FAQ | onceuponamischief

How my adoption process works.

Covid-19 Updates:

I will be wearing a mask and require all adopters and anyone with them who gets out of the car to wear a mask as well, regardless of vaccination status. I am vaccinated.

Waitlist Status

To view the current waitlist status

Click HERE

If you have any further questions, check out the FAQ below or contact me!

I now will be keeping a limited waitlist!

This will allow people to have a sense of when or if they will get babies and allow me to have time to approve people on a simple schedule. This will be less like a lottery and feel less stressful for both of us.

My waitlist will have no more than 10 people per sex.
Everyone on the waitlist must be approved
The list will open as spots open up
The list will also be cleared out every so often when I reach out and anyone is unresponsive or no longer wishes to be added.

Are you impatient? This may not be for you!

I can not stress this enough. I do not just have stock of available rats. I do not have shelves of products. I am not a store with stock. I am a responsible breeder and so I breed with a purpose and goals, not to just breed endlessly or make sales.

Every single litter has been carefully planned to better my lines and work towards a goal. Selling is not my first goal at all.

Generally, most of the time when you contact me you may be waiting 3-6 months or more. Breeding is not instantaneous or for those that are not patient. One person may be getting a rat next week, someone else may be waiting a year.

It takes time, I generally do not breed a female until they reach 5-6 months old.
Once paired it might be right away or take weeks if I'm unlucky before she gets pregnant
The pregnancy is about 3 weeks!
That's already around a month just from pairing
I don't sell until 8-10+ weeks. That's is around 2.5 months.
So about 3.5 months if all goes well from when I paired.

While I generally have litters paired every month or two, some are still new lines not yet available and as always we are dealing with living animals, and mother nature had a mind of its own! I can't know how many babies I will get or of what sex.

You will be waiting 3-6+ months generally, depending on how picky you are on variety.

I am not a pet store. I am not some backyard breeder who is just mass breeding for $$$.

I hope that those coming to me are doing so because they want a wonderful amazing well-bred animal. That requires work and time!

My Adoption process:

I keep a limited waitlist. This allows me to keep a smaller pool of people involved. But this waitlist is NOT ordered. Instead, it is an open pool where available rats are generally chosen as first come from those on the waitlist.

So when babies are available to reserve (usually at 6-8 weeks+) I will announce it to my waitlist and then they will be able to reserve as first come. Whoever messages me first with their picks, gets them. Everyone chooses off photos.

Where are you located and how far is it from me?

I am in Dunkirk, NY 14048. It is about an hour drive from Buffalo, NY Two Hour drive from Rochester, NY An hour drive from Erie, PA 40 mins from Jamestown, NY Visit this link: https://goo.gl/maps/9AYRqoqwqKo Click the directions button on the left side of the page and put in your city/address to see how far away we are! Take a road trip, we are right on lake Erie and it is beautiful!
Do you deliver or ship?

I currently do not deliver. I am just unable to do so at this time. I do hope in the near future this will change! Currently I am not shipping. Shipping is done through an airline. They are flown in cargo of a plane just like with cats/dogs. You will have to go and pick them up from the airline once the plane lands. This is very expensive just for pets, you are looking at $200+ not counting the cost of the rats. It would also be a huge inconvience for me to travel hours to an airline and it would be an entire day process for me! It is just not worth the effort. I will be happy to try and help you find a breeder closer.
What varieties do you breed?

I have several different lines including: Seal Point Siamese & Russian Blue Point Siamese Coats: Standard, Velveteen, Double Velveteen, Satin Eyes: Ruby & Black Eyes Size: Standard & Dwarf Ears: Dumbo & Standard Standard Ear Tonkinese (Siamese Sable) Coat: Standard, Silvermane Eyes: Ruby Size: Standard Dumbo Marten Coat: Standard & Silvermane Eyes: Ruby & Black Eyes Size: Standard, Dwarf Markings: Berkshire, Patched, Blaze, Variegated Dumbo Agouti Silvermane You can read more about my lines HERE
What are your prices?

$40 per rat so $80 per pair Read More Here
Do I need to fill out an application?

Yes. I only sell to those who have been approved! I only open up applications when my waitlist has available spots, generally after a litter is sold or possibly every 6 months when I may clear or unresponsive spots.
When can we reserve babies?

Those on the waitlist may reserve babies sometime between 6- 8 weeks old.
At what age do you sell babies?

Babies are ready to go home sometime after 8 weeks old. Yes sadly some other breeders do sell babies that young or younger. Babies that age eat a lot of food and take up space and sadly some breeders just want to get rid of them to make room and save money. But it is not in the rats best interest. Babies need time to properly grow physically, mentally and emotionally. This is a really important time in the babies lives where they are still learning rat social behaviors that will set them up for life. This creates rats who are able to be introduced to new rats much easier. They will also have better immune systems & be more confident by staying with mom longer. I generally sell standard babies at 8 weeks old and dwarfs at over 10-12 weeks old. They are still babies at this age but more mature and able to transition to their new homes much better.
Will you sell me a single (1) rat?

No. I only sell rats in same sex pairs. Why? Read here: http://www.onceuponamischief.com/single-post/2017/03/10/Single-Rats-Why-I-dont-sell-them Yes I will sell more than 2 rats at a time.
Can I visit you to meet/pick out my rats? How do I pick out the babies I want?

No, sorry we are a closed rattery. This is for the health and safety of all of my rats and other adopters. You can read more about why HERE on my adoption terms page. Many pictures will be posted along with descriptions of each available rat. All of my babies are sweet and friendly as they are bred for ideal temperaments. Babies are still young and developing their unique personalities, they have a long road ahead of them for their true personality to fully develop. Once you take them home you will help to shape them & learn about their unique quirks, as with all pets! If for some reason you are having a hard time bonding with your baby or do not think it is a good fit, I will always take them back.
Can you let me know when certain babies/litters are available?

You would not believe the amount of messages and emails I get! I talk to so many people it would be impossible for me to remember or individually let everyone know. If you have filled out an adoption form and been approved, you will get email updates. Liking/following my facebook page will also give you updates on when to expect babies being available. I post updates on every single litter. I do apologize that I can’t always give such a personal touch to people waiting. I do try my best to be prompt with answering questions and staying in touch. Always feel free to send me a message!
Can you send me pictures?

I can not begin to express how appreciative of the support/love I am given on many of my photos and I know with the excitement of getting a new pick or wanting to decide which baby you want you may want to see a ton of pictures! But please don't ask me to send pics. I post A LOT of pictures, usually quite a bit more than most other breeders even. I like sharing pics a lot! If you look on my facebook page I am sure you will find the pic you are after of the babies! What I post is what I have. Taking pics of babies is not an easy task. It takes me hours of work. Setting up the area and the best lighting & getting curious active babies to cooperate. I usually take around 300-1000 pictures and have to look through every single one to find the best as babies don't just sit still politely! Then there is editing- cropping them & adding watermarks. It is alot of work that goes into it. I love taking pictures and sharing them, I try to take pictures at each major milestone of the babies lives. A note on Siamese babies- I get asked for pictures of the Siamese babies all the time! Siamese are little color changers! They start off life fully colored and then when they molt their color fades as they get points. So as babies they are not going to look the same as they will as adults. On top of that, all of the Siamese will likely look just about the exact same! I will share the pics I have of my Siamese babies, but there is really no point on asking for pics to choose from as they won’t look like that later on and they all probably look the same!
Do you breed hairless, Rex or Double Rex?"

I get asked this so often! The answer is no, I do not. I like my rats floofy. They are just not varieties I am personally interested in.
Do you have Dumbos?

Yes! Most of my lines are dumbo. I only have a handful of lines that are standard ear. Dumbo is just an ear type, there are a lot of myths out there about dumbos. They are still fancy rats. The way their ears look do not make them any larger, sweeter, or friendlier. The only difference is how their ears are placed. Also Dumbo rats are still fancy rats! Fancy just refers to them being pet rats vs wild.
Do you sell to other breeders?

Sure! I love to but I want to get to know you and make sure we both share the same goals and ethics in breeding. Just message me and talk! All of my rats are sold under a pet only non-breeding contract unless you have my consent. If you are a breeder send me a message and I will send you my breeder form!