Longest standing ethical Rattery on Vancouver Island. Happily providing BC and beyond with quality We craft for rodents, birds and reptiles!
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Arcanum Exotics & Apothecary (ARCX) is the reborn version of West Coast Rattery. Run by the magical duo Riley and Ethan, ARCX aims to be your one-stop pet shop catering to BC and beyond. All species bred for pets are bred with health and temperament in mind. Quality lines are imported from Europe and the USA to ensure we work with only the very best. We have an impressive selection of handcrafted
Arbutus enrichment products and forage mixes, all ingredients and materials are ethically and sustainably sourced and are top quality. As of 2022 are working with feeder animals and insects to offer the island an ethical alternative. Every critter big OR small that we raise is treated like family members as they deserve, regardless of their intended purpose - never crammed into too-small a space or fed cheap diets to boost profit margin; our goal is to always do the best we can for the animals, and make a point of keeping up-to-date on current best practice knowledge. All pets have adoption applications to complete for approval, and all feeder mammals are sold F/T, never live.
**OFFERING rats, mice, rabbits (pet & meat products)
Sorry guys... I'm alive!
Working 2 jobs to accumulate maternity leave hours... so things are on temporary pause again. It's too chaotic here!! There will eventually be ratty babies again but for now they get to loaf and eat all day like lil freeloaders. 😂 Wish me luck - I'm grinding until mid-June or so, and I'm over 6m already, so this is kind of bananas. 🍌😂
I know I have sucked about responding to messages lately, so here's a quick update. I'll get back to individuals and applications as soon as I can...
Me related:
• My 1 y/o and I have been sick and I am pregnant with my second, my 1 y/o is beyond needy as he's sick and also teething - he's popped 2 new teeth this week, working on another 1 at least, so I'm overwhelmed
• My fiancé has been working 14 hour days so we've had no help in day to day (I'm drowning)
• I start a new job on Monday, and have been doing remote interviews etc the last week or so AND I am working on renewing my ECE license
• My phone/Pages app keeps telling me I'm not getting message notifications and to turn it on, I tap it and I still don't get notifications... please email if I don't respond to msgs
Rat related:
• I took a breeding break over the winter. Weather is still cold. Not planning to start up again quite yet.
• These are all still project lines. I was planning on bringing in a few rats from a fellow breeder but no word on that yet. I'm assuming a 6m wait for babies at this point but it depends how they progress temperamentally when I start back up.
TWO (2) identical sock monkey tunnel hammocks, brand new. Double lined fleece. 15"x10" roughly. 4 corner loops for hanging. $20 EACH or $35 for both.
Arbutus ledges and perch. Ethically sourced windfall wood, hand processed/cut, sanded and oiled with coconut oil. Wingnut/washer hardware for easy mounting in wire cages. They wipe down easily. These are all brand new pieces. $7.50 each or $15 for 3.
3 juvenile hairless does born October 24 available to new 🏡
💲9️⃣0️⃣ for all 3
3 adult does available to new 🏡
3 adult does available to a new 🏡 all under 6 months.
Two black mismarked hooded and a black Berkshire, all dumbo. Pics to come later. ❤️ 💲6️⃣0️⃣ for all three.
This sweet girl, Vienna, gave birth today to a litter of beans sired by Berlin. 🫶 Cinnamon Berkshire standard ear x cinnamon Berkshire standard ear!
Each baby has a 50% chance of being mink/cinnamon, with a 75% chance of being agouti based and 25% chance of being black based. Should be a mix of dumbo and standard ear. Hoping for lots of cinnamon and standard ear!
HEY CREW
New adoption form is set up, website is adjusted (we aren't paying for hosting at this time so I had to adjust the links, the PINNED POST that has all our info has been updated as of today) and we are accepting applications to begin adopting out some of these project babies to experienced homes!
They're definitely not up to my old standards, but they are proving to be a great starting point with solid pet potential. So excited to be back in the game, I missed you all.
IMPORTANT - there are 3 keywords in my ADOPTION INFORMATION webpage sections that you'll NEED to find to complete the form. If you do not find these keywords, it's an automatic denial. Finding these keywords proves to me you actually read my information and are not going to waste my time. I apprecia...
Finally took a sec to take pics of the 4 bucks I'm currently using!
Black split-capped dumbo "Oyster"
Cinnamon hooded dumbo "Dallas"
Agouti Berkshire dumbo "Orlando"
Cinnamon Berkshire standard ear "Berlin"
Just a little update...
Keeper from one of my current litters. This little guy checked a few boxes and I am excited about him. 🥰 He's third gen from the pet store starters. My originating buck, Gooeybuck, has a bit more pedigree behind him than the pet store starters.
Gooeybuck x Orca made Sea Cucumber, and this little guy is Orlando x Sea Cucumber. Orlando is a dumbo agouti Berkshire buck who is Gooeybuck x Sea Otter.
In the Orlando x Cuc litter, I also got 2 c-locus bucks, one of which I will be retaining and breeding back to Cuc to produce more c-locus. No surprise, c-locus is in everything. So far c-locus, mink and blazes are the only recessives I've pulled out of these project lines.
My current plan is to breed for self/minimally marked Berkshire, Variegated and possibly hooded (though variegated and hooded are in the same line which complicates it and I don't love hooded enough to fight too much for it) as well as c-locus. I'm hoping to keep blazes in my variegated, and balance standard and dumbo ears. I also have had several hairless but the continuation of deliberately breeding for them will depend entirely on their health as thus far, it's been a little more poor than their furred littermates. I won't perpetuate an iffy gene, especially with so much work to be done on temperament, health and type!
Good evening!
We have had a baby explosion and are on generation 3/4 in-house here (and have a couple generations information for a few of the new project lines) so there is a possibility that I will have some limited availability coming up here.
The information you'll need to understand before applying at this time is:
- these are still projects. Long-term health is not able to be guaranteed as securely as previous lines. I will still absolutely support everyone through any potential health issues. Their respiratory health has been outstanding (much, much better than I expected!) and from the information I have, there has been no tumours presenting on the female side for the last couple years.
- prices will be *much* lower than my previous/regular pricing, as they are a project.
- reiterating that while they're a project, I will still support my adopters through any potential issues.
- I do not currently have any "fancy" varieties. I am working with mismarked hooded, mismarked variegated, mismarked self in agouti, black, cinnamon, mink, and with dumbo/standard ears. I do have *some* hairless though I am hesitant to rehome them yet as I've found them to be more delicate in previous lines.
I would LOVE to see a few of these guys from my current litters (5 total ranging from brand-new to ~2.5 weeks) go to experienced homes so they can report back to me on longevity, temperament, adaptability, etcetera. If you feel you may be a good fit for a pair - yes, I will still only be adopting out in pairs - I would LOVE to chat with you about it. I don't have an updated formal adoption form, so strike up a conversation with me and we'll discuss the potential here!
On a personal note, I'm taking doula/childbirth educator certification, looking at returning to work in 2 - 3 months, and have a very busy 9 month old boy, so I'm not as able to get photos these days, but I'll be making a real effort to do so if I have some homes lined up! Availability WILL depend first and foremost on the temperaments of the babies from these litters, as I'll be holding back the *very* best for myself and not offering any with any signs of truly poor temperament. At worst right now I've seen nervousness, but of course, rats are variable as individuals and I am still only a few generations in of focusing primarily on genetic inheritance rather than handling excessively to promote epigenetic improvement.
I've missed you all and am so excited to be opening back up slowly.
Gooeybuck!
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/167792229614650/?mibextid=dXMIcH
✨️NOT MY LISTING✨️
I would maybe try to haggle the price for the condition it's in/it being uncleaned but these are some of the best cages. 💁♀️ Located in PA.
Hey, it's Sea Otter! This gal was exposed to Gooey last week. She's coming out of her shell and will hunker down for pets with her eyes closed in enjoyment. Super glad I picked her up and excited to see what kind of foundation she's going to be setting for me. 🩵
Orca appreciation post.
Due in the next few days! Can you see that baby belly? I sure missed this sight. She's been pretty sweet through her pregnancy, albeit a tad aloof. Chances are I'll keep things hush for a bit while I do initial evaluations of her as a mother etc but you better believe I will be posting bean pics in the next few weeks. 🖤🤍
We found some extra Arbutus ledges from when we were making them regularly... It will be a while before we have more of these, I'm not convinced I'll have time for the next few years... So these are available at a discount price, and are the last ones available, indefinitely!! All hardware necessary to mount them from bar cages included.
Can ship at buyers expense, located in Port Alberni. May be able to have a pickup location in Nanaimo once the highway reopens.
Introducing our foundation buck for our Fresh Start Project! He's a mink hooded dumbo. I have a little bit of background info on him which is ✨️magical✨️ and while he's a bit uncertain/nervous, he's 5.5 months old and quite easygoing.
I drove to Parksville last night after 9pm to pick him up. 🙈 So excited to have rats again. Thanks to Zan for meeting me and for letting me use these sweet pics of him.
Not sure if I should name him something sea-related like the girls (who are indeed Orca, Otter and Lil Scallop) or if he should get an entirely different name... suggestions?
Wasted no time in pairing him with Orca, so our first FSP litter will be here around the end of June if all goes well 🤍🤞 (expecting black and agouti, 100% dumbo and may range from berk to hooded... it will be interesting to see if they share any other recessives!) Our other new FSP line will come from relatives of this guy, which are a hairless buck and hairless carrier does... meaning we'll very likely have decent temperament hairless within the next 6 months, with enough health and temperament history for me to adopt out sooner than this new line. Exciting things!!
Introducing our 3 new does for our "Fresh Start Project." I purchased them from Oodyoos in Duncan, great little pet store and lovely staff! I was able to play with them to make my selections, which was so kind of them, and I have some guesses on what I may pull from pairing them. I managed some quick, not so great photos while my son screamed at me. 😂
No names yet, but I had to sing nonstop to the baby on the way home to keep him from losing his marbles. We sang a lot of, "An orca whale, an orca whale, little sea scallops and an orca whale, sea otterrrrrr, sea otterrrrr, little sea scallops and an orca whale." So I'm contemplating naming them Orca, Sea Otter and Little Sea Scallop... 😂 But I'm not sold.
•️💎• Black dumbo Berkshire doe, not related to the other 2. Looks to be around 3.5 months old. Tolerated being messed with pretty well!! Not defensive, only evasive. The woman who helped me mentioned they were from a "fancy Rex hairless" litter someone brought in, so I'm thinking may carry recessive hairless as none of them were visually Rexoid. Unrelated to the other 2. Unsure about any other potential recessives as all the sisters were A*/aa dumbo Berkshire.
•💎• Standard ear agouti Berkshire doe - related, likely half sister or cousin, to the little variegated. Looks to be around 2 - 2.5 months old. Kissy, sweet and malleable when picked up. A bit evasive but not at all defensive, even in heat today. May carry RB, RED and dumbo, and possibly c-locus. Assumptions made based on littermates of the little vari, if they are sisters/cousins.
•💎• Standard ear agouti variegated doe. Looks to be around 5 - 6 weeks old. A bit shy, but handled being tussled with really well, and when "grabbed" she didn't get spooked/vocalize, but stayed really soft and let me do pretty much whatever with her. At this age, I'm glad to see that vs defensive, baring teeth etc! Hopefully she matures as lovely as she seems like she could. Likely carries dumbo and c-locus based on littermates, may carry RB/RED if related to the agouti Berkshire.
Reminder, as per our last update, we are not currently operational. We have no rodents at all at this time. To add to your family, please check out Eversong Woods Rattery BC on the mainland. She ships to the island for a reasonable fee.
I am available to answer questions and assist adopters who have rats from me still but can not answer questions from non-clients as I have a newborn at home and my partner has returned to work. Free time is precious and very limited. Thank you for understanding. I will unfortunately leave messages from non-clients on read, it isn't personal I just literally do not have the time to answer/assist everyone though I wish I could. :(
I hope to rejoin the rat world once we are settled into parenthood and have a space to accommodate them once more.
••• Riley, Ethan and baby Torrin. 🩵
It just dawned on me some here may be interested in helping us out with our 50/50 baby pool !!
This is mostly just for fun - the closest guess gets 50% of the total pot, and the rest goes towards wipes and diapers for our baby!
The details:
•We did not find out the gender, nobody knows! Craig is baby's last name
• Due January 9, 2023
• Will not be doing any induction methods whatsoever
• I was 7lbs 4oz at birth, Ethan was 7lbs 6oz
• $10/guess, up to 2 guesses per person
• Include gender, date and weight
• Etransfer money to [email protected] and message your guess to the Rattery page or Riley directly
The guesses close December 25 (right before 38 weeks!) ... Merry Christmas everyone and I really truly miss you all. Can't wait to have the opportunity to work with rats again one day. 💜🙏
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Pekoe says, "Munch munch munch munch." ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #arcanumexotics #petsofinstagram #petsofig #petstagram #cuddles #furbabies #weeklyfluff #iloveanimals #farmfresh #farmtotable #smallbusiness #supportlocal #homestead #sustainableliving #ethical #urcbreeder #rabbitsofarcx #instarabbits #bunniesofarcx #instabunny #instabunnies #petbunny #petrabbit #homegrown #asmr #animalasmr ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 🐰🐰🐰
Dotty and Bliss love our Arbutus chews... and being serenaded by Ethan. What a beautiful life. 🥰💖 ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Join the Arcanum Family: https://www.facebook.com/251659441846039/posts/1332284050450234/ Enrichment Shop (rodents, birds & more): etsy.com/shop/arcanumexotics ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • @unitedrodentcommunity #URCbreeder #URC #arcanumexotics #ratsofarcx #rodentsofarcx #rabbitsofarcx #instarats #rat #rats #ratties #petsofinstagram #petsofig #petstagram #ratsofinstagram #cuddles #furbabies #weeklyfluff #petrats #fancyrats #petsnotpests #ratsaspets ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 🐀🐀🐀
Dinner time with the quail! We have been offering fresh fruit, vegetables and seeds to them also... As they're getting used to having these options we find they're taking them more readily - everything was pretty scary to them at first, like serious stink eye! But now they're big fans of plum, banana, fresh herbs and all the seeds we offer. Nothing seems to compare to their crumble, though. 😂 We feel it's important to offer all of our animals fresh fruit and veggies wherever possible. We always take "donations" of veggies and fruits that may not be human quality anymore. :) ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Join the Arcanum Family: https://www.facebook.com/251659441846039/posts/1332284050450234/ Rattery Residents: LINK Rabbitry Residents: LINK Rodentry Residents: LINK Enrichment Shop (rodents, birds & more): LINK (LINKS UPDATED SOON) ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • @unitedrodentcommunity #URCbreeder #URC #arcanumexotics #ratsofarcx #rodentsofarcx #rabbitsofarcx #quailofarcx #petsofinstagram #petsofig #petstagram #ratsofinstagram #cuddles #furbabies #weeklyfluff #meatbirds #quaileggs #coturnixquail ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 🪶🪶🪶
UPDATE VIDEO - THIS MY FACE!! Kind of odd - many of you have no idea what I look like even remotely. Well, voila! This be me. :) (( Video to accompany the announcement post from the 25th https://www.facebook.com/251659441846039/posts/1492836924394945/ )) ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Here I briefly reiterate everything posted in the update post a week or so ago... If you have ANY QUESTIONS or COMMENTS please leave them below 👇or shoot me a message. 💌 GOODBYE, WEST COAST RATTERY (WEST) HELLO, ARCANUM EXOTICS & APOTHECARY (ARCX) Our new email is [email protected] but I will continue to monitor [email protected] and direct people to our new address for the next few months. Also, our new website will be up veeeerrry soon, and I will unveil the shparkly new logo (which still needs tweaking 🤪) later tonight. ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • What we still are looking for is: • regular supporters through liberapay (you'll be entered to win Arcanum loot!) • a location for our bug and rodent aspects of ARCX • our marbles ... they seem to be long gone ?? 🤪 ✨💜 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • What new species and services will we be offering, you ask? Well... Pet, product and more... Think big, small and everything in between. Less cryptically, know that everything we are doing is STILL strongly rooted in ethical, up-to-date information. We will ALWAYS advocate for current best practice and keep in close contact with others in the field(s) we are participating in, so we can stay UTD on the best way to care for, raise, etc every critter in our care... As well as being cognizant of health factors in our "human products for humans" (gosh what a dork!) So happy t
Who feeds mealworms or other buggies as snacks? WCR will be offering mealworms among other feeder bugs individually (live/freeze dried) as well as in our forage mixes in the coming months. What else would you like to see available through us as we start back up - with more and better supplies etc available!? 💙 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Join the West Coast Family: https://www.facebook.com/251659441846039/posts/1332284050450234/ Information posts: #wcrinfo - tap! Genetics posts: #wcrgenetics - tap! 💙 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • @unitedrodentcommunity #URCbreeder #URC #westcoastrattery #wcr #ratsofwcr #instarats #rat #rats #ratties #petsofinstagram #petsofig #petstagram #ratsofinstagram #animalsofinstagram #animalsofig #cuddles #furbabies #weeklyfluff #petrats #fancyrats #petsnotpests #ratsaspets #ratappreciation 💙 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 🐀🐀🐀
Hanging out with Teto. 💜
Lawn mowers, trailers being loaded/unloaded with landscaping equipment, tow truck hauling waste up the hill... Lots of loud, bizarre noises in the background to expose the babies to. Crema x Saffron babies having a minor assessment, aren't they the sweetest little marshmallows! 😍🥰
Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?
West Coast Rattery was founded early 2016 first and foremost to improve upon the image of rats as pets, and to provide BC and beyond with quality pet rats - as our most ethical sources were pet stores sourcing from mill breeders - no good! WCR animals are bred with health and temperament in the forefront of our minds. Our animals have been imported from various sources in the USA, Ontario and Europe, and we’ve managed to create a diverse line-up of quality breeding animals.
We do not breed ANY of our animals to meet a demand; we breed for ourselves and the betterment of the species with which we work (as quality pets and species dependent, show specimens, as “betterment” is subjective). We will always retain any and all offspring required to progress a line, regardless of wait-list length, and our animals are ALL treated like family first. We require an adoption form be filled out prior to adoption. ** we do not allow visitors into the Rodentry under any circumstances
