onset hydrocephalus. In humans, a shunt would be placed to drain the excess fluid. This isn't a common procedure done for rats, and hydro is painful and leads to a pretty slow death.

So, what did I do? I humanely euthanized the ritten. He was already exhibiting major pain signs, and it really was the kindest thing for him.

One of the questions I ask all aspiring breeders is if they think they can handle euthanizing their rats for valid reasons. If they don't believe that's something they can do, I always advise that breeding isn't for them.

If you want to see what hydrocephalus looks like in a juvenile rat, the photo will be nested in a comment.

12/11/2023

This photo popped up in my memories today from 8 years ago.

Lucille (left) and Bear (right) were two of my original set of girls that lit the fire.

From then on, I've always owned an agouti, and have had agouti based lines.

Bear was a wheaten Burmese and Burm is a goal variety for me. One day.

11/03/2023

These four holdback Silvermanes make me happy. The does in this line are slowly having better and better silvering.

Introducing Boo (Fawn SM Dumbo Buck), Vik (Agouti SM Dumbo Buck), No Brain (Agouti SM Dumbo Doe), and Lu (Russian Blue Agouti SM Dumbo Doe).

I can't lie. No Brain is my favorite. Truly, not a single active brain cell in that head of hers.

10/05/2023

Whoopi, how on earth is that a comfy sleeping position?

08/16/2023

I've spent the last 8 months researching, writing, and designing a guide that I hope will be valuable to the rat community. This guide is meant to cover the basics when it comes to rat breeding, including topics such as anatomy, husbandry, genetics, illnesses, and so much more.

While it's designed for aspiring or novice breeders, a few sections will likely be beneficial for pet owners who find themselves with accidental litters.

This document can be downloaded as either pages or spreads, so it can be viewed however you're most comfortable. It will be a living document, so if you come across mistakes or information that you can prove to be factually incorrect, by all means, let me know! They can be downloaded from the rattery's website.

https://bleumingtails.com/

12/02/2022

A rattery update:
The original goal was to reopen for adoptions mid 2023. However, BTR is going to be closed for the foreseeable future, maybe permanently.

My husband was in a serious car accident a month ago, and has been hospitalized since. We don't know what the future holds as his prognosis is very questionable at the moment.

Due to this, pretty much anything rattery related has been put on hold. I may respond to messages, but things may slip to the wayside. The automatic message has been updated to help as much as I can while the rattery is closed.

09/28/2022

Haven't shared any photos in awhile.

Super thrilled with how these two agouti Silvermanes silvered out. They're right around 8 weeks old so they're still sporting their molt caps. The first 3 images are of a doe and the last 3 are a buck.

These guys will not be available.

08/16/2022

Little agouti silvermane buck! Just shy of 2 weeks old, and his mask is already very clear.

He's apart of some of the first litters I've had in about 5 months as I'm working on re establishing my lines.

07/15/2022

Same thing goes with rats unfortunately.

No, for real, ANYTHING offends in a dog group.

07/13/2022

Ethical breeding is breeding for a purpose: to better the species as a whole. Ethical breeding is not throwing two animals together. Ethical breeding is not using poor stock without careful consideration and breeding to improve the line. Ethical breeding is not a one-off breeding because you desperately want a baby from your heart rat.

Ethical breeding takes time, research, planning, heartache, money, space. Ethical breeding takes making the hard choices.

And backyard breeders simply do not do all of this.

There's a spectrum of breeders, and not all BYBs are equal. Some are worse than others. But all are unethical. One "red flag" doesn't make someone a BYB, but it should be your hint to continue your research on that breeder.

Even though BTR isn't currently selling to the public, I still want people to be armed with knowledge so that they can find an ethical breeder to purchase from.

07/11/2022

Forgive the awful picture. Used my zoom cause I am across the room from them, and didn't want to risk disturbing them to get closer.

Boy cuddles!

Jonah and Noah are our two new bucks who are going to help rebuild the rattery.

04/22/2022

Tail Me More's post is a little different this week. This week, I decided to release a "State of the Rattery."

Applications have been closed for quite some time, and I think it's only fair for everyone to get a peek behind the curtain.

https://bleumingtails.com/tail-me-more/

04/18/2022

Don't miss the latest post on "Tail" Me More!

Food for Thought: Deciphering Guaranteed Analyses

This is just the first post in a multi-post series all about nutrition.

https://bleumingtails.com/tail-me-more/

04/10/2022

Happy Siblings Day from these two Silvermane girls!

Getting ONE good photo of them together was impossible. Someone was always looking away from the camera. Typical for sisters.

Gotta love those SM molts.

04/05/2022

https://bleumingtails.com/tail-me-more/

03/31/2022

Excellent information about your rat's teeth!

Did you know that rat’s teeth are always growing?!

This is because if they weren’t always growing, they would get ground down to pretty much nothing, and they would no longer be able to eat.

Chewing on anything will grind their teeth down a little, but rats brux, or in other words grind their teeth to keep them from growing too long. Rats will never let their teeth overgrow!

But, if a rat has malocclusion their teeth will overgrow and need constant trims. This is because their teeth do not align properly, so they can not be ground down. This can be caused by trauma/injury or it can be genetic.

Their teeth are so strong/hard they are able to chew through most metals! They are also able to move/separate them! Crazy, right?!

It’s best to check your rats teeth every couple months to be sure they are okay. They should be dark orange and look fairly long.

03/20/2022

03/12/2022

We've moved!

But don't worry. We didn't go too far. BTR has officially hopped the border back into Missouri.

While we're still closed to the public, once we reopen the only thing that will change is the standard pick up location. This will be updated on the site, and anywhere else it's posted.

02/08/2022

Bleuming Tails believes that no one aspect makes a breeder reputable. It's a multifaceted thing that often has multiple answers to the same question.

I believe that a breeder should be up-to-date on current husbandry standards, and puts them into practice. I believe that a breeder should be knowledgeable on most medical ailments and issues, even with vet intervention. Furthermore, I also believe that a breeder should understand the genetics of the varieties they breed.

Knowing and putting effort toward these 3 pieces, not just 1 or 2 of them, are deciding factors into what makes a reputable breeder*. Breeders are working with living creatures, and should be mindful of such.

Putting forth the effort to study and learn about the animals a breeder is working with shows pride, and should be expected.

If you don't agree with this, then this rattery isn't for you.