AR Policies and Practices

The rats at AR are monitored consistently from birth to adoption or death. If I notice any signs of illness they are treated as soon as possible. We have an array of rat prescribed and safe medicine. If a rat needs to see a veterinarian they will.

I am blessed to know a former vet clinic worker very closely who is always happy to help, as well as a pair of veterinarian friends within my community.

AR rats are never adopted out knowingly ill. I pride myself in the care I give my rats, including health care.  I make sure each rat is healthy and sound before leaving the rodentry, to the best of my knowledge.

Arcadia Rodentry is not liable for any illness or disease picked up from our rats. Once the rats leave our rodentry we can no longer guarantee their pathogenic health as they are no longer under our care. Please understand this.

Our breeders were sourced from East Coast Exotics in 2021; they have been breeding their rats since 2016 so they know their lines well!

We are working with our rats very diligently; we are just on the 'tip of the iceberg' so to speak with them, so we are still learning what we have as we go.
We keep extensive and detailed records of our rats and lineage. We know exactly who is related to who, and pride ourselves in our organization. We use Breeders Assistant, Google Sheets, and breedSmart to record all rats and matings.

My rats are fed a hand mixed feed following the highly regarded Shunamite diet. They also receive supplements like chaga, turmeric, and flaxseed to boost their immune system. This diet ensures our rats have everything they need nutritionally. They are also given fresh fruit, yogurt, and proteins like egg and chicken regularly. 

Expecting and lactating mothers are given additional protein and calcium.

My rats are housed in a double critter nation and other similar style cages. Babies are born in well ventilated bin cages or small wired cages to keep them safe and secure. My rats have hammocks, tunnels, ropes, hiding huts, dig bins, and foraging toys to occupy their time. They also get to roam inside and outside with supervision.

To adopt a rat from Arcadia Rodentry you must sign a contract upon pick up. This contract ensures a list of rules that MUST be followed. The list is as follows:

             1. You will never under any circumstances purposely and knowingly hurt your rat or put it in harm's way.

   a. This is mostly self explanatory. Animal abuse in any sense is not acceptable. Feeding the rat(s) to other animals falls into this category.

             2. You will never breed your rat or enter it in a breeding program, as it is being sold as a pet rat and not as breeding stock. 

   a. This is very important. Not all pet quality rats are breeder quality, and not all people are capable of ethically breeding rats. There is a lot that goes into it. Our lines are still relatively new to us, so having adopters start breeding them would do much more harm than good.

   b. If you do breed your rat(s), they must be returned to Arcadia Rodentry as soon as possible. If you breed your rats you completely forfeit your right to them as it is a breach of contract, and the rat(s) then belong to Arcadia Rodentry.

            3. You will supply your rat with a proper home with adequate care and attention in all aspects.

   a. This includes proper caging, bedding, feed, fresh water, health care, being kept indoors, proper temperature, physical attention, mental stimulation, cage mates, etc.

            4. You will never neglect your rat, and if you cannot care for/afford it you will return it to Arcadia Rodentry immediately, or give it to someone who is able to properly accommodate it.

   a. Things can happen to cause adopters to become unable to care for their rat(s) even if they could when initially adopting them. If you cannot care for them they must be moved to someone who can. It is unethical to keep any animal you cannot properly care for.

   b. If the adopter is to rehome the rats at any point in their lives they must let Sadie Benjamin know before doing so. It is incredibly important to us to know where our rats reside, as we care about their wellbeing.

   c. At this time we would highly prefer if the unwanted rats were returned to AR rather than given to someone else*

            5. You will understand how to properly care for a rat before purchasing one from Arcadia Rodentry.

   a. This is not to say you must be an expert in rat care, it is just to ensure that your rats will be properly cared for from the moment you take them home. Pet owners need to know how to care for their new pets prior to bringing them home for the animal’s safety.

If you are under eighteen years of age, a legal guardian must sign instead* 

If your rat purchased from Arcadia Rodentry passes away within the first four weeks of the pick up date you are entitled to a full refund, IF the rat passes away due to genetic/breeding implications. Similarly, if the adopted rat(s) become ill they can be returned within the first four weeks post pick up and a full refund will be issued.  To prove that the cause of the rat(s) health issues were the breeder’s fault and not the adopters', a licensed veterinarian’s written documentation must be supplied to the breeder at the adopter’s expense. Only if the veterinarian can confirm that the issues were caused by the breeder (ex. traced back to prenatal causes) will the refund be given.

Essentially, this means that the rat dies because of issues caused at our rodentry, not problems caused by the new owner. This policy only lasts for four weeks because after that time it is increasingly hard to tell the cause of death, and difficult to decide who is responsible. 

If the adopter does not properly quarantine their new rats from their existing rats, the death/illness policy is null and void.* 

Arcadia Rodentry will ALWAYS take back any AR rats at ANY point in their life. We will find the returned rats a new, proper home. 

We have not to date had a rat returned or pass away due to genetic/breeding implications*

Please know we are still working with our lines; we received them in 2021 and had our first litter in March of 2022. Please understand that at this time we are still learning what our lines contain. If issues arise with the adopted rats, please let us know immediately and directly. 

The adopted rats are healthy and temperamentally sound to the best of our knowledge. We strive to do the best we can in all aspects and are very open about everything, including the fact that we are still working to improve our lines, and admit that they are not near perfect*